Neste Oil, The Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), and nogaholding are celebrating the official opening of their new joint base oil plant in Bahrain today. The companies started up commercial production at the facility in October, 2011. The plant has a capacity of 400,000 t/a and is located at Bapco's refinery in Sitra on Bahrain's east coast.
Neste Oil is responsible for selling and marketing the plant's output, which consists of high-performance VHVI (Very High Viscosity Index) Group III base oil used in premium-quality lubricants. Neste Oil owns 45% of the joint venture and contributed EUR 130 million of the plant's capital costs.
The inauguration is being organized by Bapco, which is responsible for operating the plant. His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa, the Prime Minister of Bahrain honors the ceremony with his presence and those attending will include and other local dignitaries. Neste Oil's President & CEO, Matti Lievonen will also attend, together with Matti Lehmus, the company's Executive Vice President, Oil Products & Renewables.
"Demand for high-performance base oil is growing all the time, and thanks to the new plant we will be able to serve our customers even more effectively and grow our base oil business in line with our strategy," says Neste Oil's President & CEO, Matti Lievonen.
"The plant features the latest technology and has operated excellently so far, and has already shipped its first product," he continues. "Cooperation between the partners has been very good and fruitful, and the construction phase of the project progressed to plan and was on-budget. I am particularly satisfied with the project's safety performance. A total of 9.6 million hours were worked on the project without a single lost time injury."
Neste Oil Corporation
Hanna Maula
Director, Corporate Communications
Further information:
Matti Lehmus, Executive Vice President, Oil Products & Renewables, tel. +358 (0)10 458 4072
Neste Oil in brief
Neste Oil Corporation is a refining and marketing company concentrating on low-emission, high-quality traffic fuels. The company produces a comprehensive range of major petroleum products and is the world's leading supplier of renewable diesel. The company had net sales of EUR 11.9 billion in 2010 and employs around 5,000 people. Neste Oil's share is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.
Neste Oil is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and is also featured in the Ethibel Excellence investment register, as well as The Global 100 list of the world's most sustainable corporations. Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD) has ranked Neste Oil as the best performer in the oil & gas sector. Further information: www.nesteoil.com.
NEXBASE® Group III base oils
Neste Oil's NEXBASE® products are high-performance VHVI (Very High Viscosity Index) Group III base oils and are used in premium-quality motor oils and industrial lubricants. NEXBASE® base oils are designed to comply with strict environmental and quality standards and are capable of delivering high standards of performance under even the toughest conditions. Their low flow resistance and excellent lubricating properties deliver excellent performance at low temperatures and reduce fuel consumption. Sulfur-free NEXBASE® base oils also help reduce tailpipe and particulate emissions. For more information, see www.nesteoil.com/baseoils.
