Joint venture Azmol-British Petrochemicals ramped up production this year, with European automakers recommending its lubricants for their vehicles, and entered new markets for the first time since restarting operations in 2017, the company said.

Azmol, a 50-50 Ukrainian-British joint venture, resumed production last year, following several years of dormancy. That was followed by a restructuring led by Ukrainian companies Agrinol, a Berdnyansk-based lube maker, and West Oil Group, which operates the largest network of fuel stations in the country. British lube maker Global Lubricants was tasked with Azmol-BPs technical modernization.

The Ukrainian and British investors succeeded in closing outstanding debts, modernized parts of the production process and renewed the enterprises workforce last year. Azmol-BP has total production capacity of nearly 225,000 metric tons per year, including 125,000 t/y of finished lubricants and close to 100,000 t/y of greases. It also has its own filling and packaging line.

Oxea Hikes Prices

German chemicals company Oxea GmbH increased the list and off-list price of carboxylic acid effective in October for European markets. 2-Ethylhexanoic Acid will go up by 100 per metric ton while isononanoic acid will increase by 50 per ton.

Oxea manufactures oxo intermediates and derivatives, including carboxylic acids, which are used to produce esters for synthetic base oils. In September, the Monheim am Rhein-based company announced a price rise for neopentyl glycol and trimethylolpropane, also components used in lubricant production.

96 New Substances Under Scrutiny

The European Chemicals Agency proposes the evaluation of a further 96 potentially hazardous substances by EU member states between 2019 and 2021. Member states evaluate substances in order to determine the risks they may pose to human and environmental health. The plan is to evaluate 28 substances in 2019, 43 in 2020 and further 25 in 2021. The ECHA administers REACH, a register of chemicals that can be traded in the EU bloc.

New Name and CEO for Acquired Chevron Assets

A Glencore-backed consortiums acquisition of Chevrons downstream operations in South Africa and Botswana is complete, and the acquired entity will have a new CEO and fresh company name – Astron Energy – Astrons chairman confirmed to LubesnGreases.

The complete acquisition of Chevrons South Africa assets gives Astron Energy access to a 110,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery in Cape Town, a lubricants plant in Durban, 845 service stations and 220 convenience stores across South Africa and Botswana. The deal also included a 100 percent stake in Chevrons operations in Botswana.

Glencore financed the $973 million purchase of Chevrons South Africa assets by Off the Shelf Investments 56 (RF) Pty., which is owned by African Legend Energy Holdings, a Johannesburg-based investment firm. Off the Shelf had rights to be considered under South African laws that aim to empower black-owned enterprises. Off the Shelf already owned the other 25 percent stake in Chevron South Africa. The South African Competition Tribunal conditionally approved the acquisition in mid-September.

Doing Deals

Total Lubricants U.K. struck a new long-term partnership to meet the lubrication requirements of the local division of Kubota, a Japanese-headquartered agricultural and construction engine and machine manufacturer. Total has developed a range of approved fluids specifically for the original equipment manufacturers products, which sees around 800 registrations per year of its tractors in the U.K.

Moove, the lubricant and base oil arm of Brazil-based energy multinational Cosan, announced the recent acquisition of two lubricant distributors in Europe – Lubrigrupo in Portugal and TTA Lubrifiants in France. The deals are part of a strategy to strengthen networks in Europe. Moove is a distributor of Mobil lubricants and already markets in Spain and collaborates with the WP Group, an independent fuels and lubricants supplier in England and Scotland.

Brazilian petrochemicals company Braskem struck a deal with Dutch company Univar BV to distribute polyisobutylenes in Scandinavia, France, Italy and Turkey. Braskem, which reported income in 2017 of $13.06 billion, is a leading producer of biopolymers based in Sao Palo and the largest petrochemicals producer in Latin America. Univar is a chemicals and ingredient distributor with headquarters in Rotterdam.

Meanwhile, Univar Inc. will acquire Nexeo Solutions Inc. in a cash and stock transaction worth U.S. $2 billion. Both chemicals distributors supply additives to lube and metalworking fluids blenders and the two companies might streamline their portfolios to avoid overlaps and conflicts. Univar claims the acquisition will create the worlds largest chemicals and ingredients distributor in terms of profits.

