Chevron-Backed Sustainable Oil Company Files for Bankruptcy

A Chevron-backed producer of plant-based motor oil filed for bankruptcy after failing to generate enough scale to compete with more traditional lubricants.

Novvi LLC has about $27 million of funded debt outstanding against estimated assets of between $10 million and $50 million, according to court papers. The California-based firm’s Chapter 11 filing allows Novvi to keep operating while it seeks court approval of a restructuring plan.

Founded in 2011, Novvi initially tried to compete with commodity lubricants but failed to bring the cost of its first product low enough to do so, President Jason Wells said in a sworn ...