Volume 9 Issue 5
Profits Up at SK, S-Oil, Lanka IOC
February 4, 2022South Korean base oil refiners SK Lubricants and S-Oil reported strong increases in profit for the quarter ending Dec. 31 and for full year 2021. S-Oil said that base oil margins narrowed after the second quarter of last year but remain high compared to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, profits and revenue also rose for Sri Lanka’s Lanka IOC.
Japan Demand Rebounded in 2021
February 4, 2022Japan consumed 1.5 million kiloliters (1.3 million metric tons) of finished lubricants in 2021, a 4% increase from 2020’s total, according to data released Jan. 31 by a government agency. Lubricant consumption in December declined 18% to 113,474 kL, compared to the same month in 2020. The 2021 consumption total was 1% shy of 2019’s 1.6 million kL total.
Auto Sales Bounce Back in Southeast Asia
February 4, 2022Southeast Asia sales of four-wheel automobiles climbed 14% in 2021, and motorcycle and scooter sales in four key countries grew 10%, according to Asean Automotive Federation data. Although this reflected a rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on sales in 2020, the market remained well behind 2019.
From Other Editions of Lube Report
February 4, 2022U.S. Base Oil Production Falls
Briefly Noted
February 4, 2022BP, Castrol and Petrolimex recently agreed to a 20-year renewal of their Vietnamese joint venture, Castrol BP Petco Co., which supplies Castrol and BP-branded lubes in the Southeast Asian nation. BP and Petrolimex own 65% and 35%, respectively, of the business, which operates a 50,000 metric ton per year blending plant in Ho Chi Minh City. The JV claims to lead the domestic market with 24% of lubricant sales.