Infineum announces two joint-ventures in China

Infineum announces two joint-ventures in China

Keywords: Petroleum additives, Partnering, China

Infineum, the global petroleum additives enterprise, has signed contracts with Sinopec Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Company to form a new, 50/50 joint venture company – Shanghai High-Lube Additives Co. Ltd.

Under the contract, the joint venture will build a 20,000 metric tons per year lubricant additive blending plant in the Pudong Development Region in Shanghai, China. This new facility will meet increasing market demand for higher quality lubricant oils through a combination of improved additive formulation technology and an optimized blending process.

"This joint venture represents a major step forwards in the continuing improvement of lubricant oil quality in China. Sinopec is a leader in the Chinese lubricant market and Infineum is excited to be entering into this agreement. We are particularly pleased to partner Sinopec Gaoqiao as Gaoqiao is one of Sinopec's premier lubricant oil blenders and marketers. In addition,Gaoqiao's key location in central eastern China makes it the first facility of its type in this strategic area. Infineum looks forward to working with GaoQiao to develop technologically advanced products for the Chinese lubricant's market",commented Tom Dance, Infineum's vice president for Asia Pacific.

Established in 1981, Sinopec Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical is one of the largest production bases for petroleum chemicals in China. Situated in the Pudong Development Region in Shanghai, the company currently has a crude-oil processing capacity of 7.8 million metric tons from 68 production facilities,enabling it to produce over 300 petroleum chemical products.

The company is also one of the leading exporters of petroleum chemical products in China, with US$ 120 million exported in 1999. The company has extensive experience in local and overseas joint venture business management,having already established joint venture companies with world renowned petrochemical companies.

Infineum has also announced that its joint venture company Jinzhou Jinex Lubricant Additive Co. Ltd (Jinex) has successfully started up its 30,000 tonnes polyisobutylene (PIB) unit in Jinzhou China to make international quality lube oil additives.

Jinex was established in 1995 as a lubricant additive blending joint venture between Exxon Mobil Petroleum & Chemical Holdings, Inc., an affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corporation, and Jinzhou Petrochemical Company. Pending the approval of the relevant authorities in China, Exxon Mobil has agreed to transfer its equity in Jinex to Infineum.

Construction of the Jinex PIB plant began in January 1999. The plant uses Infineum's proprietary PIB technology licensed to Jinex. This is the first of several phases to enable Jinex to become the first domestic integrated additive plant offering international standard additive products in China. Initial plant production is being used in China and export sales in Asia Pacific are under negotiations.

"The completion of Jinex's PIB unit marks an important milestone for the joint venture company to become a world class additive manufacturing base. I expect Jinex to establish market leadership with quality products, local manufacturing and superior customer service. Infineum is committed in growing Jinex to become a leading additive manufacturing base in China", said Mr Sornchai Kornkanitnan, Infineum's General Manager, Asia Pacific.

Mr Lu Wen Jun, General Manager of Jinzhou Petrochemical Company said: "The startup of the new PIB unit will provide our customers with international quality lube oil additive. This, coupled with an improved delivery system and efficient logistics capability all over China will help to increase overall customer satisfaction."

"We are very pleased with the completion of our new PIB unit, which is based on the latest technologies and equipment and is the largest of its kind in Asia Pacific. This is a tremendous achievement for us, thanks to the dedication and cooperation from both Jinzhou Petrochemical Company and Infineum", said Mr Kit Ho, General Manager of Jinex.

The PIB manufactured at the Jinex plant is used as the key raw material for the manufacture of dispersant additives. Dispersants are used in lubricants to reduce wear, inhibit oxidation as well as varnish formation and disperse sludge. PIB is also used in the low smoke two-stroke motorcycle oil as a viscosity improver and in sealants, adhesives, cables and wires and many other industrial applications.

Jinzhou Petrochemical is one of China's largest manufacturers of lubricant additives with more than 30 years of research and development experience. Its production capacity and sales volume account for a significant share of the domestic market. It operates one of the nation's major petrochemical complexes,and has an extensive domestic market network.

Infineum was formed as a joint venture between Exxon Mobil Chemical Company,a division of the Exxon Mobil Corporation, The Shell Petroleum Company Ltd and Shell Oil Company; Infineum became fully operational on 1 January 1999.

The company has its worldwide office in Theale in the UK, with three regional business centres located in Singapore, Milton Hill in the UK and Linden in the USA. In addition, Infineum has four technology centres; 19 manufacturing sites plus sales and marketing representation in over 70 countries around the world.