20 Minutes With Ken Hope

Rachel Fowler, Managing Editor | TLT 20 Minutes October 2019

Chevron Phillips Chemical’s technical services manager discusses the future of synthetic lubricants.
 
Ken Hope - The Quick File
Dr. Ken Hope is the global PAO technical services manager for Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. He majored in chemistry at The University of Montevallo. He earned his doctorate in physical chemistry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in 1988, and his dissertation title was The Solution Conformation and Electronic Structure of Retinoids by NMR and Theoretical Methods. He was a post-doctoral fellow at UAB until July 1989 and then hired on at the University of Houston as director of the NMR facilities doing nuclear magnetic resonance research and teaching graduate level courses in organic structure determination.

In 1991 Hope began working for Chevron Chemical Co. in Kingwood, Texas, in the analytical group. Within the first year he became involved with PAO, and in 1997 became the PAO technology manager. The Chevron Phillips Chemical joint venture was formed in 2000, and Hope has held roles including team leader for PAO, acetylene black and the pilot plant facilities, PAO research fellow and team leader for NAO and PAO research groups. In 2014, his job transitioned to the PAO commercial group at Chevron Phillips Chemical Co.’s headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas.

Hope serves on STLE’s Executive Committee as Secretary. He will assume the STLE presidency at the 2021 STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition in New Orleans.


Dr. Ken Hope
TLT: For many years, PAOs have been a small percentage of the global market in lubricant base oils. Now it seems that PAO growth is accelerating. What kind of future do you see for PAO base stocks compared to the other synthetics available?
Hope: PAOs are used primarily in the top tier of the lubricant arena and have been a very technical product ever since they were first synthesized. Synthetics, in general, exist because of technical requirements that cannot be met by mineral oils. 

There are a wide variety of synthetic base oils available today, and each has its niche. The main advantages PAOs provide center around their exceptional low-temperature properties, oxidative stability, thermal conductivity and low-Noack volatility. These properties are essential in many applications, but there are benefits besides those. Some include frictional advantages, biodegradability, and others can address many lubrication regimes. In the end, we need to focus on safely providing top-tier, synthetic base oils for our customers to formulate exceptional lubricants. This approach is consistent with our new company trademark, Performance by design. Caring by choice.™

TLT: Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. recently began manufacturing high-viscosity, metallocene-based PAOs. Given the numerous OEM approvals needed for advanced synthetic products, has the industry been able to move quickly to adopt these new materials? 
Hope: From a chemist’s perspective, the excitement of creating new products or expanding the application of existing ones, is extremely rewarding. Many of these products are useful in multiple applications globally, help our customers’ businesses thrive and greatly benefit consumers. This formula is what makes a compelling case for industry adoption. And that certainly applies to our mPAO products, whose usage among our industry customers is growing considerably in what many would consider a compressed timeframe compared to industry standards. Before these materials ever came to market there was nothing like them, yet there was a need for high-viscosity oils with very good low-temperature properties. That created a whole new supply-demand dynamic in the market.

TLT: In the past, PAO sales have been limited because of supply constraints on their major feedstock—linear alpha olefins. What are PAO suppliers doing to remove these supply limitations? 
Hope: Thanks to the U.S. shale gas revolution, ethylene production is on the rise and so is the supply of normal alpha olefins, the building block for PAOs. On its end, Chevron Phillips Chemical recently started up one of the largest ethylene crackers in the world (1,725 KTA/3.8 billion lbs. per year) at our Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas. Within the last five years, Chevron Phillips Chemical also increased its full range capacity by 14%. By the end of 2019, the industry’s entire global NAO full range capacity is expected to increase by 22%.

Chevron Phillips Chemical also has recently announced a preliminary $8 billion plan with Qatar Petroleum for a second U.S. Gulf Coast petrochemical project, as well as pursuing the joint development of another petrochemicals complex in Qatar. The news represented a historic moment for our company, as it all took place during the Amir of the State of Qatar’s visit to the White House this year. During his visit, our signing ceremony took place at the White House in front of President Donald Trump and His Highness, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar. The final investment decision is expected no later than 2021 for the USGC II project, which will include a 2,000 KTA ethylene cracker. The first step in supplying PAOs for the future is to grow ethylene production.


President Donald Trump and His Highness, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, preside over a White House ceremony to celebrate plans for the joint development of petrochemical assets in the U.S. and Qatar between Chevron Phillips Chemical and Qatar Petroleum. The signing ceremony took place between Chevron Phillips Chemical president and CEO Mark Lashier (right) and His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and the president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum. (Photo courtesy of Qatar Petroleum.)

TLT: Besides lubricants, are there other major markets for PAOs? 
Hope: PAOs do have many applications where they are not strictly used as a lubricant base oil. For instance, there is use in hydraulic oils, heat transfer fluids, oil field applications, shock absorber fluids, metalworking applications and also in the cosmetic industry. Each area has specific requirements and technical needs. One thing I have learned is that new applications are developed continuously, and it has always been very interesting learning about each one. 

The key factor for addressing industry needs for the expanding variety of applications is to educate potential consumers on the capabilities of PAOs and mPAO. In lubricants we tend to focus on viscosity properties. However, thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, frictional properties, elastomer compatibility and a myriad of other properties can and do influence performance of final products in non-lubricant related areas, too.

TLT: How did you get involved with STLE and what advice do you have for new people in the industry? 
Hope: I became involved with STLE because my predecessor, one of the inventors of our PAO process, Dr. Barry Cupples, mentioned I should attend a local meeting early in my career. Soon thereafter, there was an opportunity to participate in the annual meeting, which led to further opportunities to teach the synthetics portion of our Basic Lubrication course. I also participated in the local Houston section and progressed from lube guide editor to section chair. 

Throughout my time with STLE, I found the organization to be a great resource to stay relevant in today’s marketplace, a goal so clearly enshrined in its tagline, Connect, Learn and Achieve. STLE offers a panoply of learning opportunities, including its annual meeting with more than 1,500 attendees, local sections, education workshops and more. 

With so much going on at STLE, there are always opportunities for members to contribute to the betterment of the organization and develop the skills needed to become more established professionals. In my case, for example, STLE Past President Rob Heverly asked one day if I would consider serving as a regional vice president (RVP), and I have never regretted a minute. The RVP role ended up being a two-year term, and then STLE re-wrote its constitution and bylaws to move all RVPs to directors so then I became a director for two three-year terms. 

Two years ago, the nominations committee asked me to serve as treasurer on the STLE Executive Committee, and this year I transitioned to secretary. Once again, I haven’t regretted a single minute of my STLE experience, since it is such a great organization made up of wonderful volunteers where I met many friends and learned new things along the way. So my advice is to get involved at whatever level, choose an area that interests you and you have energy for, and then enjoy the ride!

You can reach Ken Hope at ken.hope@cpchem.com.