Gazpromneft Lubricants finished product sales in Central Asia rose by 35 percent in 2016, driven by increased tie-ups within the regions industries, the company said recently.
The company increased its supplies of its flagship motor oil brand G-Energy and its Gazpromneft-branded products in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia to 35,000 metric tons, up 35 percent compared to 2015, the company said in a recent news release.
The five central Asian countries consume about 500,000 tons of finished lubricants annually, according to various sources, such as Kazakhs state statistics and Bulgarian lube marketer Prista Oil.
During 2016 we steadily consolidated cooperation with the regions leading mining, metallurgical, power generation and agricultural enterprises, said Alexander Trukhan, general director of Gazpromneft Lubricants. Also, the company have been active in Central Asias car aftermarket sector.
The company is actively developing its car maintenance project G-Energy Service. These service stations primarily sell motor oils, in addition to other services. In 2016, our fast lube and car maintenance outlets reached 70 locations in Russia and in nine other countries in Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia. We plan to open 90 more outlets by the end of this year, Trukhan said.
Last year, international sales of G-Energy rose by 44 percent to 10,000 tons. Total sales of our flagship motor oil, rose 30 percent to 41,000 tons, the company said.
To boost the quality of its products and enhance its product portfolio, the company established a Moscow-based research and development center and started a small-scale, 5,000 t/y grease and additive production in Omsk, southern Siberia last year.
In 2016 we started to produce lithium and calcium greases in our lubricant production complex in Omsk. Before, we produced these greases in our plant in Italy. In addition, in Omsk we produced 5.5 tons of lubricant additives, of which 3 tons where used for in-house production, Trukhan said.
The companys Omsk lubricants production and filling complex is one of the largest blending sites in Russia, capable of producing up to 110,000 tons of finished lubricants annually. Gazprom acquired its blending plant in Bari, Italy, from Chevron in 2009.
Photo courtesy of Gazpromneft-Lubricants
Our priority for 2017 is to further invest in greases meant for the extreme temperatures of Russias Arctic region and to promote an assortment of fully synthetic oils made with in-house Group III and Group V base oils, Trukhan said.
The company is preparing for the start of a 100,000 t/y Group III upgrade of a Yaroslavl base oil plant operated by Slavneft, Gazproms 50-50 joint venture with Rosneft.
Gazprom Neft is the third-largest lube marketer in Russia, after Lukoil and Rosneft, with about a 15 percent share of the countrys lube market.