Rhein Chemies lubricants division recently invested 750,000 in new equipment to test hydraulic fluids at its technology center in Mannheim, Germany. The company will use the new test equipment to develop hydraulic additive packages and to conduct tests on behalf of the companys lubricants customers.

The testing system uses a T6H hybrid pump from Parker Denison to measure the performance of an additive package in combination with a base oil. The Denison spec is one of the toughest in the hydraulic sector, Vice President of Corporate Communications Martina Bitterlich told Lube Report. It is globally recognized and has a well-established pump test.

Rosneft Revamps Blending Plant

Rosneft increased capacity at its Novokuibyshev lubricants blending plant to 340,000 metric tons per year, making it one of the largest in Europe, industry sources confirmed. Blending technology used in the expansion and upgrade was developed by I.S.T Molchtechnik, a German engineering and design company. We installed our technology in Novokuibyshev in two phases, said Eduard Graf, I.S.T. Molchtechniks sales director in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The first phase was ready in 2008; the second phase was done last year. At this moment the plants total capacity is 340,000 t/y.

After a 50,000-t/y expansion in 2008, the plant reached total capacity of 100,000 t/y. Half of this upgrade was a low- and medium-tonnage automatic lubricant production [system], while the other half [used] an old method of large-tonnage lubricant blending and filling production, Graf said. The plant completed a subsequent expansion in September 2012.

The Novokuibyshev refinery also features a 200,000 t/y API Group I base oil plant, which is slated for a 400,000-t/y upgrade and expansion by 2015. That project would give the plant capacity to make Group II and III base stocks. Rosneft also operates a 300,000-t/y Group I plant in Angarsk, in Russia’s Far East, and Nefteprodukt, a specialty lubricant plant in Moscow.

In 2012 the Novokuibyshev refinery produced 386,000 tons of base oils and finished products, or almost 90 percent of Rosneft’s total lubricants production, the company said. The plant sells its products in 49 Russian cities and regions, while 29 percent of its production is exported to Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Mag Builds Plant in U.A.E.

Mag Lubricants new 60,000-t/y blending plant in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates, is fully operational following a U.S. $50 million (38 million) investment from Abu Dhabi-based parent company Mag Group. The 30,000-square-meter facility in Jebel Ali’s greater industrial zone was an 18-month-long project that has been in the companys expansion plans for some time, Chief Executive Officer Mahmoud Al-Theraawi noted in a press release. The new facility is strategically placed near the trading ports, allowing us to continue to service our clients in the Middle East as well as North and South Africa, the company said.

The company services marine and automotive sectors with synthetic and semi-synthetic oils, as well as monograde and multigrade oils and automotive gear oil. In addition, the company produces industrial gear oil, hydraulic oil and lithium and calcium complex greases.

The U.A.E. site includes storage and manufacturing buildings and features automatic batch blending technology developed by Frances Leroux & Lotz. Mag Lubricants now has better levels of quality control and can respond far quicker to demand, Al-Theraawi said.

New Cars, Better Oils for Russia

Spurred by an influx of foreign cars, Russia’s demand for high-quality lubes has steadily increased since 2005, while stringent emission-reduction standards have resulted in the development of a new generation of lube additives. Russia had 44 million vehicles in 2012, including nearly 37 million passenger cars, according to Moscow-based consultancy Autostat. Over 70 percent of the fleet is concentrated in the European part of the country, said Andrey Toptun, head of Autostats analytics department.

The number of Russian vehicles has grown significantly, and demand for high-quality lubricants is increasing, according to Alexander Medzhibovsky, owner of Qualitet, a Moscow-based additive manufacturer. In 2001 there were little more than 20 million cars in the country. Over the years, the share of foreign-branded cars increased significantly, he said.

Autostat found that one-half of the countrys vehicles in 2012 were foreign-branded cars. The other half were Russian-made cars, 37 percent of which were Lada models. Around 25 percent of the countrys vehicles are Russian or Soviet-made cars built more than 15 years ago. These cars are using Gost [the countrys obsolete standard] or older [API] SF and SG specifications, while the newer cars use the latest SAE and API oil specifications, Medzhibovsky said, adding that a great portion of these high-quality oils are imported because Russian consumers still find it hard to trust domestic lubricants producers.

Of Russias total passenger car oils, about 35 percent meet API SF and SG specifications, and about 45 percent are SL specification motor oils, according to Qualitet. SJ and SM motor oil specifications follow, with both holding around 10 percent each.

Russias heavy-duty fleet has seen much slower growth compared to passenger cars. In the last eight years, the number of heavy-duty vehicles grew about 15 percent, from 4.8 million to 5.7 million units, according to Autostat. The share of foreign trucks in the heavy-duty fleet is 27 percent. Forty-seven percent of the total heavy-duty fleet in Russia is over 13 years old, while around 52 percent is five years and older. Over 80 percent of the Russian truck fleet is produced by the three domestic leaders Gaz, Kamaz and Zil, Medzhibovsky said.

Russias heavy-duty segment consumes mainly G2 and D2 Gost specification motor oil. Russian truck OEMs recommend use of SAE and API international classification oils. For example, Kamaz recommends API CI-4 grade, Medzhibovsky said.

The prominent trend in automotive lubricants in Russia is the new, tougher emission-reduction legislation. Euro 3 was introduced in the country in January 2013. The tougher Euro 4 standard is expected to be introduced in January 2014, and Euro 5 will be introduced by January 2016.

The more stringent emission-reduction requirements led to development of new additive packages that reduce sulfur, phosphorous and sulfate ash content, and to the development of new ash-free additives, according to Qualitet. The additive maker also found that the new generation of additive packages must address increased thermal stability properties, with additives that can improve an oils oxidative stability.

Tide Water Plans German Invasion

Kolkata-based Tide Water Oil Co. plans to take its newly acquired Veedol brand of lubricants to Germany this year. The Andrew Yule-owned company had already set up Veedol International DMCC in Dubai to cater to the high-value West Asian market.

Veedol has a historic brand loyalty in Germany. We are planning to roll out our marketing operations either through an equity joint venture or franchise model to cater to the German market, stated group chairman and managing director of Andrew Yule, Kilo Datta. Andrew Yule owns 26 percent of Tide Water; the rest is publicly held.

Metall-Chemie Restructures R&D

On 1 July, Metall-Chemie Technologies began conducting chemical research and development to support Metall-Chemie Groups manufacturing companies, including a lubricant additives manufacturer. Helmut Kipphardt, who has worked for the group for more than 20 years, will head Metall-Chemie Technologies.

Based in Hamburg, Germany, Metall-Chemie GmbH & Co. KGs product range includes lubricant additives for oil- and water-based applications as well as numerous chemicals for special applications. Metall-Chemie Group is a family holding company with more than 250 employees and annual sales of 205 million. Its other manufacturing companies include Dekor-Kunststoffe (impregnation/digital printing) and Martens Transport-bander (conveyor belts for the food industry).