Moreover, 5W-XX and 0W-XX combined accounted for about 40 percent of the finished lubricant market in 2014, according to the latest Global Lubricants: Market Analysis and Assessment report. The continuing global migration to lower viscosity grade PCMO will result in higher penetration of synthetics and semisynthetics, higher revenues, and, conversely, longer oil drain intervals and suppressed overall PCMO growth, the report noted.

In the past, 0Ws were found only in high performance sports cars and ultra-luxury vehicles. Today, a base model Toyota Corolla leaves the factory with 0W-20 in its crankcase. Additionally, the GF-6 product specification upgrade planned for the 2017-2018 timeframe will create technical demand for these lower viscosity grade products.

George Morvey, Industry Manager for Klines Energy Practice, commented, As government and OEM recommendations become universal, the shift toward 0Ws and low viscosity grade products will persist. Furthermore, as engine and bolt-on hardware technologies such as turbochargers and gasoline direct injection evolve to reduce emissions and improve fuel economy, the shift will also play a role in driving demand for synthetic lubricants. Moreover, as new vehicles enter the vehicle parc, demand for synthetics will also rise.

Morvey added, The development of the synthetic market comes from different fronts. In the automotive industry, for example, OEMs had different specifications for different countries. Now, OEMs are converging to global platforms with global specifications. What we now see is that the type of oil you put in the car that is built in the United States will be the same type of oil, regardless of where you purchased the vehicle. The coming ubiquitous presence of synthetics allows for brands and marketers to focus on maintaining a simple synthetic product portfolio that can be used across global markets.

ExMo to Produce Group II at Rotterdam

ExxonMobil revealed plans in February to produce API Group II base stocks at its Rotterdam, Netherlands, refinery starting in 2018. Esso Nederland BV, an ExxonMobil affiliate, has filed an environmental impact assessment with the regional environmental protection agency for the project. Construction at the Rotterdam refinery – subject to obtaining regulatory approvals and final funding authorization – is scheduled to begin in 2016.

The European [base oil] production would support global network and evolving customer quality requirements, an ExxonMobil spokesperson told LubesnGreases. The company doesnt disclose base oil production capacity figures, the spokesperson said.

If approved, the planned production of Group II base stocks at the Rotterdam refinery will meet our customers needs for a reliable supply of high quality base stocks, George Arndt, general manager of global base stock and specialties for ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants, said in a news release. The addition of EHC base stocks in Europe will help our customers as they seek new growth opportunities throughout the European market and around the world. EHC is the brand name for ExxonMobils Group II base stocks.

Stephen Ames of SBA Consulting, Pepper Pike, Ohio, United States, told LubesnGreases, the Rotterdam project was not an unexpected move as Europe is conspicuous by its absence in an ExxonMobil global Group II base oil offer. Without reducing severity, the Rotterdam hydrocracker likely has about 15 to 20 percent (8,000 to 10,500 b/d) of unconverted oil (UCO) potentially available as base oil feedstock, according to Ames, but it would probably be Group III quality. However, by reducing severity to mild (lube) hydrocracking levels, as much as 21,000 to 26,000 b/d of UCO is possible and of a Group II quality, he added.

Hydrodec Moves toward U.K. Rerefining

Hydrodec Group recently selected a site in Eastham, U.K., and began front-end engineering and design for its 75 million liter per year API Group II/II+ rerefinery, which will become its European headquarters upon completion in 2016. The new site is adjacent to the QE2 Dock at Eastham, which Hydrodec selected for its proximity to sea terminals and truck-accessible motorway. The site is also close to the home of Nustar, which has been a Hydrodec customer and shared storage facilities with it for many years.

In its first phase, the London-based transformer oil rerefiner will license Chemical Engineering Partners wiped-film evaporation and hydrogenation technology to produce Group II/II+ quality base oils. In a subsequent phase of development, Hydrodec will install an additional 75 million liter per year production unit to double its capacity, and add a separate plant with capacity to produce 15 million L/y of rerefined transformer oil.

Eventually, Hydrodec plans to produce Group III rerefined base oil at the Eastham location, using its proprietary technology, which it says will also help enhance base oil yields. The Eastham rerefinery takes the place of Hydrodec’s previously announced joint venture with Essar Oil U.K. for a Group II+/Group III rerefinery in Stanlow, U.K.

Gazprom Lubes Go to Israel

Russian lube marketer Gazpromneft-Lubricants and Israel-based Negev Distribution Lubricants have signed a procurement deal that envisions delivering around 2,000 tons of finished lubricants and technical fluids to Negev Distribution during 2015. The assortment includes an array of our products under G-Energy and Gazpromneft brands, the Russian oil major said in a news release. It includes motor and transmission oils for different types of gasoline and diesel engines for passenger cars, microbuses and light commercial vehicles, as well as oils for heavy-duty vehicles and for highway and off-highway machinery.

