The company has not disclosed the size of the project, which was first announced in early 2015, but industry analysts estimate it will have the capacity to make approximately 1 million metric tons per year. ExxonMobil previously pegged the cost of the facility at more than $1 billion.

Group II has for years been a mainstay of the North American and Asian base oil markets, which have capacity of 8.3 million t/y and 11.6 million t/y, respectively. But Europes Group II capacity is less than 600,000 t/y.

Long after the other two regions began using large volumes of Group II, Europe instead used blends of Group I and III base stocks to make higher-quality lubricants. Over the past decade, however, Group II has become more popular in Europe and import volumes have steadily increased.

ExxonMobil reportedly provided an update on the Rotterdam project at the ICIS Pan American Base Oils & Lubricants Conference in Jersey City, New Jersey. Officials said the company has finished building a laboratory at the plant and will begin commercial production of two Group II cuts – EHC 50 and EHC120 – during the first quarter.

Belarus Motor Oil Demand Stagnates

Motor oil demand in Belarus reached 32,000 metric tons in 2017, showing signs of stagnation after a peak in demand caused by the influx of imported cars in 2014 and 2015, a market study found. Development of Belarus vehicle fleet depends on its political relations with Russia, the report noted.

The study by Moscow-based consultancy RPI found that motor oil consumption in Belarus could grow by a 2.1 percent compound annual rate until 2030 because of the countrys growing passenger and commercial vehicle parc.

We expect Belarus motor oil demand to reach 42,200 tons by 2030, and this is related to the [positive] results in the countrys economy [projected] in the years to come, Nikita Medvedev, a senior analyst at RPI, told LubesnGreases.

The three most popular motor oil brands in Belarus – ExxonMobils Mobil and the German Motul and Divinol brands – accounted for more than 35 percent of the motor oil demand in the country. Lukoil is the fourth leading brand in Belarus and held 12 percent of the market, with a focus on commercial vehicles.

Antioxidant Additive Demand on the Up

Antioxidant additive demand could edge up to 88,400 metric tons in 2022, according to a recent report by Freedonia Group, a United States-based industry research firm. The firm found that market drivers include growth in lubricant production, demand for longer-lived lubricants that need greater oxidative stability and reduction of zinc dialkyldithiophosphate in engine oils, which requires increased levels of antioxidants. It also found that demand for all types of lubricant additive should increase at an annual rate of 0.8 percent to 1.18 million tons by the same year.

On Site

A disruption to production of butyl acetate at the Oxea GmbH site in Oberhausen forced the German chemicals company to restrict supply of certain products until further notice. No harm was caused to people or the environment after an automatic shutdown. The company said in a press release that it was unable to provide more detailed information on the duration of the situation. This is the second time Oxea declared force majeure on butyl acetate output in two years. The previous time was at its Marl, Germany, site in February 2017.

Perstorp announced it had increased production capacity of di-pentaerythritol, a component of synthetic lubricants, among many other applications. The Swedish chemicals company ramped up production by 40 percent by improving efficiency and debottlenecking, it said in a statement.

Doing Deals

From this month, German specialty chemicals company Lanxess consolidated its lubricant additive distribution and sales channels by signing up new distribution partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Partners will be Krahn Chemie Deutschland GmbH for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Europe; Petrico Ltd in the United Kingdom, France, Benelux and Italy; Pemco Additives AB in the Nordic region; Trigueros Quimica S.L. in Spain and Portugal; FinExim O in Russia and the CIS; Brenntag across Africa; Addisol Endless Resources across the Middle East; and InterActive SA in Israel.

Lukoil Lubricants partnered with Fairdeal Energy to enter the Kenyan market and will base its marketing efforts out of Nairobi in order to reach the wider East Africa region.

German oleochemical distribution company Hammonia Oleochemicals GmbH has extended its partnership with Spanish chemicals producer Industrial Quimica Lasem, SAU, for sales of its esters in Germany. IQL provides a large range of esters for automotive and industrial applications, such as hydraulic fluids, chain oils, metalworking, rolling and air compressor oils.

HCS Group GmbH acquired German transformer and turbine oil recycling company Trafolube GmbH, the companys second such acquisition in 2018. Last summer, HCS Group bought EES Jurgen Scholzs transformer service division in Hamburg.

Personnel Column

Andreas Martin was appointed business director of lubricants at Hammonia Oleochemicals GmbH in Hamburg, Germany. Martins role will be to expand Hammonia Oleochemicals lubricants industry portfolio. Martin was head of global product management for additives at Rhein Chemie Lanxess and business manager of lubricants at Nordmann, Rassmann GmbH. Hammonia Oleochemicals is a marketer and distributor of oleochemical raw materials and natural waxes.

Markus Hoschke is the new executive vice president for global marketing and sales at Oxea. Hoschke will head all aspects of Oxeas domestic and international market development from the companys headquarters in Monheim am Rhein, Germany.