History

1930's Development of catalytic cracking technology resulted in the availability of large quantities of propylene and butylenes. Efforts began to develop synthetic lubricating oils based on the polymerization of these olefins

1943Standard Oil built the Wood River No. 1 Polybutene unit, designed to produce H-100 polybutene.

1961 DIB unit in Köln starts under the Erdölchemie venture (Bayer/Deutsche BP)

1962 Polybutene plant at Lavera, France with an initial capacity of 5,000 tons/ year was commissioned by Naphtachemie.

1969 Amoco’s Texas City polybutene unit began operation with initial capacity of 77,000 tons / year.

1971

Ethyl adds 90,000 tons alpha olefin production to its primary alcohols complex in Pasadena, Texas, licensing Ziegler technology.

Ethyl adds 110,000 tons LAO capacity to Pasadena LAO plant.

1976 Ethyl starts its first operation at Feluy, Belgium

1983

Whiting polybutene unit with a capacity of 75,000 tons / year was started at Amoco’s oil refinery in Indiana.

Ethyl’s Pasadena LAO plant capacity expanded to 431,000 tons.

Ethyl enters toll agreement with Quantum Chemical for production of PAO from Ethyl’s Decene.

1989 The Lavera polybutene plant was debottlenecked to 48 kilotonnes per year.

1991 Ethyl builds a PAO  plant (35,000 tons/year) in Feluy, Belgium based on its own technology.

1992 Ethyl builds a 200.000 tons/year LAO plant in Feluy, Belgium

1993 Lavera polybutene plant capacity increased to 65,000 tons / year.

1996 Ethyl/Albemarle sells LAO and PAO business to Amoco Chemical.

1997 BP’s Lavera polybutene plant debottlenecked to 80,000 tons / year.

1998

BP merges with Amoco.

1999 BP Amoco expands Feluy, Belgium LAO plant to 300,000 tons / year

BP Chemical starts construction of 250,000 ton LAO plant in Joffre, Alberta, Canada.
2000

Lavera PIB plant developed to produce full range of polybutene products.  Grangemouth and Texas City PIB plants closed.

Feluy PAO plant capacity expands to 75,000 tons / year

2001 BP acquires remaining interest in Erdölchemie.

2005

BP spins off their olefins business as Innovene, subsequently purchased by INEOS.

Pasadena LAO plant is closed.