Chemicals distributor Brenntag AG signed an agreement to acquire Indias Raj Petro Specialities Pvt. in two phases. The M lheim, Germany-headquartered company announced that it would acquire a 65 percent stake of the Mumbai- and Chennai-based supplier of lubricants and process oils in the first tranche of the deal, which is expected to close in April this year. Brenntag will acquire the remaining 35 percent in 2022 or may choose to defer the deal for another year or two. The two firms will operate Raj as a joint venture in the interim.

Brenntags April 2018 acquisition will include the joint operation of three lube-blending facilities in India. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but local media pegged Rajs enterprise value at U.S. $108 million.

With facilities close to major ports in the west and the southeast of India, Raj offers Brenntag the potential to expand beyond India, according to Brenntag Asia Pacific CEO Henri Nejade, in a press statement late last year.

Rajs existing product portfolio and market presence, [and the] capability of its infrastructure and strategic locations, make it a compelling investment target to expand [Brenntags] footprint not only in India but also in other Asia-Pacific countries, in Africa and the Middle East, added Brenntag Group CEO Steven Holland.

VLS Fields More Complaints

The Verification of Lubricant Specifications, an independent lubricants testing organization, is investigating new complaints against two 5W-30 automotive engine oils that have made misleading performance claims on their packaging. Both of the complaints concern the ability of the products to meet their own technical specifications and the claims they make regarding OEM specifications, a statement from VLS said.

These new cases suggest there may still be work to be done within our industry to educate manufacturers. It is vital that workshops, fleet managers, haulage operators and motorists alike can have confidence that lubricant products can do what they claim, said VLS company secretary David Wright in a statement.

New PAO Unit at Ineos Texas Plant

Ineos Oligomers, a division of the British chemicals company Ineos Group, is to construct the worlds single-largest polyalphaolefin train at its Chocolate Bayou, Texas, plant. The startup of the 120,000 metric tons per annum low-viscosity PAO unit will be in the third quarter of 2019, the company said in a statement.

The new unit will source feedstock from a linear alpha olefin plant that is also currently under construction on the same site. The cost of the PAO and LAO units will be almost $1 billion, the company said.

The industry needs an ample supply of high-quality base oils, such as PAO, to formulate the next generation of advanced lubricant products, said Bob Learman, CEO of Ineos Oligomers, in a statement.

Ineos Oligomers is the worlds largest supplier of low-viscosity PAO and has a global network of PAO production units and storage locations.

Liqui Moly Acquisition Complete

German oil and additives specialist Liqui Moly GmbH exceeded sales of more than 500 million in 2017, up from 489 million in 2016, ahead of the final acquisition of all remaining shares in the company by W rth Group.

Domestic sales exceeded expectations, as did exports to key markets Russia, despite the ongoing situation in Crimea, and China, which grew by more than 50 percent in the first 11 months of 2017 with the same period in the previous year.

Liqui Moly manufactures lubricants and additives and will continue operating under that brand, with CEO Ernst Prost retaining his role in the interim. Prost sold his shares, giving W rth total ownership of Liqui Moly at the start of 2018.

The W rth Group, which has been a silent partner in Liqui Moly for two decades, comprises more than 400 companies producing a wide range of products including hardware, anchors, tools, chemical and technical products and personal protection equipment.

Oil Quality Registration System Gains Traction

A new register that ensures auto lubricants do what they say on the pack has gathered pace since it was rolled out in June 2017. So far, 200 companies have signed up for the European Engine Lubricants Quality Management System, said the Technical Association of the European Lubricants Industry, or ATIEL.

Oils that, after analysis, comply with the specifications set out in the European carmakers association ACEAs lubricant specification sequences are given an EELQMS letter of compliance and, from Dec. 1, are awarded a trade quality mark.

The aim of the system is to protect consumers from false or misguided claims made by lubricant marketers and to give those companies not in compliance four weeks to make the necessary adjustments.

If you have a problem with your car, you want to be absolutely clear who is responsible. If it happens to be a problem with the lubricant, then you want to go straight to the lubricant marketer and hold him responsible, said Peter Tjan, president of ATIEL at an industry conference this November.

