Chevron announces 100% renewable base oil production

Chevron and Novvi announced the first production of 100 per cent renewable base oil from Novvi’s Deer Park, Houston Facility.

“As part of our aim to find more reliable, affordable and ever-cleaner solutions that scale, Chevron remains committed to our investment in and technology development with Novvi,” said Colleen Cervantes, Chevron Lubricants president. “This milestone reflects the focus in our partnership despite the recent pandemic-related downturn, and we are excited about the future.”

Chevron is an equity investor in Novvi, a California-based company that engages in the development, production, marketing, and distribution of high-performance base oils from renewable sources. The agreement was announced in 2016.

This development is the latest in a series of Chevron announcements signaling its commitment to the energy transition and climate change focused on three areas: 1) lowering carbon intensity cost efficiently, 2) increasing renewables in support of its business, and 3) investing in the future targeting breakthrough technologies.

“Novvi is focused on delivering renewable solutions—essential chemicals and products for the industrial fluids and lubricants markets—without trade-offs in performance, price, or availability,” said Jeff Brown, Novvi president and CEO.

The Chevron-Novvi partnership leverages the complementary technologies of Chevron’s long-standing expertise in hydroprocessing, particularly ISODEWAXING, with Novvi’s innovative use of renewable feedstocks to produce and market high-performance, synthetic and renewable premium base oils.

Novvi has developed renewable products through its technology platform that are also applicable in plastics, rubber, personal care, wax, and electric vehicle fluids. The invention and scale of this technology is designed to provide more choice to manufacturers aiming to improve performance and reduce the carbon intensity of their products.