Improvements include installation of software for automatic production and filling, new production equipment and laboratories, the company said in its Feb. 17 news release.

The latest investment program streamlined its lubricant production, resulting in fast execution of low- and medium-tonnage shipments. The newly installed filling lines achieved a 30 percent increase in our lubricants production capacity, Lukoil said.

The Russian oil major said that the revamp achieved higher efficiency in quality control and enhanced testing methods, while the new equipment and software resulted in more effective ways of content identification. The company also started to use a Quick Response system code, a type of matrix barcode that allows the company to track larger increased amounts of information about material during all phases of filling process and minimizes risk of product loss due to damaged labels.

The company manufactures the engine oils in Perm under VDA 6.3, a standard specification developed by the German Association of the Automotive Industry, according to Lukoil.

Lukoil markets lubricants through its subsidiary LLK International, the largest lubricants supplier in Russia and the former Soviet Union.