South Korean base oil refiner GS Caltex and Thai Oil’s base oil business both posted large increases in net profit for the quarter ending Sept. 30.
Meanwhile, the lubricants business segment of Malaysian state-owned oil firm Petronas’ domestic marketing arm reported a jump in gross profit for the quarter.
GS Caltex
South Korea-based GS Caltex’s lube division – which makes base oils and finished lubricants – reported operating profit of 64 billion South Korean won (U.S. $57.8 million) in the third quarter, up 231 percent from ₩19.3 billion in 2019’s third quarter.
Sales declined 2% to ₩300.4 billion in the third quarter.
The 50-50 joint venture of GS and Chevron has capacity to produce 1.3 million metric tons per year of API Group II and Group III base oil at its plant in Yeosu and 470,000 t/y of finished lubricants at its blending plant in Incheon.
Thai Oil
State-owned Thai Oil’s lube base oil business reported a 375 million baht net profit (U.S. $12.3 Million) for the third quarter, a 101% improvement from 187 million baht in the year-earlier period.
Lube base oil sales revenue fell 20% year to year to 3.4 billion baht. In its analysis, company management attributed the drop in sales revenue mainly to a decrease in average unit selling price, caused by lower crude oil costs.
The company’s plant in Si Racha, Thailand, had a base oil production rate of 89% of name plate capacity during the third quarter, up from 81% a year earlier. Total base oil production for the quarter reached 60,000 metric tons, up 11% from 54,000 tons in 2019’s third quarter.
The base oil plant has capacity to make 267,000 t/y of Group I. The base oils are mainly used in industrial and marine lubricants and in engine oils for older engines.
According to Thai Oil’s earnings presentation, the price for its Group I base oil – based on ex-tank Singapore price – averaged $596 per metric ton for 500 solvent neutral in the third quarter. That was down 12% from a $677/t average in 2019’s third quarter.
Petronas
The lubricants business segment of Petronas Dagangan Berhad posted a 25% increase to about 30 million Malaysian ringgit (U.S. $7.3 million) in gross profit for the third quarter, which the company attributed to higher demand for higher margin products.
Petronas Dagangan Berhad is the Malaysian state-owned oil firm’s domestic marketing arm.
Petronas Lubricants Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn was formed in 2015 to integrate all sales and marketing of Petronas lubricants in Malaysia into a single entity under Petronas Dagangan Berhad.