Petrobras will build a base oil plant with 6,800 barrels per day API Group II capacity, to stream in 2016 at its new Comperj refinery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company has about 12,800 b/d of API Group I capacity at two other plants, plus 1,290 b/d of naphthenics capacity at a third plant, but currently has to import Group II base oil because Brazil has no domestic Group II production.

The Comperj refinery is under construction and is expected to come on stream in 2013, but Petrobras did not indicate a start date for construction on the base oil plant. Output of the new Group II plant would be available for all of the companys clients, Petrobras confirmed to Lube Report.

More Esters for Croda

Croda Inc. has opened a facility to make esters for lubricants at its Atlas Point manufacturing site in New Castle, Del., hiking its U.S. capacity for all esters by 15 percent. The sites synthetic esters are used in high-performance automotive and industrial lubricants, it said. Some examples would be synthetic motor oils and transmission fluids on the automotive side, as well as fire-resistant hydraulic fluids and metalworking fluids in the industrial area, said Chris Donaghy, sales director for Croda Lubricants and Polymer Additives. The Atlas Point site also can supply food-grade esters for lubricant base fluids and additives, and lubricity additives for stamping and drawing lubricants.

Based in Edison, N.J., Croda Inc. is the North American headquarters for Croda of East Yorkshire, U.K.

Has Neste-Bapco Launched?

The commissioning phase is under way at the new Neste-Bapco base oil plant in Bahrain, a joint venture between Finnish refiner and marketer Neste Oil Corp. and Bahrain Petroleum Co., sources told LubesnGreases. They said plant operators began feeding fluid into the unit and completed initial production in late August, and now are working to bring the output to specification. That typically takes a month or two, refining industry experts said. The plant has 400,000 metric tons per year, or 7,700 barrels per day, of API Group III nameplate capacity.

Neste was tight-lipped about its schedule. We will communicate the start-up of the plant with a press release (and) shipments will take place during the second half of this year, said Ulla Kotila, market development, base oils, at Neste. Political unrest in the Persian Gulf delayed the plants opening, she said, but completion is still scheduled for 2011. Separate sources said that initial shipments could arrive in Europe as soon as October, and another said product should reach the U.S. Gulf Coast by December.

Rerefiners Pick Baltimore Site

FCC Environmental plans to bring a $50 million API Group II base oil rerefinery online in Baltimore by 2013. The Houston-based waste oil collector anticipates breaking ground on the project in mid-2012, pending issuance of State of Maryland and City of Baltimore environmental and construction permits. The rerefinery, on the site of a former asphalt terminal, will employ 30 full-time workers.

The Baltimore recycling facility will produce several cuts of both Group II and Group II+ base lube, as well as other high value co-products, stated Ken Cherry of FCC Environmental. Plans call for processing 40 million gallons of used motor oil each year, of which roughly 75 percent will be rerefined into base oil – about 30 million gallons or more per year. FCC Environmental, formerly Hydrocarbon Recovery Services, has collected used oil since 1981, and is part of FCC of Madrid, Spain.

Summit Hikes Grease Capacity

Specialty lube manufacturer Summit Lubricants Inc. is growing, and has completed a 50,000-sq.ft. manufacturing facility at its Batavia, N.Y., plant, according to company President Ron Krol. As a matter of fact, weve added a dedicated 22,000-pound capacity food-grade grease kettle to our new Treadeasy Street plant, to augment the three 10,000-pound food-grade kettles at our Pearl Street plant, he told LubesnGreases recently. Weve also added 10 employees this past year to accommodate our growth.

Krol anticipates the new capacity will boost Summits position as a wholesale supplier of private-label H-1 food-grade lubricants. He also said the company is newly certified to ISO 21469:2006 by QMS-Quality Management Systems International. The ISO standard addresses the design, development, manufacture and supply of lubricants used where incidental food contact may occur.

Rhein Chemie Picks Palmer-Holland

Rhein Chemie Corp., based in Chardon, Ohio, has named Palmer-Holland to be its U.S. distributor and sales partner for lube oil additives, effective Oct. 1. Under the agreement, Palmer-Holland will manage and distribute Rhein Chemies products throughout the United States, excluding the West Coast. Rhein Chemies existing contract with Sea-Land Chemical remains in place until Nov. 4.

