After forecasting an increase in demand for specialty lubricants, ExxonMobil has decided to invest $200 million in its Baton Rouge-based chemical and lubricant facility. By 2014, it hopes to have boosted throughput by 90 million gallons a year. That will boost its capacity by 25% for lubricant bases that are used in mobile oils, gear oils and greases, and specialty aviation and marine applications. It's unclear whether this increased production will benefit its proprietary lineup of ExxonMobil motor oils. If it does, it could be to the detriment of companies in the space such as Ashland, the maker of Valvoline products.
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