International. The two work together to support a circular economy for lubricants.
Pennzoil-Quaker State Company, a subsidiary of Shell plc, acquired a 49% stake in Blue Tide Environmental LLC, a company focused on building a global network of lubricant recycling facilities.
Blue Tide is owned by Tailwater Capital LLC, a private equity firm that takes an integrated approach to investing in energy and environmental infrastructure solutions.
Blue Tide is advancing a 5,000-barrel-per-day plant in Baytown, Texas, that Blue Tide will operate. The facility, which will process used lubricants into high-quality base oils and other co-products, such as diesel and flux, is scheduled to start operating in 2024.
"Acquiring a stake in Blue Tide is a step in our journey to support a circular economy for lubricants," said Shell Lubricants Executive Vice President Machteld de Haan.
"We look forward to working closely with Blue Tide to evaluate opportunities for recycled lubricants as we continue to develop sustainable solutions to complement our existing product range."
"We are delighted to collaborate with Shell to increase access to reliable, high-performance recycled lubricants," said Blue Tide CEO Mark Bouldin.
"As we continue to make progress in completing our state-of-the-art facility, working with exceptional organizations like Shell and Tailwater will allow us to get started with work upon completion and position Blue Tide as the premier provider of sustainable, high-quality Group II+ base oils."
Edward Herring, Tailwater co-founder and managing partner, said: "We share Shell's optimism and vision for Blue Tide as the recycled lubricants space evolves and demand for Group II+ base oils continues to grow."
"We look forward to continuing to support the entire Blue Tide team as they bring state-of-the-art facilities online and grow the business while promoting the circular economy."
