The technical demonstration period for GF-6, during which additive companies develop and test packages designed to meet the new category requirements, has been in progress since June and is slated to last 12 months. However, all of the engine tests required for the category must be in place, and key test limit targets must be set so that additive companies know the parameters they are aiming to meet.

Once test limits are set and the final specification is issued, a mandatory waiting period of 12 months is required before the oils can be sold as ILSAC GF-6. To try to condense the timeline, the Auto-Oil Advisory Panel may choose to allow test limit setting and specification development to overlap with the technology demonstration period, bringing GF-6 oils to market sooner.

The mandatory waiting period could also be shortened through adoption of extensive base oil interchange and viscosity grade read across rules, which would cut down the number of engine tests that must be run and formulation variations that must be tested.

Afton Completes Singapore Expansion

Afton Chemical Corp.completed a $163 million expansion of its lubricant additive plant in Singapore that allows production of antiwear agents to meet rapidly changing engine oil needs in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East markets.

Located on Jurong Island, Singapores petrochemical hub, the facility has a land area of 45,500 square meters and operates around the clock. The plant will now produce advanced ashless dispersants and antiwear components for lubricants used in passenger cars and heavy-duty vehicles.

New Chlorinated Paraffin Rule Opposed

Industry organizations criticized a recently proposed rule by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that they say could inappropriately subject some chlorinated paraffins and other chemicals to new regulations.

TheIndependent Lubricant Manufacturers Association, theAmerican Chemistry Council, the Chlorinated Paraffin Industry Association and other industry groups objected to a significant new use rule that would classify the manufacture and import of medium- and long-chain chlorinated paraffins as new uses under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.

The implications of the classification were not spelled out, but it could require suppliers to provide health and safety test data or subject their operations to other requirements.

Indonesia Announces Lube Standard

Lubricants sold in Indonesia will be required to comply with a new national standard beginning Sept. 11, 2019, according to a regulation from the countrys Ministry of Industry.

The regulation, numbered 25/2018, also states that lubricant blenders have to meet certain administrative requirements, including the designation of an in-country brand representative for foreign companies, and will be required to include the SNI logo on their products upon approval. SNI also requires labels to be translated into Bahasa, Indonesias official language.

Non-SNI compliant lubricants cannot be sold in Indonesia. Companies that sell lubricants not complying with the standard will have their business licenses and product licenses revoked. The SNI label will only be valid for four years, meaning companies will have to reapply for licensing and pay a fee that some sources estimate is around $25,000 per product line, said Ilman Hizbullah Hasibuan, consulting manager of Hong Kong-based Ipsos Business Consulting.

Univar Acquires Nexeo

Univar Inc.agreed to acquireNexeo Solutions Inc.in a $2 billion deal uniting two of the largest global chemical companies that supply a wide variety of substances to the lubricants industry. The deal should close during the first half of 2019.

The transaction is expected to broaden our product portfolio, bringing additional brands and product lines to our combined customer base in several end markets, including lubricants, said Dwayne J. Roark, Univars senior director of corporate communications.

The companies did not discuss plans for streamlining suppliers or product offerings, though they did mention the possibility that Nexeos plastics business will be divested. Univar President and CEO David Jukes will stay on as the combined companys president and CEO, and Steve Newlin will continue as the executive chairman. There was no comment about Nexeo CEO David Bradleys role in the combined company.

Hydrodec Pulls Plug on Australia

Hydrodec Groupplans to exit Australia, birthplace of the technology it uses to rerefine used electrical transformer fluids. The company said in its semi-annual earnings report that it will sell its plant in Wagga, New South Wales, or relocate it to another facility in the United States.

The decision to exit Australia rose from a group-wide business review, Hydrodec said. The rerefiners September earnings report stated that the plant was to be treated as discontinued business because it is considered non-core, given the sub-scale market in Australia and the groups focus on the U.S. market. The plant has capacity to rerefine approximately 20,000 liters per day of used transformer oils.

Commercial, Industrial Lube Demand to Grow

Commercial and industrial lubricant demand in the United States is projected to grow at a 1 percent annual rate to reach 497 million gallons in 2022, driven by an increase in the number of active oil and gas rigs in the country that use engine oil, transmission fluids and hydraulic oils, reported Freedonia Group.

