Metal particles in the engine oil of a twin-engine Antonov An-24 caused the planes 11 July crash that killed six and injured more than 20 in western Siberia, according to a report filed by Russias Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), which oversees civil aviation in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The plane, operated by Angara Airlines and carrying 36 people, ditched into the Ob River in Tomsk oblast while en route from Tomsk, Russia, to Surgut, Russia. The crew attempted the emergency landing several minutes after reporting a fire in the aircrafts left engine.

Analysis of the cockpit voice and data recordings showed that while flying at an altitude of 6,000 meters, the pilots control panel indicated Oil Particles in Left Engine. The crew then decided to implement an early descent, during which a fire broke out in the planes left engine. After the crew unsuccessfully tried twice to put out the fire, it decided to make an emergency landing on a sand spit on the bank of the Ob.

Soviet-designed An-24s have been involved in a series of accidents in the last several years, including many fatal crashes. The 11 July crash prompted Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to instruct the government to consider the early retirement of all An-24s, the last of which was produced in 1979, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Lonza Buys Arch Chemicals

Lonza has agreed to acquire biocides maker Arch Chemicals in a deal valued at 973 million. Lonza, which is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, will launch a tender offer for all of Archs outstanding shares for 32.80 per share in cash. Lonzas offer represents a 12 percent premium to its closing price on 8 July and a 36.7 percent premium to Archs average closing price over the 30 trading days before the agreement.

Arch had sales of about 970 million in 2010, of which about 834 million were from biocides. The company, which is based in Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S., currently employs about 3,000 with 23 primary manufacturing and research facilities worldwide.

This transaction represents an excellent strategic and cultural fit, said Stefan Borgas, CEO of Lonza. Lonza and Arch Chemicals offer highly complementary products and technologies and together will be the global leader in controlling unwanted microbes. The key end-use segments of the market – water treatment, hygiene, materials protection, and personal care – are growing faster than the industry average, Lonza said. The largest biocides markets are North America, Europe, and Japan; the fastest growing biocides markets are Brazil, China, India, and South Africa.

The merged business will have a broad line-up of regulatory-approved active ingredients, Lonza said. Given the complementary geographical footprint of both companies, the acquisition will also strengthen Lonzas position in the high-growth economies of Brazil, China, India, and South Africa. Increasing regulation in these countries is expected to lead to greater use of already approved active ingredients and formulations, a trend that is expected to result in further industry consolidation, Lonza said.

Fuchs to Blend in Russia

Fuchs Petrolub AG will build a 20 million blending plant near Kaluga, Russia, to provide factory-fill lubricants to original equipment manufacturers in the region. Expected to go online by fall 2012, the blending plant will be in Rosva industrial park, southwest of Kaluga. According to a Fuchs spokesman, planned capacity is 40,000 metric tons of finished lubricants per year, and it will be operated by staff of around 40 people. The facility expands Fuchs current production of metalworking fluids in Yaroslavl.

The Kaluga plant will produce a wide range of finished products such as car and tractor engine lubes, transmission and compressor oils, as well as refrigeration, hydraulic and cooling fluids. The plant will include production and filling facilities, a laboratory, a tank farm and a warehouse for finished products.

The facility makes Fuchs a member of the automobile manufacturers cluster in the Kaluga region. Volkswagen, Volvo Trucks and Volvo subsidiary Renault Trucks, and an alliance between Peugeot-Citroen and Mitsubishi have opened assembly plants there. The region is also a home to the production facilities of several automotive suppliers, such as Continental, Magna, Benteler, Visteon and Lear.

Lukoil Targets Europe

Lukoil has opened a 30,000-ton-per-year lubricant blending plant in Ploiesti, Romania. The Russian oil major plans to use the facility as a platform to supply lubes in the European Union. The plant, which opened in March, is located at the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery, operated by Lukoils wholly owned Romanian subsidiary. Lukoil officials said the location is strategically advantageous.

The plants equipment, including one automatic batch blender and a packaging line, were supplied by Cellier Activity, part of ABB Frances Process Automation Division. Lukoil did not disclose the cost of the project, but did say the plant will make 120 types of lubes. All of the lubes made in Ploiesti will be marketed under Lukoil brands.

Traditionally Lukoils lubricant sales have been focused on Russia and other

CIS countries, but the past few years its lubricant subsidiary, LLK-International, has stepped up efforts to expand elsewhere. Before the opening in Ploiesti, the company had only one blending plant outside the former Soviet Union – its Teboil facility near Hamina, Finland.

