Nynas AB is a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
manufacturer of specialty
naphthenic oil Crude oil is extracted from the bedrock before being processed in several stages, removing natural contaminants and undesirable hydrocarbons. This separation process produces mineral oil, which can in turn be denoted as paraffinic, naphthenic or aro ...
s and
bitumen
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
products. Founded in 1928 as a national oil company with a traditional range of products, the company today also supplies specialist products and niche markets.
As well as sales offices at several locations around the world, Nynas also has access to an international distribution network. This includes not only central storage facilities and mixing stations (hubs), but also a large number of local depots.
In 2020 Nynas had around 935 employees and sales were SEK 12.1 billion.
Business activities
Until the 1970s Nynas was a traditional
oil company, manufacturing and selling a large number of products, from
petrol
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
and
diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
to
heating oil
Heating oil is any petroleum product or other oil used for heating; a fuel oil. Most commonly, it refers to low viscosity grades of fuel oil used for furnaces or boilers use for home heating and in other buildings. Home heating oil is often a ...
and
lubricant
A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...
s. Following the oil crises (
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
and
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
), activity now focuses on
naphthenic specialty products
In organic chemistry, the cycloalkanes (also called naphthenes, but distinct from naphthalene) are the monocyclic saturated hydrocarbons. In other words, a cycloalkane consists only of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a structure containing ...
and
bitumen
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
products.
Naphthenic specialty oils
consist of three different kinds of products:
*
Insulating oil Transformer oil or insulating oil is an oil that is stable at high temperatures and has excellent electrical insulating properties. It is used in oil-filled transformers (wet transformers), some types of high-voltage capacitors, fluorescent lamp El ...
s are used primarily to insulate and cool
transformer
A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...
s.
*
Process oils are included in products such as industrial rubber,
explosives
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
,
car tyres,
printing inks
Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...
,
nappies
A diaper Help:IPA/English, /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American English, American and Canadian English) or a nappy (Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without usi ...
and other hygiene articles, and in
thermoplastic
A thermoplastic, or thermosoft plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling.
Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains associate ...
s for items such as tool handles.
*
Base oils are suitable for liquids used in metal processing,
hydraulic fluid
A hydraulic fluid or hydraulic liquid is the medium by which power is transferred in hydraulic machinery. Common hydraulic fluids are based on mineral oil or water. Examples of equipment that might use hydraulic fluids are excavators and backhoe ...
s and other industrial
lubricant
A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...
s.
Bitumen products
are available in various versions depending on which properties are required:
* Standard
binding agent
A binder or binding agent is any material or substance that holds or draws other materials together to form a cohesive whole mechanically, chemically, by adhesion or cohesion.
In a more narrow sense, binders are liquid or dough-like substances th ...
s to hold together the stones in
asphalt
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
surfaces.
* Special binding agents for demanding applications such as noise-dampening asphalt and roads with high
traffic intensity
In telecommunication networks, traffic intensity is a measure of the average occupancy of a server or resource during a specified period of time, normally a busy hour. It is measured in traffic units ( erlangs) and defined as the ratio of the time ...
.
* Binding agents for
surface treatment
Surface finishing is a broad range of industrial processes that alter the surface of a manufactured item to achieve a certain property. Finishing processes may be employed to: improve appearance, adhesion or wettability, solderability, corrosion re ...
, for example
emulsion
An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Althoug ...
s for roads with little traffic.
* Binding agents for
cold mix asphalt technology, which has lower
energy consumption
Energy consumption is the amount of energy used.
Biology
In the body, energy consumption is part of energy homeostasis. It derived from food energy. Energy consumption in the body is a product of the basal metabolic rate and the physical activity ...
and is also used to recycle old asphalt surfaces.
* Binding agents for industrial use, primarily for
roof coverings and to provide
anti-corrosion protection for items such as
pipes.
