Weekly Asia Base Oil Price Report

Meanwhile, Iran has kept its chokehold on Hormuz, with very few vessels able to cross the waterway without being exposed to drone and missile attacks. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that an oil tanker “violating regulations” caught fire after hitting a sea mine in the Strait of Hormuz as attacks on ships continued. There were reports of tankers carrying crude oil and refined products such as base oils having been able to transport cargoes out of the Persian Gulf through high-risk, clandestine tactics and complex political or military arrangements, including sailing in “dark mode” with disabled tracking signals and cellular phones. Reuters also reported that Iran permitted passage to vessels from nations it considers friendly or neutral (such as Omani, Japanese, or French-operated fleets) as long as they have no active U.S. or Israeli military links.

The elevated risks have sent insurance and freight rates to record highs, forcing crude producers to slash export prices as bottlenecks continue to affect flows out of the Middle East and into the rest of the world. The possibility that more Russian crude could become available after president Trump signed a waiver on sanctions that have been applied to Russian energy exports cast a semblance of relief and drove oil prices down, with Brent futures slipping by almost 2% to around $107 per barrel on Monday after having peaked at $110/bbl on Friday. However, Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities and additional tankers coming under attack in the Persian Gulf continued to exert upward pressure on prices. European nations opposed lifting sanctions on Russian exports because they said that allowing Russia to sell its crude and diesel was providing essential cash flow to fund Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

Group I

API Group I base oil spot prices were stable-to-firm, with local indications in some countries such as India edging up because of increased buying interest, although trading in general was subdued and producers have restricted their spot offers as they protected inventories to make sure they would meet contractual commitments in case of further oil supply disruptions.

Most refineries appeared to be able to receive sufficient crude oil because several cargoes loaded a few weeks ago in the Middle East have now arrived, and some have been procured from other origins. However, more recent loadings have been threatened by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, and by Iranian drone and missile strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, which might result in reduced supplies in the coming months. Some refiners enjoy the flexibility of being able to use crude from different origins, but this might affect their yields, particularly when it comes down to Group II and Group III base oil output.

There were limited fresh spot offers heard from Thailand and Indonesia, with producers expected to be prioritizing domestic and contract requirements. Traders appeared to have received an increased number of inquiries as buyers in need of replenishments hoped to find more sizeable cargoes.

It was heard that a Taiwanese buyer was seeking to acquire Group I SN150, SN500 and bright stock through a tender for November shipment, but results could not be confirmed by the publishing deadline.

The dearth in spot offers coincided with a period of subdued demand, with buyers setting their sights on smaller cargoes mostly to avoid price risks as values had gone up significantly over the previous months since the start of the war in Iran. While values have come down from their peaks, they were still hovering at elevated levels compared to pre-war levels.

India was an outlier in that buyers had kept lean inventories during the monsoon season and have now returned to the market to replenish stocks. There has also been buying interest from India because of uncertainties connected to Saudi supplies of Group I and Group II base oils.

The Saudi base oils plant in Yanbu was heard to be undergoing a turnaround, although it was supposed to only affect Group II base oils. However, shipments out of Yanbu have been threatened by Houthi militia. At least one cargo containing Group I and Group II base oils was heard to have managed to load from Yanbu and was sailing to Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) for end of October arrival. A 7,500-ton cargo was also quoted for lifting in Yanbu to West Coast India and Singapore in late October.

Given the complications in acquiring foreign parcels, Indian buyers preferred locally produced material whenever possible. However, domestic production was insufficient to meet all requirements, and a revived interest in imports has driven prices up. Imported Group I SN150 edged up by $40-50 per metric ton week on week, while the SN500 underwent steeper increases of around $70-80/ton on a CFR India basis. Bright stock saw more moderate increases in the realm of $5-10/t.

In China, blenders were also more keen on purchasing from domestic producers, rather than focus on imports, which were available at steeper prices. Distributors were also avoiding the prospect of acquiring too much product that may lose value later on or would be difficult to place and have therefore acquired few fresh shipments.

Bright stock is a more difficult base oil to locate in the domestic market as China is structurally short. However, a seasonal slowdown in demand as high-viscosity cuts are not as widely used during the colder months, coupled with increased availability from a producer who restarted operations after a turnaround allowed for more bright stock to enter the supply system. The producer offered bright stock at levels below those sought for imported Thai bright stock. Plentiful availability of other Group I base oils exerted downward pressure on prices as producers tried to lower inventories.

Group II

Group II spot supplies were deemed slightly more readily available in Asia than their Group I counterparts. Prices were either unchanged from a week ago or underwent small upward adjustments, depending on the origin and the receiver, as some producers have withdrawn from the spot market.