The start of sales in Israel is a step further in solidifying our position in the international markets, said Alexandr Trukhan, Gazpromneft-Lubricants general director. Negev Distribution Lubricants Ltd. is a subsidiary of Israeli energy company Binol Group. It works in business-to-business and business-to-consumer segments, and its main line of operation is supply of lubricating materials and car maintenance products to the territories of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

After Lukoil and Rosneft, Gazpromneft is the third largest lube marketer in Russia.

Eni Targets Peru

Italian oil major Eni has appointed Colombia-based Partequipos to distribute its lubricants in Peru and Columbia. Eni officials did not respond to requests for comment, but a Partequipos executive said the company won the contract because of its ties to Perus heavy machinery market.

This project is based on the knowledge of the local market and positioning it in the field of heavy machinery, with a base of over 2,900 active clients and then extending it to other economic sectors, executive Santiago Jaramillo Arango told LubesnGreases.

The lubricants that Partequipos distributes will be imported from manufacturing plants in Italy, Spain and the United States. Partequipos will also provide technical support.

Arango said Eni will supply lubricants for automobiles, motorcycles and mining, farm and construction equipment. The Italian company hopes to capture 5 or 6 percent of Perus total lubricant market within four or five years, he added.

SAE Adds Light Engine Oil Categories

SAE International has published the latest update of SAE J300, the Engine Oil Viscosity Grade Classification System. Revised and reissued in January, the global standard now includes two additional viscosity grades: SAE 8 and SAE 12.

Lubrizols Mike Covitch, chairman of the SAE Engine Oil Viscosity Classification Task Force, indicated to LubesnGreases that the task force acted on the request of Japanese automaker Honda to define the two new grades, both of which are even lighter in weight than SAE 16, which was added to the standard two years ago.

For years, Honda has successfully lubricated a number of ultra-fuel-efficient passenger car models in Japan with a Honda-approved engine oil that sports SAE 8 characteristics. That history led the company to push for the new grades to be added to SAE J300, opening the door for wider use around the globe.

Covitch doesnt believe that Honda’s genuine oil was labeled with an SAE viscosity grade in Japan, however, because the grade was not yet defined by SAE J300. With the reissue of J300, it is now free to do so, Covitch observed. You might expect to see such products in the Japanese marketplace in the near future. And with the creation of official SAE viscosity grades, you could begin to see SAE 8 and perhaps SAE 12 oils appearing outside Japan, should Honda or any other OEM begin exporting or building vehicles that specify them in other countries.

Bob Proctor, manager and principal engineer with Honda R&D in Raymond, Ohio, United States, said that Honda has plans for further application and growth for SAE 8 in Japan, as well as initial applications starting in China and even Europe. At this time, we have no immediate plans for application of an SAE 8 or SAE 12 grade in the North American market, although we are considering the future carefully for these grades.

SAE 8 is defined as having minimum kinematic viscosity at 100 degrees C of 4.0 centiStokes, and a KV100 maximum of less than 6.1 cSt. Its high-temperature/high-shear-rate viscosity at 150 C is 1.7 mPa-s (minimum).

SAE 12s KV100 limits are 5.0 cSt (minimum) and less than 7.1 cSt (maximum); the grades HTHS viscosity minimum is 2.0 mPa-s.

SAE points out that the KV100 ranges of the new viscosity grades overlap to provide adequate formulating space for the grades. It urges formulators to review Section 6 of the updated document for guidance on how to assign a single high-temperature viscosity grade to an engine oil with KV100 in the overlap regions. Copies of SAE J300 JAN2015 can be purchased from SAE at http://standards.sae.org.

Tianhe Launches India R&D Center

Tianhe Chemicals was scheduled to open a 20,000 square meter research and development center outside Bengaluru, India, in March. The company claims it will be the largest lubricant additive laboratory in Asia and the technology cog for its strategy to become a major global supplier of additive packages.

Headquartered in Jinzhou, China, Tianhe currently operates a much smaller R&D center in Bengaluru. G.S. Ravi, CEO of Tianhes lubricant additives division, said the companys lab in Jinzhou will continue to develop lubricant additive components. The new one will focus on additive packages – the line of business where Tianhe needs to expand if it wants to compete with the industrys main additive suppliers.

In addition to researching and developing lubricant formulations, Ravi said the new center will invite customers to participate to a greater extent than other labs do, allowing them to take part in the search for solutions. He added that the center will engage in four main activities: synthesis of molecules for lubricant additives; performance testing for product development on equipment ranging from engine test stands to table-top machines; analysis for product development and customer support; and customer support.

Ravi also disclosed that Tianhe plans to establish a blending facility in Malaysia by the end of 2015 and some a manufacturing operation – possibly a toll blending arrangement – in Houston by mid-2016.