Volume 1 Issue 9

SK-Pertamina Plant Slated to Expand

SK Lubricants and Pertamina plan to expand their API Group III base oil plant in Dumai, Indonesia by 50 percent next year. An official with the South Korean refiner bucked conventional wisdom two weeks ago predicting shortages of Group III+ stocks.

Hyundai Oilbank Stokes South Korean Market

Competition appears to be heating up in South Korea's lubricant market with Hyundai Oilbank's entry into the scene. The refiner is still ramping up its finished lubes business, but existing players are taking steps to protect market shares.

Petronas Faces New EU Tariff

Petronas faces new duties of 3.7 percent on base oil exports to the European Union after adjustments to the EUs trade policy caused Malaysia to lose preferential status.

Delhi Traders Profit off VAT

Consumers in the Indian state of Delhi pay a significant price for a 21 percent value added tax that the government assesses on lubricants. Lubricant traders and big end users have found a way to profit from it.

Asian Lube Demand Keeps Growing

The Asia-Pacific region accounted for an estimated 42 percent of global lubricant consumption in 2013, an official with Fuchs Petrolub told an industry conference in London two weeks ago. Apu Gosalia, head of global competitive intelligence for the German company, said Asia-Pacific consumed about 15 million metric tons of lubes last year.