Oil and natural gas production will see the fastest gains in the sector at 4.1 percent per year.In addition to an increase in active rigs, demand will be supported by the rapid adoption of new oil and gas exploration equipment technology and its associated engine oil standards. Since well drilling often occurs in environmentally sensitive areas, any lubricants that offer a reduced environmental impact in these areas will also benefit, the market research group pointed out.

The 290-page report, titled Lubricants in the U.S., 15th Edition, is available at www.freedonia
group.com.

India Shuts Down Lube Blender

The government of India decided to shut down lube blender Biecco Lawrie Ltd. in early October, citing repeated failures to help the public sector enterprise become profitable.

The central governments Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a recommendation to close Biecco Lawrie from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, which concluded the company had no possibility of revival. The government said that keeping the company afloat would have required a large sum of capital and that repeated attempts to sell it were unsuccessful.

Biecco Lawrie operated a lubricant blending plant with annual production capacity of 9,000 metric tons. It is unrelated toBalmer Lawrie, another Kolkata-based public sector enterprise that is Indias largest grease producer.

Gazprom Adds Packaging Line

Gazprom Nefts lubricant blending plant in Omsk, Russia, introduced a packaging line to increase filling capacity and boost production efficiency.

The new packaging line can fill metal canisters and barrels ranging from one liter to 1,000 liters with finished lubes. This new equipment increases the capacity of the filling line from 40 tons per shift to 100 tons per shift. The new system will allow us to increase the output volumes of the finished products, the company said. The packaging line aims to provide faster filling of lubricants to supply to Russia and other markets.

Briefly Noted

Moove, the lubricant and base oil arm of Brazilian oil and energy multinationalCosan, acquired two lubricant distributors in Europe:Lubrigrupoin Portugal andTTA Lubrifiantsin France. The deals are part of Mooves strategy to strengthen its network in the region.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based lubricants packager Pack Logix LLC acquired Oconomowoc, Wisconsin-based lubricants blender and packager ZiEn Inc. in late September.

Astron Energy is the new company name for Chevrons downstream assets in South Africa and Botswana, including a lubricants plant in Durban, South Africa, which were acquired by a consortium backed by Swiss mining company Glencore.

Petronas Lubricants International opened the regions largest fluid technology development facility at its blending plant in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The 26,000-square-foot research and technology center cost $8 million.

Birmingham, Alabama-based McPherson Oil acquired certain assets of Retif Oil & Fuel, including the companys lubricants segment, to extend its distribution reach of ExxonMobil products to parts of Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and Florida.

Ancon, Peru-based lubricants and greases manufacturerVistonywill construct a new facility in Geelong, Australia. The facility will serve as the companys headquarters for operations in Australia and New Zealand starting early next year.

Sepahan Oil Co. signed a contract with GermanysEDL Anlagenbau to upgrade base oil production at its 420,000-metric-ton-per-year base oils refinery in Isfahan, Iran.

Switzerlands Imergy Graphite & Carbon signed a distribution agreement with Soltex Inc., allowing the Houston-based company to distribute their Timrix-branded graphites for lubricant applications throughout the Americas.

Emirates National Oil Co.signed an agreement to allow marine bunkers and lubricants consulting company Baluco to distribute its marine lubricants in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Faces in the News

SK Lubricants Americas named Jeff Presley its new technical manager.Presley has over 30 years of lubricants experience from various roles held at Valvoline Inc.

Anju Singla joinedAmerican Refining Groupas railroad sales specialist. She previously held lubricant sales roles atSoltex Inc., MidContinental Chemical Co.and International Petroleum Products & Additives Co.

Palmer Holland appointed Drew Ursic sales manager for the Midwest region.

Sea-Land Chemical Co.hiredTony Grzejkaas account manager for the United States West Coast. He most recently served as senior account manager at Infineum.

Soltex Inc. hired Cloe West to its technical sales team for the companys line of performance chemical additives.

Correction

The article Dont Believe Your Eyes in October incorrectly stated that Andrew Heimer played a leading role in the development of the Hunter ColorFlex machine. He was not involved in its development.