In 2015, the Russian and Kazakh energy ministries reached an agreement for lifting the ban for supply of raw materials to the future plant, Roman Milash, general director of Lukoil Lubricants Central Asia (LLCA), told Lube Report. The agreement stipulates open Kazakh borders and access to the neighboring markets, including the largest one in China.

The plant will be based in Kazakhstans metropolis of Almaty, the largest city in the country located in the southeast region. LLCA is now preparing design documents in order to pass the state expert review, and we hope very soon to obtain a construction permit, Milash said.

In 2015, LLCA opened a representative office in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, Northwest China. The region borders Kazakhstan, and Almaty is only 300 kilometers away from the border. We expect to start to sell our products in this region very soon, and by 2018 we will have prepared solid ground for mass sales of finished lubricants coming from our new plant in Kazakhstan, Milash said.

Lukoil said that after putting the plant into operation, the facility will become the largest lubricant production and logistics complex in Central Asia.

We will have a modern training center and a high-tech lab to prepare industry specialists. Early on, we expect to considerably strengthen LLK Internationals positions in the region, thanks to our logistical advantage, flexibility of manufacturing lubricants and packaged products, Milash said.

LLK International is Lukoils lubricant arm.