Chevron has completed its acquisition of Finnish refiner Neste’s base oils business, including the NEXBASE brand, associated qualifications and approvals, and related sales and marketing business.Neste has been a major producer of Group III base oils since it began producing the premium-grade product at its Porvoo plant in Finland in the late 1990s. It also had a 45pc share of Bapco’s 400,000 t/yr Group III plant in Bahrain.US-based Chevron is a major producer of Group II base oils.Following the acquisition of Neste’s base oil business, Chevron has now expanded its base oil portfolio to Group II, Group II+ and Group III base oils. Its production spans five plants situated in US, Europe, Mideast Gulf and Asia-Pacific.Chevron said the production, specifications and brand name of Neste’s base oils would remain the same.The sale was first announced last October, subject to regulatory approval. The transaction was completed on 1 April..Change? Not much.
