Oxea has increased capacity for carboxylic acids at its plant in Marl, Germany, the first step in a broader plan to expand its production of those chemicals. Carboxylic acids are used in lubricant esters and additives.

The company said it increased production at its carboxylic acid plant in Marl, Germany, by 20 percent, twice as much as originally planned. In addition to Marl, Oxea operates two carboxylic acid plants in Oberhausen, Germany, and one in Bay City, Texas, United States. The company will also expand both of the existing plants in Oberhausen and construct a third plant at that location. It did not disclose capacity figures.

Carboxylic acids are used to manufacture energy-efficient lubricant esters for refrigeration units such as air conditioners and refrigerators. This expansion is just one of many steps that will ultimately result in a significant increase of Oxeas global carboxylic acid capacities by the end of 2012, said Martina Floel, spokesperson for the Oxea executive board, which is also responsible for production and technology.

Miguel Mantas, responsible for marketing and sales on Oxeas executive board, said carboxylic acids offer great development potential for the company. Due to a large number of new applications in various branches of industry, global demand is rising significantly, he noted.

To offer the broader range of higher alcohols, Oxea invested in additional hydrogenation capacities at its Oberhausen site. Four types of higher alcohols will be commercially available, starting in the third quarter of 2012.

Lukoil Blending Goes Big in Russia

Lukoil is developing a lubricant blending plant with capacity of 270,000 metric tons per year at its Volgograd refinery, part of an effort to tighten its grip on domestic and international lubricants markets. The plant is 50 percent larger than Shells 180,000 t/y blending plant in Torzhok, Russia. That plant is under construction and expected to be the largest in Shells European network of lube plants.

The initial capacity of the new [Volgograd] packaging production and lubricants automatic filling line complex is 35,000 tons per year and is expected to start operation in September, said Alexey Filippov, LLK-Internationals chief operating officer.

An expansion is planned at the blending plant, which is scheduled to reach 270,000 t/y capacity by 2015. The facility will produce motor oils, as well as transmission, industrial, hydraulic, transformer and compressor lubes. The complex will produce around 150 different types of lubricants, Filippov said. The new packaging complex consists of three lines: one-liter canisters with 5,000 t/y annual output, 4-liter canisters with 10,000 t/y output and 5-liter canisters with 20,000 t/y output.

The Volgograd refinery includes Lukoils biggest base oil plant, a 560,000 t/y facility.

Kazakh Base Oil Plant Advances

South Koreas Hyundai Engineering Co. was awarded a contract to design a 200,000 t/y API Group II and III base oil plant in Kazakhstan, according to a Kazakh official with knowledge of the matter. It is certain the Koreans will build the base oil plant in Shymkent, Rahimzhan Nupbayev, an ex-director of Hill Corp. said. The company, which is the countrys only lube producer, ordered the tender to develop the base oil plant in Shymkent, southern Kazakhstan.

Construction of the 729 million plant is expected to start at the end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013, according to Hammat Magmanov, Hills chief technologist. The project is a partnership between Hill Corp. and the state energy giant KazMunayGas.

The new base oil plant will receive around 500,000 t/y of feedstock to be processed into 200,000 t/y of Group II and Group III base oils. The plant will use Chevron Lummus technology and will be the first base oil producer in Kazakhstan.

Mess of Motor Oil

Shelves loaded with several thousand tons of packaged motor oil collapsed in a St. Petersburg, Russia, warehouse on July 15, causing an oil spill about the size of a soccer field. The oil was owned by the Moscow-based X5 Retail Group, Russias largest food retailer.

The city opened a preliminary investigation into the spill, which occurred south of the city, in the industrial zone Shushary. Officials will determine appropriate legal proceedings after receiving the results of the preliminary investigation.

The oil spillage, wont limit the supply of motor oil in our three stores in the city, the company said. The stores have enough supply of motor oil products until the oil spill incident at the [Shushary] unloading center is resolved.

LLK Contests Turkish Acquisition

Lukoil filed for arbitration in its 2008 acquisition of a lubricants blending plant and other assets in Turkey, fearing it might lose ground in the countrys lucrative petrochemicals mar­ket. Financial details of the claim were not disclosed.

