While majors still lead the pack, smaller companies have a chance to shine in a global lubricants market that remained at 38.7 million metric tons in 2012, unchanged from 2011, Kline & Co. reports.

According to Klines new Global Lubricants 2012: Market Analysis and Assessmentstudy, Shell claimed the top spot again last year, raking in a 12 percent global market share, followed by ExxonMobil and BP at 10 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

Players like Fuchs and Gazprom edged up in the listing and are expected to steal market share from the top five, Kline reports. Despite the expectation that Shell will continue to top the market in the foreseeable future, its the middle pack composed of regional players and national oil companies that shows the most potential for growth, the Parsippany, N.J.-based consultancy said in a Nov. 19 press release. For example, Fuchs joined the global top 10 for the first time in 2012.

Overall, finished lubricant demand in North America and Western Europe remained stagnant at pre-recession levels in 2012. China demonstrated a net decline in demand from 2011 to 2012.

Demand for synthetic and semi-synthetic blends is up, Kline said, due to factors such as increasingly stringent emission and fuel-consumption regulations, and more exacting original equipment manufacturer specifications.