This production site enables Rowe to offer the full range of his Hightec Greaseguard greases, the company stated in a news release. Rowe lubricant expert, Mario Meinert, said, The plant is a state-of-the-art prototype for manufacturing innovative greases and pastes. We are able to produce all lubricants to the customers precise specifications.

In preparation for the plants opening, Rowes laboratory and pilot plant facilities have been manufacturing both established and novel grease formulations since August 2014. It means that the quality will be maintained when transferring the operation from the sample run to large-scale production, Meinert said.

One of the labs major pieces of equipment is a rotational viscometer that the company says can provide precise yield point measurements of grease as well as allowing tribological tests to determine friction coefficient for a variety of different materials and at different temperatures. Meinert said the device is capable of simulating temperatures from minus 45 to +200 degrees C. It also can replicate complicated and long-term tests.

Takreer Nears Start Up

Takreers first base oil plant has taken longer than intended to build, and it has also grown in size. The refining arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. plans to open its base oil plant in Ruwais, United Arab Emirates, by September, an official told the ICIS Middle East Base Oils & Lubricants Conference in April. Adnocs Ahmed Saleh Al Hamed also said that the designed capacity for the facility is now 620,000 metric tons per year – 25 percent higher than when the project was first announced.

The plant will be the first base oil plant in the U.A.E., and Al Hamed said it will have capacity to make 500,000 t/y of API Group III stocks and 120,000 t/y of Group II. Around 50,000 t/y is earmarked for Adnoc Distribution, a marketer and distributor of petroleum products primarily in the U.A.E.

Conflict Impacts Ukraines
Lube Demand

Ukraines lubricant consumption nose-dived up to 30 percent since the conflict in the eastern part of the country began in 2014, sources knowledgeable about the market said. Ukraine is normally among the top 10 lubricant consumers in Europe, and estimates about the size of its lubricants market vary widely. Before the outbreak of hostilities, the country consumed 350,000 to 400,000 metric tons annually.

According to estimates by the main market players, Ukrainian lubricant demand had shrunk by as much as 120,000 tons, an industry insider said in an interview. It may be explained by general economic recession in the country, which seriously affected lube consumption in the industrial and automotive sectors, he commented, on condition of anonymity.

Ukraines lubricant consumption has been impacted by the extremely poor economic situation in the country. In the past year, the national currency lost more than two-thirds of its value against the United States dollar. In 2014, Ukraines gross domestic product shrank 7 percent, and inflation spiked to 25 percent. Many economists expect inflation to remain in double digits this year.

All commentators agreed that business is difficult because of safety concerns, disruptions to supply chains and difficulty in reaching customers. Another challenge is corruption, which has long been cited as a problem in Ukraine.

Enoc to Become Largest Emirates Producer

Emirates National Oil Co. has increased its lubricants and grease blending capacity to 300,000 metric tons per year with the opening of a second facility in Jebel Ali, Dubai, last month. Enoc, the United Arab Emirates state-owned oil company based in Dubai, announced that it commissioned its new 5,000-square meter facility in the Jebel Ali Free Zone on June 1.

With maximum production capacity of 50,000 t/y on a three-shift basis, the plant adds supplemental production and sales support to Enocs existing 250,000-t/y Fujairah Port facility in the Fujairah emirate. The Fujairah plant is one of the largest single blending facilities in both the Middle East and Africa, according to Enocs director of lubricants marketing, Mohammed El Sadek.

The new facility adds automated blending and metering systems, allowing for increased flexibility in production volume and product types, El Sadek said. The expansion will further enhance [Enocs] tankage for storing raw materials and finished products, and is aligned with Enocs strategy to expand operations to meet growing customer demand in local and export markets.

Enoc invested U.S. $100 million on both plants, and the two locations make Enoc the largest producer of lubricants and grease in the U.A.E., accounting for 20 percent of overall production capacity in the country.

Fuchs Acquires Pentosin

Fuchs Petrolub SE has acquired Deutsche Pentosin-Werke GmbH, a privately owned blender with extensive ties to the auto industry. Pentosin, which is based in Wedel, Germany, has sales volumes of 135 million (U.S. $151 million). It manufactures a variety of lubricants used in automobiles – some in small volumes – and claims that at least one Pentosin product is found in most modern vehicles.

With this acquisition, the Fuchs Petrolub Group expands its portfolio in the field of automotive lubricants and can offer its customers all over the world an even more comprehensive range of products from a single source, Fuchs said in a news release. Pentosin supplies automotive engine oils as well as brake fluids, hydraulic fluid, gear oils and transmission fluid.

Gazprom Sales Soar

Russian oil major Gazpromneft-Lubricants increased its national sales of motor oils by 24 percent in the first quarter, compared to the year-earlier period. In the first quarter of 2014, the companys total volume of motor oils sold in Russia amounted to 73,000 tons.

Asked if the increase is related to Russias drive to localize its sales, the so-called import substitution policy, Oleg Tsvetkov, head of the oil and lubricants department at All Russia Research Institute for Oil Refining, said that would be an optimistic scenario. I dont believe it is the reason for the increased sales [in the first quarter].

Our companys strategy is to capture a strong position in the Russian lubricant market as well as to develop new production technologies, said Alexander Trukhan, Gazpromneft-Lubricants general director. Without going into detail, Trukhan said the company is trying new blending technologies and new marketing approaches in an attempt to gain competitive advantages.

Lanxess Toll Blends PIB for BASF

BASF purchased Lanxess intellectual property for a new manufacturing process for high molecular weight PIB, which is used in lubricants. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Lanxess will manufacture a new high molecular weight PIB exclusively for BASF in existing production facilities under a long term toll blending agreement. BASF will market the products under the product name Oppanol N, according to a joint announcement made in mid-May.

HM PIB is used in a broad range of applications and industries, including as a viscosity modifier in lubricants, Alexander Heusener, BASF SE communications spokesman for fuel and lubricant solutions, said in an interview.

The transaction is related only to HM PIB. BASFs other PIB offerings, including medium molecular weight PIB and highly reactive PIB, will not be affected.

Singapore Now Evoniks
Biggest Plant

Evonik Industries AG has completed an expansion that nearly doubled capacity at its oil additives factory in Singapore. The Jurong Island facility is now the German companys largest additive plant.

The new six-story building is located next to Evoniks existing plant, on its five-acre site. The company did not disclose the cost of the two-year project, nor the plants total capacity. It did note, however, that the expansion makes the Singapore facility the most modern of its five oil additives plants in the world, and the largest – accounting for 40 percent of its global capacity.

The company said it plans to expand more in the Asia-Pacific region. Asia is one of the most important growth regions, and there is huge growth potential for oil additives in Asia, said Evonik Industries CEO Patrick Wohlhauser.

This expansion will not be the last one in Asia, said Ralf Dussel, head of business line oil additives. For the mid-term, five-year plan, we are thinking of [building] another facility in Asia.

Belarus Rerefinery Opens

A Belarus-Cyprus entity will open a base oil rerefinery in Belarus, a U.S. $20 million investment. The plant is a public-private partnership between Belaruss Ministry for Natural Resources, MDD-Bel and DVCH Management. It was established in 2012, and its goal is to establish a nationwide network for collecting and processing used oils and other chemical waste.

The rerefinery is located on a 14-hectare plot in the Krupki district, around 120 kilometers east of Minsk. It includes a rerefinery with capacity to process 15,000 metric tons per year of used oil and a 10,800-ton tank farm connected with truck and railroad loading docks, according to MDD-Bel.

In the first phase, the rerefinery can handle 15,000 tons of waste oil annually and can produce around 13,500 t/y of lower quality API Group I base oil and vacuum gasoil products, Dima Cherikover, managing partner of DVCH, said in an interview. We are planning an expansion to 40,000 t/y processing capacity, but at this moment we have frozen this effort because the base oil prices have dropped significantly.

The rerefinery is being built in three stages, two of which are already finished. The DVCH-licensed technology includes used oil distillation, adsorption cleaning and a final hydrogenation process. The third stage envisages production of Group II base oils, Cherikover confirmed. The purpose of this plant is to recycle used mineral and synthetic oils, he said, adding that the company is ready to invest additional funds for processing used chemicals, vegetable and animal oils, along with other kinds of waste that contain hydrocarbons such as plastics and rubber.

Houghton Announces Changes

Houghton International Inc. announced changes to its organizational leadership for the management and alignment of its global businesses. Mike Shannon, executive vice president of global operations and president of Houghton Asia Pacific, has been appointed to the additional and newly created role of chief operating officer, responsible for all commercial and operational activities.

Steve Taylor, senior vice president of Houghton International and president of Houghton Europe, Middle East and Africa, has been appointed to the additional and newly created position of president, Global Metalworking Fluids.

Jeewat Bijlani, senior vice president of global marketing, business development and strategic planning, has been appointed to the additional role of president of Houghton Americas and the newly created position of president, Global Strategic Businesses, responsible for global oversight of Houghtons steel, nonferrous, metal finishing, offshore, and beverage containers business.