The move comes against a backdrop of changing Emission Control Area regulations and the development of marine engines with several operating modes, capable of burning two types of fuel. The lubes required to keep these engines running are more complex than ever before, and the new facilities will enable Total Lubmarine researchers to develop a new range of lubricants suitable for the challenges of the next 10 years, the company said in a news release.

Inaugurating the new facilities, Norbert Schieren, general manager of Total Lubmarine said, We are re-imagining the lubes of today and developing lubes suitable for the stresses and strains of the marine environment: whatever the fuel and whatever the engine. We strongly believe that innovative, research-based chemistry is the key to creating adaptable lubricants.

The new facilities include engine testing and tribology equipment, along with analytical resources. All test beds have been extensively rebuilt and modernized.

Axel Opens New Grease Plant

Axel France SASs new industrial and food-grade grease plant in Niort, France, will have a capacity of 8,000 metric tons per year after a pressurized cooker is delivered to the facility. This will enable Axel France to grow further domestically and extend the export opportunities, the company stated in a March 23 news release. Specialties produced at the location include biodegradable railroad greases and a full range of food-grade lubricants for the whole Axel Group.

In July 2006, Axel acquired Shells Christol Grease SAS, located at another site in Niort. The company said the old plant had limited capacity and that over time its technology became outdated and did not meet modern technical and safety requirements. The company acquired the new site in early 2014 and completed the relocation process earlier this year.

When setting the frames for the project, modern standards, the latest technology and also environmental measures were very important parameters, Axel France stated. The launch of the plant also serves the interests of bolstering regional production, and because of one of our specialties – food-grade (H1) products – it will also be a benefit for the Axel Group.

H&R Turns Residues into Specialties

H&R Group said it patented a process to convert low-value oil refinery by-products into high-quality process oils and other specialties on an industrial scale. A pilot plant at one of the companys German base oil plants is using the process to turn residues such as bitumen into products such as naphthenic process oils and white oils.

Never before has large-scale production been able to successfully produce an oil with a naphthenic base character from a residue of paraffin base origin, H&R Managing Director Nils Hansen claimed in a news release. The advantage in this process is that both paraffinic and naphthenic process oils, as well as specialty products, can be manufactured from a paraffinic raw material.

The pilot system is at H&Rs plant in Salzbergen, Germany. The company plans to invest in the middle single-digit million euros at the site in the 2015 fiscal year to enable initial annual production of at least 5,000 metric tons of the specialty products.

The objective of patenting the process globally is to make it useful for other Group I refineries around the world, so that we can work together as partners to make a sustainable contribution to reducing environmentally harmful by-products, Hansen said.

Oronite Enters China

Chevron Oronite announced in March that it will build an additive manufacturing plant in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, by 2019, in a move to strengthen its foothold in Asia. In a deal with the Ningbo Economic & Technical Development Zone, Chevron Corp.s fuels and lubricants additives arm will invest an undisclosed amount to develop the facility.

Oronite expects to stream initial capacity in 2019 and to continue developing in phases based on market demand thereafter. The company will adjust its construction schedule according to the needs of local and global demand, Chevron Oronites Vice President of Sales and Marketing Jirong Xiao said in an interview. If demand grows more rapidly than expected, Oronite will finish the plant sooner.

While our Singapore plant is the largest additives manufacturing facility in the region, we also anticipate that additive demand will continue to grow in China and that new capacity will eventually be required, said Oronite President Desmond King. Adding a new supply point in China by the end of this decade will provide [us with] even greater flexibility….

The targeted site is near the Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan, which is widely considered the worlds largest in terms of annual cargo volume. The location provides Oronite with advantages both in terms of distributing our products throughout China, as well as connecting to our other manufacturing facilities around the world due to its location near a major port, King said, adding that the site is part of Chevrons long-term plan to establish a manufacturing presence in China.

