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It's back On! Chevron to Build $1.4 Billion Base Oil Plant in Pascagoula, Mississippi

Chevron Corporation today announced that Chevron Lubricants will commence construction of a lubricants manufacturing facility at the company's Pascagoula refinery. The $1.4 billion Pascagoula Base Oil Project (PBOP) is projected to generate approximately 1,000 jobs over the next two years of construction and about 20 permanent positions once the facility is operating.

The facility will manufacture 25,000 barrels per day of premium base oil, the main ingredient in the production of top-tier motor oil that helps improve fuel economy, lower tail-pipe emissions and extend the time between oil changes.

"Chevron was the first company to produce premium base oil," said Mike Wirth, executive vice president, Chevron Downstream & Chemicals. "With the addition of the Pascagoula facility, Chevron will become the world's largest producer of premium base oil. Demand for this product is increasing in the U.S. and around the world, and Chevron is adding capacity to meet that demand."

Construction is scheduled to be completed by year-end 2013.

"Many communities are trying to attract world-class, long-lasting manufacturing projects. Now this one is a reality in Pascagoula," said Tom Kovar, general manager of Chevron's Pascagoula refinery. "Chevron's significant investment will benefit both the company and the community. The project will help us grow our business and provide an enormous boost for the local economy."

PBOP will roughly double Chevron's premium base oil production. The company currently manufactures premium base oil at its refinery in Richmond, Calif., and a joint venture facility in Yeosu, Korea. Premium base oil produced in Pascagoula is intended to serve markets in North America, Latin America and Europe. In addition to motor oil, base oil is also used to make lubricants for high-tech machinery and equipment used in the commercial and industrial sectors of the economy.

The base oil facility will use Chevron's ISODEWAXING technology. Chevron began using ISODEWAXING commercially in 1993, resulting in higher yields and enabling a broader range of crude oil to be used in the manufacturing process. About two thirds of the world's premium base oil is manufactured with this technology.

As Chevron's largest wholly-owned refinery, the Pascagoula facility has a work force of 1,610 and processes up to 330,000 barrels per day of crude oil to produce gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and other products. The refinery began operating in 1963.

Honeywell to Sell its CPG Automotive Group

Honeywell International to sell its Consumer Products Group (CPG) business to Rank Group (a New Zealand-based private equity group). The sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011 in a cash transaction valued at close to $950 million.

Honeywell's CPG business is based in Danbury, CT. The business has revenue of about $1 billion in 2010 and employed more than 2,000. The CPG business includes four brands (FRAM filters, Prestone antifreeze, Autolite spark plugs and Holts car care products).

According to a statement by Honeywell's Chairman and CEO Dave Cote, "While CPG is a good business, it doesn't fit with our portfolio of differentiated, global technologies." Further Cole says, "We are committed to our Transportation Systems segment and are confident in our leading technology position in the global turbocharger business, aligned with the favorable macro trends of increased fuel economy and lower emission requirements around the world. Smart deployment of CPG sale proceeds, combined with the strong growth outlook for Transportation Systems, will deliver terrific long-term value to our customers and shareholders."

Written and published by experts, Jobbers World is brought to you by Petroleum Trends International, Inc.

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