Russian oil major Lukoil increased production at its standalone lubricant blending plants by 17% to 161,000 metric tons in 2020, Lukoil said in its annual performance results report. The company attributed the increase to its new plant in Kazakhstan, which had its first full year of making products for Central Asia countries.
The company also blends lubricants at its refineries in Perm and Volgograd, which itcounts as “full-cycle lubricant production” sites. At those locations Lukoil produced a combined 923,000 tons of base oils and finished lubricants in 2020, a 4% drop compared to the year before.
The Kazahkstan plant in Almaty began operating in September 2019. It is Lukoil’s largest standalone blending plant, with capacity to make 100,000 tons per year. The company operates five other blending plants: in Russia’s Tyumen oblast; in Hamina, Finland (which has capacity of 32,000 t/y); in Vienna (80,000 t/y); in Ploiesti, Romania (40,000 t/y); and in Izmir, Turkey (21,000 t/y).
“The launch of the plant allowed the company to expand its lubricants market share in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries to double digits,” Lukoil said.
In 2020, the company continued to upgrade its Russian lubricants and base oil production sites in Perm, Volgograd and Tyumen “to boost the quality and the volume of the growing product range.” In Perm, the company launched production of a thickening additive and continued to toll blend lubricants for some original equipment manufacturers.
Last year, the company developed 67 formulations, including 29 new products and continued to market its motor oils to virtually all foreign automakers with assembly plants in Russia. Also, it started a cooperation for lubricates supply with Man, a German heavy-duty vehicle maker.
Many of the new products are engine and industrial oils made with Group II base oils, which the company started to commercially stream at its Volgograd refinery in early 2021. The base oil plant in Volgograd can make 220,000 t/y Group II base oils. The refinery also features a Group I base oil plant with capacity to make 520,000 t/y and a Group III base oil plant capable to produce 30,000 t/y Group III products, Lukoil is the largest lube marketer in Russia and last year accounted for about 30% of the country’s total lubricant production.