Chevron Corporation subsidiary Chevron U.S.A. Inc. announced that it has begun commercial production of premium base oils from a newly constructed manufacturing facility at the company’s Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery. The facility is designed to manufacture 25,000 barrels per day of premium base oil.

Base oils produced at Pascagoula will add to capacity from the company’s refinery in Richmond, California and a joint venture facility in Yeosu, Korea, approximately doubling Chevron’s production capacity and positioning it to be the world’s largest producer of premium base oil.

“Lubricants are a high growth business supporting economic development worldwide,” said Mike Wirth, executive vice president, Chevron Downstream & Chemicals. “The addition of the Pascagoula plant to Chevron’s base oil network enhances Chevron’s reputation as a reliable and flexible base oil supplier globally.”

Base oils from the new facility will supply customers in the U.S. East, Europe and Latin America, with Richmond continuing to supply the U.S. West, and both Richmond and Yeosu supplying Asia.

The base oil facility uses Chevron’s proprietary ISODEWAXING® technology invented in 1993. The technology results in higher yields and enables a broader range of crude oil to be used in the manufacturing process. Over half of the world’s premium base oil is manufactured with this technology through licensing agreements with Chevron.

Chevron Corporation, based in San Ramon, California, announced earlier last month that construction on its new Pascagoula base oil plant "is now complete" and that the company expected to reach full production capability by late July.