Avista Oil stopped production at its API Group I base oil rerefinery in Kalundborg, Denmark, last week following a fire on July 24. The investigation into the incident and its cause is ongoing, and the company has not yet determined when the plant will be back in operation.
A press release issued at 10:25 a.m. on the morning of July 24 by the local Central and West Zealand police – which is responsible for the Kalundborg area – indicated that the Avista Oil Denmark sites fire was under control, and that police did not yet know the cause of the fire.
We currently cannot give any forecast on how long the entire production at Kalundborg will be down, Leon Sloth Skovbo, managing director for Avista Oil Denmark A/S, told Lube Report in an emailed statement. We are glad to have another European production facility at Avista, which helps in continuing the supply of the full product range to our customers. The Kalundborg rerefinery has about 42,000 metric tons per year Group I production capacity, and Avistas larger rerefinery in Dollbergen, Germany, has 120,000 t/y of production capacity, according to the LubesnGreases Europe-Middle East-Africa 2016 Base Stock Guide.
Skovbo noted that access to the Kalundborg plant remains very limited due to safety reasons. It is utmost important to state that nobody was injured, and all our employees are safe and sound, he said. No initial estimate on damages is available yet, and it is not yet known where the fire occurred at the rerefinery site, he added.
Photo courtesy of Avista Oil Denmark
According to the companys web site, Avista Oil Denmark started at the port of Kalundborg in 1992, when Mustad International Group invested in a rerefinery at the port. During the 1990s, the former Doak Oil and Ostjysk Olie Depot became part of Dansk Olie Genbrug A/S. The rerefinery began producing base oil in 2002.
Production ceased temporarily in February 2005, and the company focused on improving reliability in supply of waste oil. Avista Oil Group was formed, and it bought and invested in more collection companies in Europe – including Recup Oil in Belgium in 2006 – and improved access to waste oil. Avista also acquired Dansk Olie Genbrug in 2006. The company optimized production and designed and implemented improvements in the Kalundborg rerefinery during 2007-2009.
Parent company Avista Oil AG is based in Uetze, Germany. Avista also has a rerefinery in the United States in Peachtree City, Georgia, with 1,200 barrels per day of Group II and 400 b/d of Group III production capacity.