Spot offers were not as abundant as two months ago because of concerns about potential disruptions in Middle Eastern crude flows, as refiners have to prioritize fuel production to meet domestic requirements. Other Asian refiners are able to use crude from diverse origins because refineries have been built with that flexibility, but this may affect their yields. Global gasoil/diesel supply shortages and skyrocketing prices were also expected to impact refinery operations, causing some refiners to prioritize diesel production over that of other products such as base oils.

Spot offers from Taiwan were off the market and contract allocations were reduced because the sole Taiwanese producer started a turnaround at its Group II plant in Mailiao on October 12. The shutdown may tighten export spot supplies as the producer prioritizes domestic requirements, although it may offer some spot availability in November.

A key South Korean exporter was understood to have curtailed its heavy-viscosity base oil exports this month as it is favoring production of other refined products.

Exports from Saudi Arabia may also be affected due to the current shipping disruptions and because of a 30-day shutdown at the Saudi plant in Yanbu that was expected to start on October 1, although sources indicated that the base oils plant had already started a partial shutdown earlier and it would be affecting Group II grades mainly.

In India, import prices went up because of renewed buying interest and tight domestic supplies, while there was also a need to attract volumes to India away from destinations that offered more substantial profits. Group II 70N and 150N imports rose by $10-20/ton, while the heavy-vis grade 500N underwent more moderate adjustments of around $10/ton, all on a CFR India basis.

Domestic supplies of Group II grades were heard to have tightened in India, partly because a key producer was heard to have reduced Group II output in favor of Group III grades that offered higher margins and export opportunities. A scheduled turnaround this quarter may tighten supplies further. Even though domestic pricing is usually more competitive than that of imported material, local producers have also adjusted prices up, particularly for the light grade due to steep gasoil/diesel values.

In China, domestic Group II prices have edged up because of tighter supplies and fewer offers of imported product, which limited buyers’ choice of supplies. Compared to the same time last year, import volumes have fallen significantly. Ongoing concerns about the availability of feedstocks as the Middle East conflict seemed to escalate also led smaller independent refiners to hike prices. A Chinese Group II producer has restarted its plant and was heard to have offered limited spot supplies.

Group III

Given global supply shortages, Group III prices continued to be exposed to upward pressure, and the situation was not anticipated to let up until significant volumes could be moved out of the Persian Gulf. This week, prices were generally stable because of increased buyer resistance to higher prices, as values had reached record highs in the weeks following the Middle East supply outages.

The escalation in regional hostilities and ongoing Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on an increasing number of vessels have dampened expectations that exports from Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar would attain normal levels any time soon. Base oil plants in these countries were heard to be shut down or running at reduced rates, with some shipments being able to be moved to neighboring countries by truck. At least two cargoes were heard to have managed loading in the Middle East and were expected to be on their way to the U.S. A cargo of approximately 30,000 tons was expected to have been lifted in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, to the U.S. Gulf Coast in mid-October.

As mentioned in the previous weeks, the Middle East supply disruptions, together with current and upcoming turnarounds in Asia and other regions have partly exacerbated the product shortages, but at least one plant was expected to have resumed production.

The Malaysian Group III producer that had scheduled a 45-day turnaround at its plant in Malacca, which started in late August, was heard to have restarted production, although spot supplies were not likely to be available immediately. No confirmation could be obtained from the producer directly.

The joint venture production site operated by Repsol/SK Enmove in Spain has shut down 4 cSt production and supplies were not expected to recover until November, although the 6 cSt and 8 cSt cuts seemed more plentiful, not only in Spain, but in other regions as well.

In China, domestic supplies took center stage as buyers preferred to avoid logistical complications related to imports, which were also offered at steeper levels than locally produced barrels. The domestic coal-to-liquids (CTL) producer offered limited 4 cSt spot volumes, and this kept upward pressure on pricing. Chinese producers were also eyeing opportunities to export Group III grades as margins were more attractive, and this reduced the domestic availability of most grades.

In India, Group III 4 cSt, 6 cSt and 8 cSt import prices jumped between $50-80/ton on a CFR India basis because of continuing supply constraints. Some blenders have no choice but to pay the higher price of imports due to specific approvals. At the same time, Indian products were considered competitive in export markets and some shipments were heard to have been made to Europe and the U.S., but these base oils did not carry the same approvals as those of specific Group III grades of Asian or Middle East origin.

