S-Oil is contracting Gulf Lubricants Oil India Ltd. to blend and distribute its finished lubes in India – the first time S-Oil lubes have been manufactured outside its home country of South Korea.
Gulf announced the arrangement Oct. 19, although a spokesman acknowledged that it actually began in 2020. When Gulf began making the products then, it marked S-Oil’s entry into the Indian market.
The arrangement covers light-duty engine oils for vehicles running both on gasoline and diesel, marketed under S-Oil’s Seven brand. Gulf makes the fluids at its Chennai factory – one of three lube blending plants that it operates in India.
S-Oil’s sales channels in India include the local dealer network of Korean automaker Kia. The products that Gulf is making includes semi-synthetic and synthetic finished products. “The industry insight and expansive distribution network of Gulf Oil Lubricants position us favorably for extensive market penetration in India,” S H Son, team leader for S-Oil, said in a news release.
India is the world’s third-largest lube market. Gulf, part of the Hinduja conglomerate, is one of the market’s largest non-state-owned suppliers.
Seoul-based S-Oil is one of the largest refiners in South Korea and one of the world’s largest merchant suppliers of API Group II and III base oils, which are made at its refinery in Onsan, South Korea.