Shell has completed an expansion that doubles the size of its lubricant blending facilities in Zhapu, China.

In an announcement last week, officials said the site in Zhejiang Province now has capacity of 400 million liters per year (about 360,000 metric tons per year) and is its largest blending site in China.

The project actually involved construction of a second blending plant on property adjacent to an existing facility. Energy giant Shell, which has dual headquarters in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, said the new plant uses in-line blending technology and has one of the companys fastest lubricant filling lines and is designed to handle large-volume products. Shell plans to use the old plant to make a broader portfolio of lubricants and smaller batches.

Shell did not disclose the cost of the project, which began in 2011.

According to Shell, Zhapu is now the largest of seven blending plants that it operates in China – the others are in Wuxhi, Tianjin, Xianyang, Tsing Yi, Beijing and Hong Kong. Officials said the expanded plant help it to better serve key customers including original equipment manufacturers in the region, and that it will also serve as a springboard for customers further inland.