Nynas conducts extensive work on
product development. This involves not least of all
catalyst
Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...
and
hydrotreatment technology, which has resulted in, among other things, the launch of a new kind of
transformer oil Transformer oil or insulating oil is an oil that is stable at high temperatures and has excellent electrical insulating properties. It is used in oil-filled transformers (wet transformers), some types of high-voltage capacitors, fluorescent lamp b ...
. Nynas also manufactures oils that comply with the new environmental requirements that come into force in 2010, when the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
bans
aromatic oils in
car tyres. In 2019, Nynas launched transformer and tyre oils that are partly manufactured from bio-based feedstock and are thus renewable. This is an important stage in reducing dependence on fossil feedstock, thereby contributing towards sustainable development.
Efforts on the
bitumen
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
side have focused on products suitable for various conditions with regard to temperature,
stone material and
traffic load
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other Public conveyance, conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the roa ...
s. One example is the special bitumen found in noise-dampening
asphalt
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
, which results in the noise from traffic being almost halved. Nynas is also the leader in the field of water-based
emulsion
An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Althoug ...
s. These can be used in cold and semi-hot asphalt masses, which means both reduced energy consumption and lower
hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ex ...
emissions. In 2022, Nynas launched a polymer-modified bitumen (PMB) that contains biogenic material, resulting in a significantly reduced climate impact.
Manufacturing takes place at a number of
refineries
A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.
Types of refineries
Different types of refineries ar ...
around the world. Three of these, at
Harburg,
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
and
Nynäshamn, are wholly owned by Nynas, while the refinery at
Eastham is co-owned with
Shell. But there are also a number of external production facilities that are linked to the company through partnership agreements. Nynas has its own laboratories for quality control and product development, including those in Belgium, the UK and Sweden. Nynas is investing heavily in expanded manufacturing capacity. Work at the Nynäshamn refinery have boosted output, but the most significant recent investment is the purchase of the Harburg refinery in 2013, which represents a forty percent increase in the company's supply capability of naphthenic specialty oils.
Traditionally, Nynas primarily uses heavy
crude oil
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
from
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
as feedstock, as it has properties that are ideal for both bitumen and
naphthenic specialty oils. There have been major efforts in recent years to increase feedstock flexibility and totally replace Venezuelan crude oil. These involve crude oil not only from the North Sea, but also from countries including Brazil, Colombia, Russia and Italy.
History
The name primarily associated with the original Nynas is
Axel Ax:son Johnson. At an early stage he recognised the opportunities created by car ownership, and in 1928 he had
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
's first
refinery built in
Nynäshamn. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Nynas played a prominent role in supplying
energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...
in Sweden, as the company developed methods for manufacturing
oil products made of
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
and
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...
.
The decades immediately after the Second World War were characterised by rapid expansion, and in 1956 the refinery in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
was opened. At that time Nynas was a Swedish family firm, manufacturing a large number of oil products and also with a national network of
petrol station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gasoline ...
s.
But changes in the outside world soon made it economically unviable to run a small, national oil company. The two
energy crises in the 1970s resulted in Nynas suffering a serious cost crisis, as they did not have access to their own crude oil. The only way out was to specialise in a small number of products and to look beyond the borders of Sweden.
In order to grow on the bitumen side, the refinery in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, was bought in 1985, and in 1992 the UK bitumen company
Briggs Oil was acquired. The latter acquisition included the refineries in
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
and
Eastham. In parallel with this expansion in the bitumen area, hundreds of million
Swedish kronor
The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; sign: kr; code: SEK) is the official currency of the Kingdom of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it b ...
were invested in turning the Nynäshamn refinery into a modern facility for the production of
naphthenic specialty oils.
In September 2013, Nynas received EU approval to takeover the Harburg base oil manufacturing plant and some associated refining facilities of the Harburg refinery in Hamburg, Germany. The reason was an expected demand for naphthenic specialty oils, especially in Asia. The takeover, which involved wide-ranging investments to convert the part of the plant that was previously used for fuel production, was completed in 2016. With the new specialty oil refinery in place, it was possible to achieve an annual production increase of 350,000 tonnes.