Fire Damages Omsk Base Oil Plant

A fire and subsequent explosion destroyed a furnace in the base oil plant at Gazprom Nefts Omsk refinery on 16 July, according to the Russian emergency ministry.

Upon arrival at the plant, Omsk emergency firefighters noted that oil was burning in the coil pipe inside the furnace. Approximately 10 cubic meters of oil in the coil pipe was set on fire, the ministry press department said.

As a result of the fire, an explosion of a gaseous mixture destroyed the unit, razing its nearby 36-meter high brick chimney. No injuries were reported. As a result, the unit used for heating the extractive methyl solution (lube fraction) was temporarily shut off, while the plants overall production process was not impacted, Gazprom stated.

No information was immediately available about the cause or estimated damage costs. An investigation is underway to determine why the fire broke out in the unit and how much damage was done. A similar event occurred at the Omsk base oil plant in late May, when a fire broke out in the deasphalting unit heater.

The Omsk fuel refinery, including the 250,000-ton-per-year API Group I base oil plant, was built in 1955, and the plant operator has made several efforts to modernize and upgrade it since 2009. The company also operates a nearby lubricants blending facility with 50,000-ton per year capacity.

Solvay Boosts PFPE Output

Solvay said in June that it will invest 15 million to increase output of specialty perfluoropolyethers in Italy by the end of 2012. Officials said demand for its PFPEs has been growing and that the company expects it will continue to do so.

This capacity expansion will give us the opportunity to continue keeping track [with] the growing global demand for our high value-added products, Senior Executive Vice President Augusto Di Donfrancesco said in a written statement. He is also general manager of Solvays Specialty Polymers global business unit.

The project is located at Solvays plant in Spinetta, Italy. A Solvay spokesman told Lube Report that the expansion involves installation of new equipment, but the company declined to discuss existing or future capacity. The company said output from Spinetta is sold globally.

Brussels, Belgium-based Solvay said the capacity increase involves two PFPE products marketed under the brand names Fomblin-Y and Galden. The Fomblin-Y product family is mainly used for industrial lubrication in high temperature bearings and chains, lubrication of vacuum pumps in the semiconductor industry and automotive end-uses such as bearings, valves and electrical contacts. The Galden product is largely used as a heat transfer fluid in semiconductor processing equipment and as a testing fluid for finished electronic components.

Chemtura Makes PAO in Europe

Chemtura began engineering work to produce high-viscosity polyalphaolefin in the Netherlands by 2013. The U.S.-based chemical supplier will produce its Synton 40 and Synton 100 high-viscosity PAO brands at its facility in Ankerweg, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Chemtura is increasing capacity and establishing a European manufacturing capability for HVPAO in order to meet the increasing global demand for these products and locate production capacity in a region of significant demand growth, said Sean OConnor, president and general manager of Chemturas Petroleum Additives business.

The high-viscosity PAO products are used as high-performance base stocks and viscosity improvers in synthetic lubricant formulations such as gear oils and engine oils. Earlier in 2011, Chemtura announced expanded production capacity for the same 40 and 100 grades at its Elmira, Ontario, Canada facility. The company is headquartered in Middlebury, Connecticut, U.S.

Rhys Davies: Oiling the Wheels for Castrol

Rhys Davies is providing round-the-clock delivery service for Castrol to supply lubricants to retail establishments, factories and ships in harbors throughout the U.K. The contract requires Rhys Davies to collect and deliver up to ten trailers per day carrying around 350 pallets of lubricants for up to 150 delivery points. All collections are from the Castrol distribution center in Doncaster, carrying packages that range in size from small kegs to intermediate bulk containers.

The contract requires Rhys Davies to comply with strict health and safety requirements and to ensure that product is delivered precisely to each customers requirements. This is particularly demanding when meeting the needs of just-in-time production and stocking levels and to fit with each ships loading schedule. With many container ships spending no more than a few hours in port at a time, this requires meticulous planning by Rhys Davies, the company claims.

The Rhys Davies management process, supported by a fully integrated IT system, enables the company to receive advance orders, notify the warehouse and plan the collections and deliveries in line with customer requirements. Deliveries range from a single pallet to a full load and must be delivered at any time, day or night, anywhere in the U.K. All deliveries are completed using the Rhys Davies national network.

Brenntag Links with Colonial

Brenntag U.K. & Ireland has signed an agreement to distribute the complete range of products from Colonial Chemical. This agreement expands Brenntags representation with Colonial, which formerly included Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

The agreement encompasses the full range of Colonial Chemicals surfactants used in formulations for personal care, industrial cleaning, household cleaning and metalworking lubricant industries. This portfolio includes the Cola, Suga, PolySuga and Colonial products.