Nynas has now received approval from the European Commission to take over production and responsibility for the base oil plant and associated production units at the Harburg refinery in Hamburg, Germany. The takeover of the first part of the refinery assets is targeted for January 1.

The new production plant will be a core site for Nynas with an annual production of specialty oils up to 350,000 tons. This represents a forty percent increase in the company's supply capability of naphthenic specialty oils. With the takeover of the Harburg production facilities, Nynas will in the first phase take on approximately 90 Shell employees and this number will grow to 220 after two years.

"We signed this deal with Shell in 2011 and we are now satisfied that we have received the approval by the European Commission. The addition of Harburg to Nynas supply system is an important step forward in Nynas' growth strategy," says Staffan Lennström, CEO of Nynas. "We will increase volumes of all products in our current range of naphthenic specialty oils. With the new capacity we can reinforce our delivery performance and quickly meet the growing demand from our customers around the world."

"Over the next 24 months Harburg will be converted into a world class, stand-alone specialty oil refinery. The high safety performance and professionalism demonstrated by the Harburg organisation and the welcoming attitude from the region have been important for taking this step," Staffan Lennström continues.

From the beginning of next year, Nynas will start operating the base oil unit and associated refining facilities, i.e. bitumen assets, tank farms and jetties on the southern part. Approximately 90 people will be employed by Nynas from the start of phase 1.

In preparation for phase 2, a hydrogen production plant will be built and operated by a third party supplier and Nynas will modify plants for further specialty oils production in the northern part.

After the conversion project, Nynas will take over all the operations of the new stand-alone specialty oils refinery.

With this agreement, Nynas will not take over any customers, sales or marketing assets from Shell.

About Nynas
Nynas is a global technical leader and developer of premium specialty oils. The company is well positioned to grow with the market, strengthen its current product lines and explore future opportunities for the sustainable use of oil. In recent years, Nynas has opened sales offices and distribution terminals in fast-growing markets such as China, South Korea, India, Russia and several countries in Latin America.

Today, Nynas is a leading partner in areas such as transformer oils for the world's electrical networks. The company is also taking advantage of the rapidly increasing demand for environmentally sound oils for tyre production. In Western Europe, Nynas is one of the leading suppliers of bitumen for asphalt production.

See the site of the refinery in Hamburg