Brazil’s base oil output – mostly API Group I oils – declined 6% to 44,000 metric tons in March, while base oil imports remained well below the pace set in the early months of last year, according to data released by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels.
Sequentially, production in March matched February’s 44,000 metric tons.
The South American country’s base oil production declined 7% to 129,000 tons for the first quarter of this year, compared to 139,000 tons in the same period last year.
The country imported 67,000 metric tons of base oil in March, a 50% drop from 135,000 tons in the same month last year. Sequentially, March’s volume was up 52% from February.
For the first quarter, Brazil’s base oil imports totaled 157,000 metric tons, a 56% year-over-year decline.
Most of Brazil’s base oil imports – primarily Group II – originate from the United States. Monthly totals reach high points of above 134,000 tons in both February and March and exceeded 90,000 tons four other times, the last time in November. This year the country’s monthly base oil import volumes have been much smaller compared to year-earlier totals.