Gulf Western Oil began operating its recently completed 60 million liter per year blending plant located on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia.

The companys 5,500 square meter (59,200 square feet) building was built on a 9,000 square meter site in the Sydney, New South Wales suburb of St. Marys. The new site in a western Sydney business park contains 32 new stainless steel storage tanks and four new blending tanks, almost tripling Gulf Westerns previous Penrith plants production capacity. The storage facilities will increase the companys bulk additive storage by 180 tons, company officials previously said.

In a news release, Gulf Western noted that demand for oil is increasing in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Rim, and the company is expanding its own distribution network.

The lubricants manufacturer said 2013 has been a strong year for its business and brand. We expect 2014 to bring continued growth for the Gulf Western brand, said Ben Vicary, co-owner along with brother Andrew. Our business is also considering private label and toll blending opportunities throughout Asia Pacific. Our plant is very efficient, allowing us to compete with Asian manufacturers.

When it originally announced the AU $10 million (U.S. $9.1 million) project last year, company officials said its strength in the lubricants market was in the agriculture, heavy transport and industrial segments.

Gulf Western plans to decommission its Penrith manufacturing facility some time in 2014 or 2015.