Following months of investigation, Verification of Lubricant Specifications made the decision to escalate its complaint against Toyota First 5W-30 Fully Synthetic SN/CF engine oil. The case was originally presented to VLS in November 2018, citing complaints about technically infeasible claims made by the product. The technical information also had errors in promotional material, as well as claims made against obsolete industry standards, VLS said in a press statement.

VLS, an independent United Kingdom-based lubricant testing body, worked with the product maker, Impetus Automotive Ltd. (trading as Toyota First and no connection to Toyota Corp.) to resolve the conflicting claims, remove any references to obsolete claims and present the products technical information in compliance with regulations. However, when asked by the Technical Review Panel for a copy of the products candidate data pack, Toyota First failed to provide the requested material, putting them in breach of the ATIEL code of practice, VLS said.

Because of this, VLS plans to report the company to ATIEL, the European lubricants industry trade organization, as well as to U.K. Trading Standards, since the claims on the product cannot be validated.

VLS chairman Andrew Goddard said that VLS was unable to independently verify or validate that any of the claims made on the product have been supported by the technology provider either through appropriate and rigorous testing or that formal approvals have been granted. We, therefore, have to conclude that no evidence has been provided that the product is capable of meeting all or any of the claims made against it.

Songwon Releases Q2 Results

Songwon Industrial Group reported a second quarter increase of sales by 10.4 percent to 218,467 million South Korean won (U.S. $180.48 million). Year-on-year, sales were up 5.3 percent from the same quarter of 2018, which was a result of price increases and favorable transactions in foreign currency during the first half of the year, the company said in a press release. It also said that its results were supported by improved efficiency at its manufacturing facilities.

Indian Oil to Make Group III

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. expects to commission a base oil unit at its Haldia refinery in West Bengal in 2022. The $160 million plant will have capacity of 270,000 metric tons per year and will mostly produce API Group III base stocks.

Chevron Lummus Global, a joint venture between Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and engineering company McDermott, said it has received license and engineering contracts to provide wax isomerization and hydrofinishing technologies for the project. The plant will be designed to process unconverted oil from a hydrocracking unit elsewhere in the Haldia fuels refinery, it added.

The market for high-quality base oils and synthetics in India is expected to expand, as automakers try to meet tougher vehicle emissions caps and develop technologies to improve fuel economy. Indian Oil, which markets lubricants under the Servo brand, said demand for Group II and III base oils in the country is increasing, while demand for Group I is falling. The government-owned company projected Indias lube oil base stocks demand to grow to 3.5 million tons by 2021-22.

Doing Deals

The European Commission opened an investigation into the planned merger of Polands two main oil companies, PKN Orlen and Lotos. The commission said it was concerned that the newly created entity would become the fuel and lubricant supply monopoly in Poland and the fuel supply monopoly in Estonia, as well as a dominant market presence in the Czech Republic.

German specialty chemicals distributor Biesterfeld Spezialchemie acquired Norwegian lubricant distributor Lindberg & Lund AS for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition gives Biesterfeld new access to markets in Finland, Sweden and Norway.

Malaysian energy company Petronas named Charc as its lubricants distributor in Portugal.

Shell Lubricants will provide Qatar Fuel Co. with engine lubricants over a five-year period, under a supply agreement signed on Aug. 25.

Fam, a lubricants producer based in Krusevac, Serbia, changed its name to Hemofluid. A subsidiary of U.S. lubricant company Valvoline acquired a majority stake in the rest of Fam in February, which it says will retain the Fam brand name.

Saudi Aramco and Reliance Industries Ltd. signed a non-binding letter of intent for Saudi Aramco to acquire a 20 percent stake in RILs oil to chemicals division. The potential acquisition is valued at $75 billion, making it one of the largest foreign investments ever made in India.

Chemicals manufacturer Saudi Basic Industries Corp., and Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant AG will temporarily defer discussions on a possible merger of Clariants additives and masterbatch divisions into Sabics specialties business. Sabic is a 24.99 percent stakeholder in Clariant.

On Site

German lubricant and grease maker Zeller & Gmelin is expanding its grease production and tank storage capacity to meet growing demand. The expansion, which is occurring at its Eislingen, Germany production site, should be complete by the end of 2019, the company confirmed.

Shell is installing solar photovoltaic panels on the roofs of seven of its lubricant plants in India, China, Singapore, Italy and Switzerland. The combined amount of electricity generated by the panels each year is estimated to reach 7,500 megawatt hours, and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is also expected.

Nouryon announced it will double capacity at its surfactants plant in Stenungsund, Sweden. The expansion and upgrade project will cost 12 million and should be completed during the first quarter of 2021.

Clariant is expanding capacity at its catalysts production facility in Panjin, Liaoning province, located in northeast China, to accommodate a new production line for its SynDane maleic anhydride catalyst. Maleic anhydride is a component of additives, such as viscosity modifiers.

Personnel Column

Effective Aug. 1, Jesper Sorensen was promoted to managing director of KPI Bridge Oil Singapore Pte. Ltd. He replaces Mark Emmett.

Biesterfeld Spezialchemie added two new members to the ranks of their polyurethane team. Alexander Br became the new polyurethane product manager at the beginning of 2019, while Robert Geffken took over the role of market manager in April.

Detlef Stulzebach joined the management of Freudenstadt, Germany-based Georg Oest Mineralolwerk GmbH & Co.s lubricants business.