Were not the police, and we have no intention of becoming the police. We have a system, and we feel that system should be maintained in an appropriate way, he added.

ICL Sells Oil Additives Business

Specialty chemicals and minerals company ICL entered into an agreement to sell its fire safety and oil additives business units to private investment firm SK Capital for roughly $1 billion, the companies announced in December. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2018, pending the completion of customary closing conditions.

ICLs fire safety business supplies class A and B foams to extinguish fires, as well as chemicals and services for fighting wild fires. Its oil additives business products are used for the production of various lubricant oil additives and mining chemicals.

During the 12 months ended Sept. 20, 2017, and mainly as a result of an unusually high wild fire season in North America, the [fire safety and additives business units] contributed approximately $294 million to ICLs sales and approximately $112 million to ICLs operating income, the press release stated.

ICL cites low synergies with its core mineral chains as its primary motivation behind the sale. This sale constitutes another step towards fulfilling the targets of focusing ICLs businesses and selling low synergy assets. The divestment will reduce debt leverage, and provide flexibility for the development of innovation and growth in ICLs specialty products and in precision agriculture, said ICLs Executive Chairman Johanan Locker.

New Russian Member of ATIEL

PJSC Tatneft became the 23rd member of ATIEL, making it the third Russian oil company to join after PJSC Lukoil and PJSC Gazprom Neft. ATIEL is an industry association that aims to improve, create and promote lubricant quality standards for the world market and ensure lubricant development is in line with European engine technology requirements.

Tatnefts base oil division, JSC Taneco, produces iso-paraffinic base oils at the Taneco plant in Nizhnekamsk, while its OOO Tatneft-AZS Center manufacturers and markets lubricants.

Personnel Changes

U.K. specialist industrial lubricant manufacturer Metalube Ltd. appointed John Mainwaring as its new senior development chemist responsible for the management and development of chain oils and greases. Metalube manufactures non-ferrous drawing oils, maintenance lubricants, greases, chain oils and corrosion protection
and forming oils and has offices in South America, Asia and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Duncan Dunn was elected chairman of the Baltic Exchange Advisory Council, the governing body that oversees the Baltic Exchange, a maritime industry membership organization and freight market information provider for the trading and settlement of physical and derivative contracts.

SOCAR Buys into Austria

Azerbaijans SOCAR Energy
Holdings acquired Austrian retail gas station chain A1 and lubricant oil trading company Pronto Oil Minerallhandels GmbH. Pronto Oil is based in Graz and has a distribution network in Austria and neighboring Germany.

Russian-Kuwaiti Cooperation

Gazpromneft-Lubricants, the Russian energy giants lube division, signed a scientific, technical and production cooperation partnership agreement with Kuwait Petroleum International. KPI has three blending units in Europe, including one in Antwerp, Belgium, that recently underwent a $100-million upgrade to double the plants capacity.

The agreement gives Gazpromneft-Lubricants access to KPI Antwerp production facilities and logistics system in the prospective production of its Gazpromneft, G-Energy and Gazpromneft Ocean brands. KPI, one of the largest lubricant manufacturers in Europe, makes the Q8 range of products.

In view of the growing demand for our companys production and the presence […] in Western and Northern European markets, it was decided to launch the project for the foreign production development through the cooperation with the leading European manufacturing partner, said Alexander Trukhan, general director of Gazpromneft-Lubricants, in a statement.

Lukoil Lube Sales Grew in 2017

LLK International, Russias largest lube marketer, posted improved sales results for 2017, boosted by its increased cooperation with car manufacturers. The companys sales of what it calls premium products rose 12 percent in 2017, compared with the year before. Such products are finished synthetic and semi-synthetic lubricants made with API Group II and Group III base oils. Maxim Donde, LLKs general director, said that during the year the company intensified its cooperation with original equipment manufacturers, doing more product certification with carmakers.

The company is executing nine large projects for manufacturing of high quality motor oils in partnership with the leading car manufacturers, Donde told reporters at LLKs annual press conference on Dec. 25 in Moscow. The formulation of the products goes along with the construction of new engines, and we expect these products to be in high demand in the next five to seven years.