Shipping

Several base oil cargoes were on the table for shipment this month and the next:

• 1,000-2,000 tons expected to be shipped from Map Ta Phut, Thailand, to Hazira, India, October.
• Approximately 30,000 ton discussed for lifting in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, to the U.S. Gulf Coast, mid-October.
• 7,000-10,000 tons mentioned for shipment from Ulsan, South Korea, to Mumbai, India, second half October.
• 7,000-ton lot on the table for shipment from Pyeongtaek, South Korea, to West Coast India, Oct. 20-30.
• 10,000-ton cargo mentioned for shipment from Daesan, South Korea, to West Coast India, mid-October.
• 12,000-ton lot under discussion for shipment from Tianjin, China, or Daesan to Houston, U.S., Oct. 20-30.
• 1,500-2,000-ton cargo quoted for shipment from Singapore to Houston, November.
• 3,000-4,000 tons likely to be lifted in South Korea to Bangladesh, early November.
• 3,000-ton cargo discussed for shipment from Port Klang, Malaysia, to Genoa, Italy, and Hemiksem, Belgium, Oct. 20-23.

Production

Persian Gulf Plants

Qatar Energy halted production of liquid natural gas and other products following drone attacks on its facilities in Ras Laffan and Mesaieed in early March. The facility will not be able to return to normal production for several months, and has declared force majeure on LNG shipments, according to the company’s website. One train at the Shell/Qatar Petroleum Pearl gas-to-liquids base oil unit in Ras Laffan, which suffered some damage during an attack as well, was heard to be shut down. The unit utilizes natural gas from the Qatar Energy refinery to produce Group III base oils. The plant has a nameplate capacity of 1,372,000 tons of Group II/Group III base stocks. The damaged train was expected to remain shut down for several months until repairs to the highly specialized equipment are completed.

Fire erupted at Bapco’s refinery in Maameer, Bahrain, on March 5 following an Iranian attack. The country’s Ministry of Interior reported that the fire had been brought under control without providing further details about potential damage. Bapco operates a 400,000-metric tons per year Group III base oil facility in Sitra, within the Bapco refinery complex. Sources familiar with the plant’s operations said that Group III production was unaffected by the fire, but some reports indicated that production had stopped for damage assessments. An official report was not available by the publishing deadline.

In Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, a suspected drone strike had triggered a fire at the Ruwais Industrial Complex, leading authorities to shut down the country’s flagship refinery as a precautionary measure on March 10. The Ruwais complex houses Adnoc’s Group II and Group III base oils plant. According to sources familiar with Adnoc’s operations, the base oil unit was not damaged during the drone attack as only one train of the refinery had been affected by the strike, although it was reportedly running at reduced rates. The producer appeared to have been able to maintain base oils output for its own downstream lubricant operations. The latest information indicates that Adnoc was preparing to ramp up production following news of a ceasefire in the Middle East in late June, although these plans have been derailed by a resumption in hostilities and renewed closing of the Strait of Hormuz on July 8. The distributor of Adnoc material in the U.S. was compelled to declare force majeure on contract shipments as no fresh base oil cargoes have been able to be lifted in Abu Dhabi.

The latest plant turnaround information for 2026 is provided below, along with plant shutdowns that took place in the second half of 2025 as they may have impacted base oil pricing at the time of completion and beyond.

Group I

• Luberef postponed a 30-day turnaround at its Group I/Group II plant in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, from August to October 2026. The shutdown will only affect Group II production, according to sources. A partial shutdown had already started, according to market sources. The company had previously completed maintenance at the unit from mid-November until December 2025.
• Luberef has secured a new feedstock supply agreement for the company’s Jeddah facility. The facility had been expected to close by mid-2026, but the new supply agreement will allow it to continue operations beyond 2026. As a result, the company will maintain its current production capacity of 275,000 tons per year of Group I base oils. With the completion of the Growth-II Project in Yanbu, Luberef’s total production capacity will reach 1.53 million tons per year, making it the only supplier in the region able to offer Group I, Group II, and Group III base oils.
• PetroChina Karamay started a turnaround at its Group I and naphthenic base oils plant in Xinjiang, China, in August that was completed in late September.
• CNOOC Taizhou started a turnaround at its Group I/II plant in Jiangsu, China, in mid-April that was expected to have been completed in mid-June.
• Petrochina Fushun completed a turnaround in May at its Group I plant in Fushun, China.
• Idemitsu started a scheduled turnaround at its Group I plant in Chiba, Japan, in mid-May that lasted until July. The company secures Group III base oils required for its high-performance and eco-friendly engine lubricants through a partnership and a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company (Luberef).
• Eneos’ plant in Kainan, Japan, suffered an unplanned shutdown in February 2026. The company’s Mizushima A plant underwent maintenance from October to November 2025.
• Two Eneos Group I plants were permanently closed in Japan in recent years.
• Pertamina reportedly completed a one-month turnaround at its Group I plant in Cilacap, Indonesia, in April 2026.
• CNPC’s Fushun plant in Liaoning was expected to increase Group I production to offset the closure of a plant in Dalian. Bright stock capacity is estimated at 60,000 t/y.