Gazprom to Blend in China, Seeks Libya Deal

Gazpromneft-Lubricants is pushing to enter the Chinese and Libyan markets. For China, it plans to open local production by 2019; in Libya, it is trying to land a large supply deal.

Until now in China, we supplied base oils only, but not anymore, Alexander Trukhan, Gazpromneft-Lubricants general director, said in an interview. We have signed deals with two local distributors from Hong Kong and Shanghai, and in the coming months we plan to ship finished products there. Both companies pledge to buy around 5,000 tons annually.

Gazprom expects its sales in China to increase significantly in the next few years. Trukhan said China imports huge volumes of base oils and finished lubricants. Our sight is on a few important regions. Soon, we will open our representative office in China to manage our plans for establishing local blending of our products at the latest by 2019, he said, adding that it will most likely be in the form of an acquisition of a local production facility that produces prominent Chinese brands.

In Libya, the company is attempting to win a 21,000-ton annual lubricant supply deal, saying that the risks for such a deal are minimal because the contract will be possible only with a 100 percent prepayment option.

In other company news, Trukhan confirmed that modernization work on base oil production in Gazprom Nefts refineries in Yaroslavl and Omsk is underway. The 100,000 t/y API Group III base oil plant in Yaroslavl (a 50-50 joint venture with Rosneft) is scheduled to stream in 2016. The 230,000 t/y Group II and III base oil plant in Omsk will be ready to stream a few years later.

Half of the production in Omsk is meant for the domestic market as Russia imports around 100,000 t/y of Group III base oils, and we want to substitute these volumes. The other half is meant for export to Central Asia and East Europe where such production is almost nonexistent, Trukhan said.

Elco Keen on Grease

Emirates Lube Oil Co. (Elco) confirmed that it commenced operations at a new grease plant located in Umm al-Quwain in October 2014. The company also created a joint venture with Gurgaon, India-based Siddharth Greases and Lubes Pvt., National Lube Oil FZ, which markets greases under Elcos flagship National Lube brand.

Elco claims the plant is one of the most sophisticated in the Middle East, and according to Elco Marketing Manager Ali Farah, the plant is versatile enough to produce a wide range of greases. Farah said the plant can produce 12,000 metric tons of grease per year, on par with regional competitors like Total Marketing Middle East, which has the same capacity to make grease at its U.A.E. lube blending plant.

Farah indicated the joint venture gives Siddharth Petro rights to market at least some of the plants output. With regard to the Siddharth JV, it is a pure business venture and has nothing to do with the ownership of the plant, he said.

The plant can handle a variety of raw materials and is equipped with a Stratco contactor reactor and a Charlotte colloid mill that can process greases made of lithium, sodium and calcium soap base thickeners, as well as non-soap greases. Officials said it can produce food-grade grease.

Farah said National Lube FZ will market greases from the plant on three continents, but that the facility is also available for toll blending. The main customers are our markets in Africa, Asia and Australia, and major lubricants producers who are looking for a reliable grease blender, as we have excess capacity, he said.

Rosneft Teams with Defense Contractor

Russian oil major Rosneft and Uralvagonzavod have begun cooperating to meet the defense contractors lubricant needs in the face of embargoes by foreign governments. Under the deal, both companies pledged to form an alliance for development, production and application of high-quality lubricating and other energy products in the manufacturing processes of UVZ.

Nizhny Tagil-based UVZ is a key Russian defense supplier, manufacturing an array of battle tanks and armored vehicles as well as railway vehicles. In February, Rosneft and UVZ specialists prepared a strategy to supply high-quality lubricants and other petrochemicals. According to a February 9 news release, they also discussed the possibility of improving domestic products so that they might replace products now being imported.

Both Rosneft and UVZ are targets of sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and other western nations for Russias military actions in Ukraine. Both companies [developed an] action plan that includes exchange of information and close collaboration between their technical specialists that will determine and classify the needed products used by the UVZs subdivisions.