Pertamina Lubricants plans to increase overseas sales by expanding blending plants in Thailand and Indonesia, according to company sources.
We will be upgrading our lubricant blending plant in Thailand next year by about 20 percent so that we can directly export the Pertamina brand of lubricants from Thailand to Indochina markets next year, Budi Suharyanto, director of Amaco Production Co. in Thailand, said during a recent telephone interview with Lube Report Asia. Pertamina Lubricants acquired Thailands lubricant blending company, Amaco Production, and will be changing its name to Pertamina Lubricants Thailand Co. by the end of this year.
Pertaminas existence in Thailand, which has an automotive industry that is growing rapidly compared to other countries in Southeast Asia, is very important to strengthening Pertaminas lubricants business internationally, Pertamina Lubricants Director of Marketing Ahmad Bambang said in a press statement this month. This also [helps] the company to cope with competition, particularly when the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] Economic Community starts its role.
Pertaminas Thai subsidiary has blending capacity of approximately 6,000 metric tons per year and currently produces only the Amaco brand of lubricants for the Thai and Indochina markets.
Pertamina aims to increase sales in Indochina – including Cambodia, Laos and Bangladesh – to approximately 10,800 tons per year. Current sales to those countries are 3,600 tons per year.
Amaco Production is Pertamina Lubricants first acquisition of an overseas lubricant company, but we may acquire more in a new area like Africa or China, said Budi.
Apart from focusing on Indochinas lubricants market, Pertamina Lubricants is also becoming more serious about developing lubricants for export markets, particularly in countries with high potential for growth in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Australia and China, as well as [countries] in Africa and the Middle East region, such as South Africa, Nigeria and Yemen, the company advised in a statement.
Pertamina Lubricants currently has three blending plants in Indonesia, along with the facility in Thailand, with total capacity of more than 415,000 t/y.
To cope with its market expansion, We plan for our new plant in Jakarta to be operational by the first quarter of 2016, Corporate Secretary Arya Dwi Paramita said.
Pertamina is currently building a 350,000 t/y lubricant and grease plant in Jakartas Tanjung Priok port area. Upon completion, the project will raise the companys blending capacity in Indonesia above 600,000 t/y, and Pertamina claims it will have more blending capacity in Southeast Asia than any other company.
Pertamina Lubricants acquired 75 percent of Amaco Production in December 2014. The business supplies20 percent of its products to theThai market and exports the rest to countries like Australia, Brunei, Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam.