Map Captures Snapshot of Global Base Oil Supply
ExxonMobil led the charge for growth, adding 7,000 b/d of API Group II capacity in Baytown, Texas, and another 6,000 in Jurong, Singapore. Including affiliates, it now controls more than 13 percent of global base oil capacity.
Since last years edition, other significant builds were completed in China, where the total grew by 10 percent to reach 153,000 b/d; in Korea, where partners Hyundai OilBank and Shell opened a 13,000 b/d Group II plant; and Spain, which added 12,900 b/d of Group II and III capacity at SK-Repsols joint venture plant.
Offsetting those gains, some Group I capacity was trimmed from this years Guide. Colas completely shut down its base oil plant in Dunkerque, France, and Total closed 50 percent of its Group I capacity in Gonfreville, France, and will upgrade the rest to higher-value stocks. Meanwhile, Shells Group I site in Pernis, Netherlands, remains on the watch list, and will begin phasing out production this fall and exit base oil entirely next year.
Published each June, the Guide is a colorful 32-by-22-inch poster, with a map that pinpoints the worlds population of base oil refineries and rerefineries larger than 800 b/d. It lists their owners and locations, and tabulates each ones capacity by paraffinic or naphthenic type; paraffinics are further broken down by API Group (I, II or III).
The Guide was produced in cooperation with Pathmaster Marketing Ltd. in Woking, U.K., with additional data gathered from individual companies and other industry experts. To order a copy of the updated 2015 Guide to Global Base Oil Refining, visit our website www.LubesnGreases.com.
– Howard Briskin
HBriskin@LubesnGreases.com