The Dubai-based state energy company Enoc Group signed an agreement with international marine bunkers and lubricants company Baluco GmBH for the exclusive distribution of Enocs marine lubricants in Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium. This has been an active period for Enoc. It signed a memorandum of understanding with Maltese state-owned fuel distributor and supplier Enemed.

Oil marketing company Vivo Energy PLC has agreed on the $266 million acquisition of all of African fuel refiner and lubricants retailer Engens international operations to be completed by March 2019. The deal was originally announced 11 months ago and excludes Congo operations. The deal further expands Vivos presence in Africa after it acquired Shells operation in 15 countries in the continent.

German chemicals distribution company Brenntag AG agreed to acquire Kenyan industrial chemicals distributor Desbro Group, which has operations in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates. Brenntag supplies additives and base oils globally.

Wilhelmsen Ships Service has signed a distribution partnership with Kluber Lubrication for its marine lubricants. Wilhelmsen Ship Service, part of Norways Wilhemsen Group, provides a range of ship supplies and marine logistics services.

Shell Lubricants India renewed a partnership with BMW to remain the automakers only recommended supplier for aftermarket engine oils in India until 2022.

Iranian Base Oil Company Hires German Engineers

Irans largest base oil refiner, Sepahan Oil Co., has contracted German engineering firm EDL Anlagenbau GmbH to upgrade the base oil and slack wax production facilities at its Isfahan refinery, 400 kilometers south of Tehran. Sepahan currently has nameplate capacity of 420,000 t/y of Group I base oil, according to LubesnGreases data.

Under the contract and the accompanying license, EDL will prepare the front end engineering design for a dewaxing and deoiling unit. The Leipzig-based company said the objective of the project is to increase throughput of the existing dewaxing unit and improve base oil quality.

A deoiling unit will also be incorporated to produce fully refined wax, and the first phase of the project is expected to be completed by mid-2019, EDL said in a press statement. The company core business is the construction of fuel and base oil refineries and lubricant blending plants.

At the Plant

Uzbekneftegaz JSC will license ExxonMobils process equipment for its API Group II and Group Ill base oil project at its Fergana refinery in Uzbekistan. Fergana has existing Group I capacity of 240,000 t/y. The deal was inked after a visit to the United States by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil will open a new hub terminal in Valencia, Spain in the first quarter of 2019, the company announced last week in a press release, part of an effort to expand the companys supply network. The new hub terminal will be for vessel and truck loading for API Group II base oils.

Industrial packaging products and services company Greif Inc. opened a new multi-million dollar steel drum production plant in Kaluga, Russia, the company announced. The facilitys construction is part of plans to expand the companys food-grade lubricant packaging production and increase its presence in Russia. The almost 1,860 square meter facility will house an automatic steel drum line with an annual capacity of 2 million units, with potential for future expansion, Melanie Kendall, a spokesperson for Greif, told LubesnGreases. The Delaware, Ohio-based company declined to disclose the cost of the new plant.

Afton Chemical Corp. announced it has completed the second phase expansion of its chemical additive plant on Jurong Island, Singapore, for $163 million. The plant will produce zinc dialkyldithiophosphate antiwear additives, ashless dispersants and sulfonate detergents for use in passenger cars and heavy-duty vehicles. Located on Jurong Island, Singapores petrochemical hub, the facility has a land area of 45,500 square meters and operates around the clock. In May, the company started production of dispersants.

Fuchs Petrolub will expand its Mannheim plant after acquiring two nearby plots of land. The site is earmarked for offices and a logistics building that is to include an automated warehouse.

United Kingdom-based chemicals company Ineos awarded a 60 million contract to build an additional KG ethylene cracker furnace at its Grangemouth, U.K. site to Germanys Selas-Linde GmbH. The unit produces feedstock used by other Ineos plants.

Personnel Column

Christer Johansson is the new chairman of fuel and lubricant additives company Petrico. He replaces Phil Walter, who takes over as secretary of the U.K.-based company.

Gary Parsons, manager of global OEM and industry liaison at Chevron Oronite has retired and has been replaced by Richard van den Bulk, who was market manager for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.