Group II

• Formosa postponed a scheduled turnaround and catalyst change from the fourth quarter of 2025 to mid-October 2026. The shutdown was expected to last until early December. The producer had unexpectedly shut down its Group II base oils plant in Mailiao, Taiwan, in early July due to feedstock supply issues given technical problems at the affiliated refinery but restarted production the second week of July.
• Petronas was heard to have postponed a turnaround at its Group II/III Melaka plant in Malaysia from June to the second half of August 2026, with the turnaround reported to have been completed in early October.
• State-owned Sinopec Jingmen Co. plans to have a turnaround at its plant in Jingmen City, China, starting in mid-November 2026 until mid-January 2027. It is the largest production plant for base oils and waxes in Central-South China.
• Hyundai Oilbank Shell Base Oils shut down its plant in Daesan, South Korea, in early April 2026 for approximately 45 days. The plant had run at reduced rates for several days in February due to a technical problem. The turnaround was completed around May 8, and spot shipments were expected to have resumed in June.
• GS Caltex shut down its Group II/Group III plant in Yeosu, South Korea, in early May to complete a month-long turnaround. The plant was restarted in June.
• CNOOC scheduled a turnaround at its Taizhou, China, plant in the second quarter of 2026.
• ExxonMobil completed a capacity expansion at its Singapore Resid Upgrade Project and commenced on-spec production in August 2025. The producer has started to offer an ultra-heavy Group II grade with similar characteristics to bright stock. The project is an upgrade of the company’s integrated manufacturing complex, which will allow it to expand large-scale production of its global EHC Group II slate and meet growing demand for high-performance lubricants in the Asia-Pacific region, the company said.
• Indian Oil Corp. was understood to have completed a one-month turnaround at its Group II plant in Haldia in November 2025. The producer also completed an expansion of its Group III capacity in Haldia in December 2025 and was expected to complete a Group II/Group III expansion at Gujarat in the third quarter of 2026.

Group III

• Petronas was heard to have postponed a turnaround at its Group II/III Melaka plant in Malaysia from June to the second half of August 2026, with the turnaround reported to have been completed in early October.
• In China, Shanxi Lu’an started a partial turnaround at its plant in Changzhi in early September and restarted at the end of the month.
• Also in China, Hongrun Petrochemical started a shutdown at its plant in Weifang in early July and completed it in late September.
• SK-Pertamina (Patra SK) completed a 40-day turnaround at its plant in Dumai, Indonesia, from early May to mid-June 2026.
• Indian Oil Corp. completed an expansion of its Group III capacity in Haldia, and a start-up of the expanded plant was achieved in December 2025.
• The restart of Shanxi Lu’an’s base oil plant following an unplanned shutdown in December 2025 was expected to bring more Group III supplies to the market in early 2026.

Prices

Crude Oil

Crude oil futures slipped on Monday, Oct. 19 as investors took profits from the multi-month highs attained on Friday, but the focus remained on shipping activity in the Strait of Hormuz.

• Brent December futures were trading at $107.90 per barrel on October 19, up from $105.83/bbl for front-month futures on Oct. 12 (ICE Futures Europe).
• Dubai crude futures (Platts) for November 2026 settled at $108.39/bbl on Oct. 16, up from $103.65/bbl for front-month futures on Oct. 9 (CME).

Base Oils

Spot base oil prices were steady-to-firm, with Group I and Group II receiving support from a limited number of spot offers and Group III prices stabilizing because of buyers’ resistance to higher offers amid persistently tight fundamentals and regional shortages. Prices have been notionally adjusted to reflect current market conditions and sentiment, but trading continued to be limited, and transactions remained difficult to track, especially for Group III grades, as there were hardly any spot volumes to be obtained.

The price assessments portrayed below reflect discussions, bids and offers, as well as deals and published prices widely regarded as benchmarks for the region.

Ex-tank Singapore

Group I
Solvent neutral 150 inched up by $10/t to $1,500/t-$1,540/t
SN500 also assessed higher by $10/t at $1,540/t-$1,580/t
Bright stock firmer by $20/t at $1,720-$1,760/t

Group II
150N was stable at $1,670/t-$1,710/t
500N edged up by $10/t to $1,690/t-$1,730/t

FOB Asia

Group I
SN150 steady at $1,280/t-$1,320/t
SN500 up by $10/t at $1,310/t-$1,350/t
Bright stock prices holding at $1,460/t-$1,500/t

Group II
150N hovering at $1,520/t-$1,560/t
500N steady at $1,560/t-$1,600/t

Group III
4 cSt assessed higher by $10/t at $3,650/t-$3,690/t
6 cSt holding at $3,630/t-$3,680/t
8 cSt assessed unchanged from last week at $3,470/t-$3,510/t

Gabriela Wheeler can be reached at gabriela@LubesnGreases.com

Lubes’n’Greases shall not be liable for commercial decisions based on the contents of this report.