Motiva Enterprises announced last week an expansion that will increase capacity at its Port Arthur, Texas, Group II base oil plant by 13,700 barrels per day. The project, scheduled to be completed in January 2006, will make the facility by far the worlds biggest base oil plant. Officials at Motiva – a joint venture between affiliates of Shell Oil Co. and Saudi Refining Inc. – said the project was motivated by the growing need for premium base oils in motor oils. They added that the e...

Lubrizol Corp. disclosed last week that it will cut 95 jobs following last months acquisition of Noveon International. Some of the cuts are being made to eliminate redundancies between the two companies, but others stem from a decision to pull back on efforts to move into new markets. Announcing the action in a June 30 news release, the company said most of the employees affected by the plan were with Lubrizol before the acquisition and hold technical and commercial positions at the Wickliffe, O...

Contrary to upbeat comments from industry observers, U.S. lubricant demand did not rebound early this year, according to the latest sales data from the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. The groups Quarterly Index of Lubricant Sales showed that sales volumes during the first three months of 2004 were 3.4 percent lower than in the same period of 2003. The report said sales of automotive lubricants slid 2.5 percent while demand for industrial lubes dropped 4.8 percent. Grease demand ...

Colonial Chemical Inc. last week announced a 10,000-square-foot expansion to its specialty chemical plant in South Pittsburg, Tenn. The company said the project increases its capacity to make specialty surfactants, as well as new chemistries it is pursuing. Colonial did not disclose the cost of the project, which included installation of three high-pressure reactors, each with 3,000 gallons of capacity. The company makes naturally derived surfactants, traditional alkyl sulfates, amphoterics and ...