Base oil production in Brazil rose 16%, and base oil imports volume ballooned by 47% in January, according to data released by a government agency.
Brazil’s base oil production rose to 58,000 metric tons in January, compared to 50,000 tons in the same month in 2022, the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels reported. The January volume was higher than in any month last year, when production peaked in the 49,000-tons range in May and June.
Almost all of the base oil produced domestically in Brazil is API Group I.
In January, most of the base oil production, about 49,000 tons, was from the base oil plant at the Duque de Caxias Refinery, known as Reduc. The Lubnor base oil plant owned by Petrobras in Fortaleza, in the northeastern state of Ceara, produced about 5,000 tons. The base oil plant at Mataripe Refinery in Sao Francisco do Conde produced about 4,000 tons.
Base oil imports into Brazil jumped to 110,000 tons in the first month of this year, compared to only 58,000 tons. Most of the base oil that Brazil imports comes from the United States, and the majority of that consists of Group II.
The South American country exported 15,000 tons in January, also a 47% jump from 8,000 tons.