Russian lubes producer Gazprom Neft-SMs automotive lubricants sales soared in 2011, boosted by new high-end products for domestic and international markets.
Gazprom Neft-SMs increased its market share and last year held 14 percent of the Russian lubricants market, according to Gazprom Neft-SM General Director Alexandr Truhan. The company in 2009 sold 43,000 metric tons of automotive lubricants in Russia, accounting for 8 percent of the market, according to its own estimates.
The Russian lubricants market has seen growth in 2011, and Gazprom Neft-SM increased its sales in its finished automotive products segment by 37 percent [compared to 2010], Truhan told Lube Report. The structure of products sold has been changed, and the automotive lubricants sales have surged as a result of the new top-tier products introduced to the market in 2011.
The company sells its premium automotive lubes under the G-Energy brand. The total volume of finished products sales in 2011 has risen by 30 percent, compared to the year before, said Levan Kadagidze, head of Gazprom Nefts commercial department. But the sales of G-Energy automotive lubes last year have doubled compared to 2010, he added.
The firm added 13 new types of finished lubricant products under the G-Energy line in 2011. Gazprom Neft-SM is also developing top-tier engine oils for Formula One racing cars.
Gazprom Neft-SMs total lubricants production in 2011 amounted to 409,000 tons, including lubricants and base oils, or 20,000 tons less than the year before. The companys base oil exports were down 75,000 tons in 2011, compared to 2010.
Gazprom Neft-SM, the lubricants arm of the energy giant Gazprom, operates a 250,000 t/y API Group I base oil plant in Yaroslavl, under the Slavneft joint venture with the Russian oil company TNK-BP. That facility is scheduled to be upgraded to produce 100,000 t/y of Group III base oil by 2014, to be shared equally between Gazprom and TNK-BP. The company also operates a lubricants complex in Omsk, Western Siberia, that includes a plant with 240,000 t/y Group I capacity, and a 50,000 t/y lubricants blending facility.
Currently Gazprom Neft-SM sells its products in 35 countries. The company increased its market share in Italy, one of the key European markets, Kadagidze said. At the moment, we hold a three percent share of the Italian lubricants market. It is a very good result because, generally, European markets are pretty conservative with upcoming oil brands. The company operates a 30,000 t/y lubricants blending plant, purchased from Chevron in 2009, in Bari, Italy.
The firm is expanding in Central Asia as well. Gazprom Neft-SM holds more than a 45 percent share of the Kazakhstan lubricants market, he said. It is also trying to enlarge its presence with more lubes sales in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Mongolia.