2017 saw the start of a period that resulted in significant financial problems because of an increasingly stressed political and economic situation in Venezuela. Initially this caused disruption to crude oil deliveries, which gradually stopped completely because the USA introduced far-reaching sanctions against Venezuela. During a transitional period, it was still possible to run the business thanks to the exemption – General Licence – that Nynas was a granted by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This exemption meant that other companies were permitted to continue trading with Nynas without being in breach of the USA’s sanctions. But the situation became economically unsustainable, and in December 2019 Nynas was granted an application for a company reconstruction at a Swedish court in order to investigate the possibilities of continuing to run the business, either partly or in full.
In May 2020, the OFAC announced that Nynas was no longer blocked under the sanctions because of changes in the company’s ownership structure. This meant that American individuals and companies no longer required a permit from the OFAC for transactions or activities that involved Nynas.
The company reconstruction involved changes to Nynas’ ownership structure. The biggest owner is now the US asset management company Davidson Kempner Capital Management, with 49.9% of the shares. The other co-owners are an independent Swedish foundation Nynässtiftelsen (approx. 35%) and PDVSA (approx. 14,9 %).
Timeline
Nynas Annual Report 2013, page 108-109
*1928 The refinery in Nynäshamn is built.
*1950s Nynas builds up a national network of petrol station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gasoline ...
s.
*1981 The petrol station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gasoline ...
s are sold to Shell.
*1986 Nynas buys a refinery in Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, , Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.
*1992 UK company Briggs Oil is acquired.
*2001 The refinery in Nynäshamn undergoes an extensive modernisation process.
*2004-2006 Partnership agreements are concluded with US oil companies Valero and Lyondell
*2007 The Nova Grades product range is launched
*2008: A new bitumen laboratory is built in Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, .
*2010-2011: A new hydrogen plant is built in Nynäshamn. In summer 2011 the plant starts to run on natural gas instead of naphtha, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 20,000 tonnes per year.
*2012: A new sulphur treatment plant is opened at the refinery in Nynäshamn at a cost of SEK 600 million, cutting emissions from sulphur recovery to one fifth.
*2013: Nynas receives approval from the European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
to take over production and responsibility for the base oil plant and associated production units at the Harburg refinery in Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
*2014-2016: Extensive investments to convert Harburg from a fuel refinery into a refinery for specialty oils, resulting in a 30 per cent increase in capacity for naphthenic specialty oils.
*2017: Financial problems because of an increasingly stressed political and economic situation in Venezuela, resulting in disruption to feedstock supplies.
*2019: Nynas introduces a bio-based high-performance transformer fluid, NYTRO® BIO 300X.
*2020: US sanctions are removed because of the new ownership structure and ongoing reconstruction of the company.
*2021: US asset management company Davidson Kempner Capital Management becomes the biggest shareholder.
Notes
Sources
Nationalencyklopedin
* Annual Report 200
download
Annual Report 2008
* Annual Report 201
PDF
* Annual Report 201
PDF
* The book "75 years old – looking back"
* Brochure: "Taking Oil Further
download
* Brochure: "Nynas in society"
* Brochure: "Welcome to a specialist oil company
download
Advantage Environment: "Oil from Sweden is better for the environment"
Lube Report: "Nynas Beefs Up as Citgo Bows Out of Pale Oils"
Lube report: "Nynas Ups Pale Oil Output"
* Nynas Annual Report 201
* US Department of the Treasur
* Ackordcentrale
* Nynas Annual report 202
* New shareholder in Nynas ww.nynas.com/en/media/newslist/new-shareholder-in-nynas/* Bitumen Matters: Nynas breaking new ground for lower carbon road
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.nynas.com
Oil companies of Sweden
Companies based in Stockholm