Rhein Chemie, a subsidiary of the German specialty chemical company Lanxess, had fiscal 2010 sales of 283 million. Headquartered in Mann heim, Germany, it makes extreme-pressure additives, antiwear agents, corrosion inhibitors, antioxidants, additive packages and other products under the Additin brand.

Briefly Noted

Berkshire Hathaway completed its acquisition of additives giant Lubrizol for $135 per share (approximately $9.7 billion in all) on Sept. 16. In other news, Lubrizol said it will upgrade its existing additives testing capabilities in Mumbai, India, by mid-2012 to help meet booming demand in that country. Renovations will include consolidation of several existing labs into a modern facility, plus new testing equipment and meeting space for customer training.

Akzo Nobel Performance Additives, which makes rheology modifiers, has appointed St. Louis-based Archway Sales as distributor for the products in Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Germanys Brenntag is expanding into lubricant additives and base oils by acquiring fellow specialty chemical distributor Multisol Group, of Nantwich, U.K. Terms were not disclosed.

Reladyne has acquired lubricant and fuel distributor Derrick Oil and Supply, of Port Arthur, Texas, from its owners, Rick and Cindy Alphin. They and their sales and operating staff will continue with the company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Third Coast Terminals has inaugurated an enclosed, fully robotic and permitted filling line at its Pearland, Texas, plant, capable of filling flammable, combustible and hazardous materials into 55-gallon drums and IBCs up to 350 gallons with no human contact. The Feige system avoids the risk of human exposure to vapors as well.

Idemitsu Sketches Growth Plan

To meet demand for its automotive factory- and service-fill oils and newer industrial products, Idemitsu Lubricants America Corp. is investing $21.2 million to expand its warehouse in Jeffersonville, Ind., and increase blending and packaging capacity there. The expansion is expected to create up to 23 new jobs by 2014, and will include blending vessels, storage tanks and warehouse capacity, offices, laboratories and other improvements, said Senior Vice President Tammi Walts.

Idemitsu employs 59 full-time workers at the Jeffersonville facility and plans to begin hiring for its expanded warehouse later this year. It hopes to complete the expansions first phase by October 2012, its 20th anniversary at the location.

Intertek Buys Qinetiq

Intertek acquired Qinetiqs lubricant and fuel analysis and consulting business in the United Kingdom for GBP 500,000 (U.S. $815,000) in cash. The business employs 18 and will continue to operate at its current site in Farnborough as part of Interteks chemicals and pharmaceuticals division. The acquisition expands Interteks capabilities in R&D support for lubricants, fuels, additive packages and specialist evaluations. Key clients include aerospace, renewable energy and defense industries, and Intertek expects to grow its testing services in the U.K. and overseas.

Faces in the News

Dave Millin has been named vice president, additives business and technology, at the Cleveland-based Elco Corp. Now responsible for the companys sales, marketing and technology, he joined Elco in 1996 and most recently served as its global additives business manager. Elco also promoted Tom Steib to vice president of manufacturing, responsible for its Cleveland and Ashtabula, Ohio, sites. Steib, who holds an MBA from the Univ. of Pittsburgh and chemistry degree from Allegheny College, came to the company from Southwest PetroChem in 1993. Also, Robert (Bob) Lunoe was named vice president, finance and administration at Elco, where he has worked since 2002. Lunoe has 22 years of experience with manufacturing companies and an MBA from Case Western Reserve.

Area managers Sally Pavlica and Mark Trotter have received promotions at Petroleum Chemicals. Pavlica, who has built a 30-year career in the lubricant and additives industry, became sales manager for the Sacramento company, and Trotter, who spent many years with Chevron Chemical, its Oronite subsidiary and other international ventures, was named operations manager. Both retain their direct sales responsibilities.

Polaris Laboratories added Frances Honeycutt to its management team as director of global business development. Previously with Noria and Trico Corp., shell work to grow the companys product and service offerings via partnerships, expansions and private-label branding. The fluid analysis provider also expanded its customer support, naming Henry Neicamp, formerly of Warren Oil, as field services manager; Elizabeth Nelson as coolant program manager; and David Tingey as field services engineer.

Kimes Technologies Internationals new technology director is George Kirk, an expert in sulfonate manufacturing who has over 35 years experience with companies such as Stoney Creek Technologies and Witco.

Hoover Materials Handling Group, which makes, rents and sells intermediate bulk containers, has hired Bill Wright as plant manager for its Houston facility. With over 30 years of manufacturing experience, he joins Hoover from Trinity Industries.