Chemical manufacturer Basf has announced a plan to expand production capacity for its Basoflux® range of paraffin inhibitors at its plant in La Canonja (Tarragona). The goal is to meet current and future demand for these products in the oil and gas industry. It also aims to provide the plant with the capacity to respond quickly to changing demand in this market.

With the new investment, the German group's oilfield chemicals division will provide greater flexibility to the production of the latest solutions developed. These include more sustainable water-based dispersion paraffin inhibitors and solvent-based products. Following work at the plant, the first deliveries are expected to reach customers in early 2025.

More efficient extraction
Demand for crude oil will continue to exist in the coming years, but this easily extractable product is fast running out and BASF believes that its technology will be increasingly needed in the market to produce paraffinic crudes. This situation will generate the need for more effective chemical products to maximise the flow of oil, which the company is developing together with its customers to make extraction more efficient.

The new Basoflux dispersions to be produced at the Tarragona plant will in particular, according to the company, help Basf's customers to be more sustainable. The reason is that they will require much less solvent than usual at lower temperatures. In addition to improving resource efficiency, this development will serve to save costs.

High-performance product
Basf's New Business Development Manager Oilfield Chemicals, Serge Ikink, advocates "ongoing innovation and investment" as the group "reinforces its commitment to being a key player in the paraffin inhibitor market", adding, "We are successfully addressing a real market need with our innovative aqueous-based dispersion paraffin inhibitors. From a product point of view, Basoflux is a high performance product that provides robust reliability in the application, which has led to customer confidence even in the most challenging environments."

The Oilfield Chemicals Business Unit, Oilfield Chemicals, markets a wide range of chemicals for drilling, cementing, stimulation, production and enhanced oil recovery activities.

^{Photo: BASF}