Rosnefts Novokuibyshevsk oils and additives plant recently started producing marine lubes under BPs Castrol brand for the Russian market.
Under the agreement Rosneft signed with Baltic Petroleum in January, Rosneft, the worlds largest crude oil producer will use BPs key brand in the next two years and is expected to produce 2.6 million liters of marine lubricants annually. Its the first time the plant is producing customized lubricants for a leading global energy company, Rosneft said in its April 19 announcement. Baltic Petroleum is a subsidiary of British oil major BP. A BP spokesperson confirmed to Lube Report that production was underway.
The Novokuibyshevsk plant is set to produce eight types of marine lubricants for sale on the Russian market. The finished products include cylinder oil, medium alkaline marine lubricants and motor oil with dispersive and cleaning properties.
One of the first products, Cyltech 70, provides protection against wear in marine engines that use fuel with sulfur content from 1 percent to up to 3.5 percent.
Marine lubricants are produced in a new, fully automatic blending unit and use high-viscosity feedstock coming from the companys base oil plant at the same site. The Novokuibyshevsk oils and additives plant recently added a new filling line that can package 1,000-liter intermediate bulk containers, Rosneft said.
The plant pioneered production of marine and locomotive oils in Russia. In the early 1970s it developed the M-14 G2CS series of marine and locomotive diesel oils, and for many years it was the only producer making such products in the Soviet Union.
In 2012 the Novokuibyshevsk refinery produced 386,000 metric tons of base oils and finished products, or almost 90 percent of Rosnefts total lubricants production, the company said in January.
The plant sells its products in 49 Russian cities and regions, while 29 percent of its production is exported to Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Finland, Hungary and the three Baltic countries, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
After Lukoil, Moscow-based Rosneft is the countrys second largest lubricants marketer. In 2011 it produced 468,000 tons of lubricants and base oils, and held a 20 percent share of the Russian lubricants market, according to the Moscow-based InfoTek consultancy.
Rosneft and BP earlier this year sealed a historic strategic partnership deal that allowed the oil majors to swap assets between each other. The deal allowed Rosneft to acquire 100 percent of the TNK-BP Russo-British joint venture for $55 billion, becoming the worlds largest listed oil company, while BP got almost a 20 percent stake of Rosneft.