For us, collaboration with innovative startup companies around the world has two advantages. It gives us access to disruptive technologies from which we hope to gain important impetus for our business, Mohr said. On the other hand, we value entrepreneurialism and the pioneering spirit that prevails in young technology firms.

Besides the equity deal – conducted through Evoniks corporate venture arm, Evonik Venture Capital – the companies plan to work together as well. There are plans to collaborate intensively with Evoniks oil additives business unit in order to further develop the technologies and tap common markets, Mohr continued. Evonik and Biosynthetic Technologies are active on the market for high-performance lubricants with complementary products. Collaborating on a technical level and in relation to tapping new markets brings benefits for both companies.

Evonik will be very involved in sales, marketing, and further research and development, Biosynthetic Technologies Chairman and CEO Allen Barbieri told Lube Report. While his company primarily focuses on developing formulations for passenger car motor oils, Evonik will also bring expertise in a wide variety of industrial-type applications, and will be integral in helping develop and validate Biosynthetic Technologies move into the industrial space.

Evonik will assist in scaling up manufacturing as well, Barbieri added. Evonik is currently operating a demonstration manufacturing facility with specialty chemical company Albemarle, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Biosynthetic Technologies is looking to raise additional funding for building a full-scale production facility.

BP Ventures also invested in the biobased oils manufacturer twice in the past and in this round of funding, which is currently closing. Agriculture company Monsanto made a U.S. $7 million equity investment in the manufacturer in 2012. Biosynthetic Technologies will have additional funding rounds in the near future, and is currently talking with a few investors.

Biosynthetic Technologies makes biobased synthetic molecules from plant oils fatty acids, or estolides, which can be used as a renewable feedstock in lubricants manufacturing. Evonik Oil Additives is a global company that specializes in additives for lubricants based on polyalkyl methacrylates.

Nigerias Blenders Operating well below Capacity

In an effort to boost the output of indigenous blending plants, Nigeria announced plans to slow the importation of lubricant products into the country. In a speech at the first Nigeria Lubricant Summit in Lagos in August, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, said the government has developed a draft national policy for the lubricant industry in the country. Details about implementing the policy are being worked out in consultation with other government ministries and agencies.

The minister said, Success of the national lubricant policy depends largely on the effective participation of stakeholders. He added that the government wants to exploit bituminous tar sand as an alternative source of base oil in Nigeria to stem the huge amount of foreign exchange losses associated with importing base oils for local lubricant production.

Another speaker, Jani Ibrahim, chairman of Lubcon, urged the government to protect the lubricant sector. He said that lube oil blending plants in Nigeria are currently operating at an average of 45 percent of total installed capacities, leading to job losses, lack of liquidity and appropriate monetization to meet shareholders expectations. He urged the government to protect manufacturers and to reduce import duty tariffs on raw materials such as base oils, additives and packaging materials.

Automedics Managing Director, Kunle Sonaike, noted that Nigeria has 32 registered blending plants with enough installed capacity to meet the nations lubricant demand and also to export products to earn foreign exchange. He estimated that 85 percent of lubricating oil demand is produced locally while the remaining 15 percent are imported specialty products.

Finnish Rerefinery Sold

Industrial Finance Finland STR Ltd. purchased the Hamina, Finland, rerefinery formerly owned by bankrupt Finnish rerefiner L&T Recoil Oy, and plans to start production during the fourth quarter of 2014, the bankruptcy estate announced in August. The purchase price will not be disclosed.

L&T Recoil Oy and its then joint venture partner EcoStream opened a 45 million (now U.S. $62.2 million) rerefinery in 2009. With 1,200 b/d (60,000 metric tons per year) of API Group II capacity, the plant was fed by used lubricants collected in the Nordic and Baltic countries and Finland.

