Russian oil major Rosneft sold 1.05 million tons of base oils and lubricants in 2020, 4.5% less than the year before, according to the company’s annual performance report.
The company said its higher-tier lubes last year, however, grew by 23% to 100,000 tons.
“We succeeded in increasing motor oil sales by 14% by improving the cost efficiency of sales with better access to end users in domestic and export markets,” Rosneft said.
The company said that in 2020 it produced “greener motor oils to reduce fuel consumption and make exhaust gases less toxic.”
The company last year launched production of its Rosneft Drilltec B2-branded mineral base oil used for formulation of drilling fluids. Also, the company supplied motor, transmission and hydraulic oils to the Belarus heavy-duty vehicle makers Belaz and Maz, for factory filling of mining trucks and special purpose vehicles.
State owned Rosneft continues working to comply with a government-sponsored policy for import replacement in Russia’s oil and gas sector. One of the goals is to reduce the dependence on foreign suppliers of catalysts.
“Rosneft developed techniques to obtain [catalytic dewaxing] and hydrofinishing catalysts for production of high-viscosity index base oils,” the company said. The company is expecting to commercially produce [API] Group II and Group III base oils by 2025.
Likewise, the company’s research and development centers for oil refining manufactured more than 10,000 tons of petrochemicals to displace imported counterparts by “providing the company’s own facilities with in-house base oils and additives for fuels and lubricants.”
Currently, the company is carrying out a project to build a pilot plant for production of polyalphaolefin base stocks.
After Lukoil, Rosneft is the second-largest lube marketer in Russia.