Several Lukoil subsidiaries in Turkey, including Lukoil Eurasia Petrol, filed a claim in the Stockholm arbitration court in relation to the Akpet deal, said Dmitry Dolgov, Lukoils spokesman. In 2008, Lukoil purchased 100 percent of Akpet, owned by Turkeys Aytemiz group, to gain a foothold in the countrys lucrative petrochemicals market. The deal included a 12,000 t/y lubricants blending and packaging plant based in Izmir, a network of 693 franchise operated gasoline stations, eight oil storage terminals with total capacity of 300,000 cubic meters, several liquefied petroleum gas and jet fuel depots.

The purchase contract included a clause to be Akpets exclusive petro­chemicals supplier for 15 to 25 years. But Turkish mandates shortened the length of the contract period [between the countrys gas stations and their suppliers] to five years, Dolgov said, noting that that worsened the economics of the deal.

Turkeys reduction in the length of the contracts between the gasoline stations and petrochemicals suppliers such as Lukoil could be a reason why the company is seeking arbitration, according to Grigory Birg, analyst at the Moscow analytical agency Investcafe. In light of the legislation change, the company believes it overpaid for [Akpet]. He noted that Lukoil might have already negotiated supply contracts that exceeded the five-year limit established in the regulations.

Kluber Plans U.S. Growth

Freudenberg North America anticipates hiring more employees and investing in capital expenditures over the next two years in New Hampshire, including its Kluber Lubrication facility in Londonderry. Freudenberg operates three companies – Kluber Lubrication, Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies and Trelleborg Vibracoustic, a joint venture with Trelleborg – and has seven industrial facilities and 1,300 employees in the state. Kluber Lubrication is part of Freudenberg Chemical Specialties.

All of our businesses in New Hampshire are expecting to grow, Freudenberg North America Ltd. Partnership President Leesa Smith said. We are looking to hire about 100 people over the next two to three years to support growth of our business. Weve been in dialogue with the state of New Hampshire, to find ways to partner with institutions to develop some technical training programs to focus on key skillsets we need for our businesses.

Kluber Lubrication currently employs about 50 people at its Londonderry, N.H., location, with 20 more workers who are considered boots on the street. The company is seeking to hire application and service engineers, focusing particularly on tribological solutions.

Over 25 percent of Freudenbergs North American workforce and sales are located and generated in New Hampshire, Smith said. But we are also keenly aware that competition for corporate investment is fierce and global, and we need strong public-private partnerships to overcome perceived challenges such as talent shortages and limited subsidies for industrial operations.

Fuchs Invests 4M in Australia

Fuchs Petrolub plans a 4.2 million expansion in Australia at its Sunshine facility and a major redevelopment of its Newcastle site. Both Newcastle, in New South Wales, and Sunshine, in a Melbourne suburb, are lubricants blending and filling plants. Part of a global investment program by Mannheim, Germany-based Fuchs Group, the expansion follows the launch last year of a regional lubricant laboratory and technical center in Sunshine.

Australia accounted for 2.5 percent of all finished lubes consumed in the Asia-Pacific region in 2011, according to Kline and Co.s Global Lubricants: Market Analysis and Assessment Study. Kline estimated Australias total lubricants market at 395,000 tons in 2011. According to Klines study, the top Australian lube marketers in terms of market share are BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Fuchs and Valvoline.

Evonik Thinks Big in Asia-Pacific

Evonik Oil Additives plans to build a new plant in the Asia-Pacific region by 2015 that will nearly double its lubricant additives capacity there. The company opened its current Jurong Island, Singapore, manufacturing facility in 2008 to compete in the fast-growing Asian lubricants market.

Its not quite decided whether [the company] would add another plant outside of Singapore, or if it would be constructed there. Its open now as far as where its going to be located, Evonik Oil Additives spokesman Richard Williams said. The design is under way. We have people within the company already committed to the project who are working on it now.

Evonik ships lubricant additives products to customers throughout Asia, with the largest volumes going to China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Australia and India. The expansion will increase capacity across the companys entire portfolio of products currently produced for the Asian market. The company didnt disclose its capacity numbers.