Closing time

29/10/2024 08:35

The refinery industry, and in particular the base oil sector, has been in a restructuring phase for many years, with Group I plants gradually being replaced by new Group II and III capacity. Nynas offers solutions to the resulting product shortages through a full range of products designed to meet the characteristics and performance of Group I paraffinic oils.

Finding alternatives

The growing Group I deficit is not readily substituted by Group II and III oils due to limitations in viscosity range and different chemical compositions. However, an oil very similar to Group I may be recreated by carefully engineered blends of naphthenic and paraffinic base oils.

In the lubricant and grease market, Nynas offers a range of naphthenic grades that can be used as “drop-in” substitutes with minimum adjustment. These hydrotreated naphthenic oils help formulators requiring the viscosity, solvency power and polarity typically displayed by paraffinic Group I oils. Furthermore, they display better low temperature characteristics, low aromatic content and significantly lower sulfur content.

For the tyre industry, Group I plants going offline is bad news, as there are no suitable alternatives available for the industry from Group II and III production, which means that substitutes must be found elsewhere. Two interesting products in this context are NYTEX 4700, already a known and established product in the industry, and NYTEX BIO 6200, Nynas’ first tyre and rubber oil produced using renewable feedstock. It delivers the superior quality and high performance of all our tyre and rubber oils, including reduced rolling resistance, complies with all prevailing legislation and is highly compatible with natural rubber, E-SBR,S-SBR and f-S-SBR formulations.

Many Nynas naphthenic base oils and tyre oils are now available in the new EVO portfolio. Using an identical product, EVO offers customers immediate and significant reduction of their product carbon footprint with maintained performance and no need for additional R&D.

Steep decline

In 2011, Group I represented about 57% of base oil production capacity, a figure that had dropped to 33% in 2023.

-17.5%

Expected decline of Group I capacity from 2021 to 2028.

Cleaner oils at sea

The Group I capacity reduction has also been driven by the International Maritime Organisation’s regulation that came into effect in 2020, which lowered the global upper limit on the sulfur content of ships’ fuel from 3.5% to 0.5%. In marine lubricants, formulators are also transitioning from Group I to Group II base oils in combination with high viscosity naphthenic base oils and carefully selected specialty additives.

Cars are driving

The biggest driver of the base oil market is the automotive segment, with engine oils representing more than 40% of global demand. In recent years, there has been a trend towards Group II and III base oils as Group I base oils are no longer included in modern engine oil formulations.

8

Biorefineries were operational in Europe in 2023, compared to none in 2022, according to Concawe.

Tyre market affected

Group I refining is also the source of feedstock for the European tyre oil workhorses MES, TDAE and RAE. The supply of tyre oils has been substantially affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Western sanctions against Moscow. Given the limited Group I capacity even before the war, there is an increasing need for tyre producers to look for alternative tyre oils of similar quality.

Shutting down

A number of Group I refinery closures have been announced in recent years. In Europe, several large units have already shut down, with additional substantial volumes set to disappear in the coming year. This will significantly impact the availability of Group I base oils on the continent.

More expensive

Traditional Group I plants manufacturing solvent neutrals have higher operating costs compared to modern hydroprocessing methods employed in the production of Group II and III base oils. Group I solvent extraction units are more costly to run, have a limited choice of crude feedstocks, lower yields and lower value by-products.

Base oil classification by the American Petroleum Institute (API)

Group	Defining Criteria	Method of Production (very simplified)
Group I	Viscosity Index = 80-119 Saturated<90% and/or S>0.03%	Solvent Extraction (physical removal)
Group II	Viscosity Index = 80-119 Saturated>90% and S<0.03%	Hydrogenation (chemical reaction)
Group III	Viscosity Index > 120 Saturated>90% and S<0.03%	More severe Hydrogenation/Hydrocracking (chemical reaction)
Group IV	Poly-Alpha-Olefins (PAO)	Chemical Reaction
Group V	All other oils	Different routes, Hydrogenation for NSP´s