L&T Recoil Oy and parent company EcoStream Ltd. filed for bankruptcy at the end of March, and the estate administrator then began seeking buyers for assets, including the rerefinery. Our plans are to produce rerefined API Group II base oil – 45,000 tons per year, Juha Kokko, managing director of Industrial Finance Finland STR Ltd., said in an interview.

Fake Lubes Flood Georgian Market

The Georgian market is glutted with fake automotive lubricants and spare auto parts, the South Caucasus countrys Union of Oil Product Importers reported. The fake lubes – mostly imported from Iran, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan – account for at least 30 percent of Georgias 12,000-ton annual lubricant consumption, and it is a continuing problem for the country. Canisters of different lube brands and different sizes are filled with oils and liquids of unknown origin and standards of quality, UOPI Chairman Vano Mtvralashvili said during a telephone interview.

The group contends oil smuggling in Georgia has persisted for years, and UOPI only had a chance to speak out about it now. Sold in 50- or 200-liter barrels as low-quality industrial oils, they legally pass all necessary border controls and duty procedures, Mtvralashvili said. Upon reaching the local market, he added, smugglers and illicit marketers wait for a day or two, then pour these products into canisters or drums labeled under popular brands such as Castrol, Shell, ExxonMobil, Aral or Total.

Georgias lubricant market depends on imports because no base oil or lubricant producer operates in the country. Mtvralashvili said the counterfeiting trade thrives because of the difficult economic and social conditions in Georgia. Smugglers, who obtain Iranian oils at costs as low as U.S. $1.50 per liter, can resell at very low prices and still make a profit. End users are ignorant or have low purchase standards, so the counterfeiters low sales price becomes the dominant factor in the transaction.

In the first half of 2014, Georgia imported 5,300 tons of automotive lubricants, or 18 percent more than the same time last year, according to the countrys statistical department. It consumed 2,500 tons of industrial oils in 2013.

The biggest share of Georgias finished lubes comes from Turkey. In the first half of 2014, Turkish imports reached 1,300 tons, a 24 percent share of the countrys finished lube imports. Turkey was followed by Iran, which exported 1,000 tons of lubes to Georgia during 2014s first half, a 20 percent share, and by Germany with 800 tons (16 percent).

Lanxess Launches Additives Unit, Names Distributor

Lanxess new Rhein Chemie Additives business unit will launch effective January 1, combining its Rhein Chemie and functional chemicals business units with the specialty chemicals products line of Lanxess rubber chemicals business unit. Anno Borkowsky, president and CEO of Rhein Chemie since June 2002, will head the new business unit.

A letter to Rhein Chemies customers and business partners said the new Rhein Chemie Additives unit will operate under the Rhein Chemie brand and will comprise four additives business lines: lubricant, rubber, colorant and plastic. The company stated that the future business will offer a broader additives portfolio and feature extensive international distribution and technical service networks. It will have 18 sites in 10 countries, with laboratories and technical service centers in every region.

The company also announced that its High Performance Elastomers unit has transferred its distribution business in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to Krahn Chemie Polska. The core products of this division are rubber products CR, EVM, NBR and HNBR used in automobile manufacturing, mechanical engineering, the construction industry, gas/oil exploration and production, and the electrical and cable industries.

Intertek Expands into U.A.E.

Intertek is expanding its global network of AeroCheck laboratories into the United Arab Emirates. The service, provided by Interteks Sharjah, U.A.E., laboratory, supports the increasing demands of the aviation industry for quality testing and complex investigative analysis.

AeroCheck provides a suite of oil, fuel, hydraulic fluid and filter/debris analysis services that helps operators identify potential component failures before they occur, and helps reduce unscheduled maintenance. Prior to this lab opening, complex quality testing and investigative analysis for regional airlines, aviation operators and maintenance organizations was shipped to the U.K., with a test and response time of 12 to16 hours. The company said that AeroCheck in the U.A.E. reduces the process to two hours, with 24-hour support, a dedicated on-call hotline and a full aircraft-on-ground service.