Another Pacific Rim refiner is looking to become a Group III base oil supplier. Malaysias national oil company disclosed last week that it plans to build a Group III plant in the Southeast Asian country.
Engineering firm Foster Wheeler Ltd. announced Aug. 16 that Petronas awarded it and partner firm OGP Technical Services a contract for project management consultancy for addition of a base oil plant at Petronas refinery complex in Melaka, Malaysia. A Petronas spokesman confirmed that the company plans to build a base oil plant and added that it had not been previously announced.
Our refinery is already there, and we have a blending plant, so it is just a natural progression to add a base oil plant, said the spokesman, who asked not to be identified.
The spokesman said the plant will make Group III base oils but that its capacity has not been determined. The company plans for construction to begin in January 2006 and for the plant to begin operating by mid-2007.
Several other East Asian companies have entered the Group III market in recent years, led by South Korean refiners SK Corp. and S-Oil Corp.
Petronas does not currently produce base oils. The refinery complex in Melaka – located on the Malaysian peninsula south of capital city Kuala Lampur – includes two refining trains, one wholly owned by Petronas, the second a joint venture with ConocoPhillips.
The PMC contract calls for Foster Wheeler and OGP to make basic engineering designs for the plant, develop cost estimates and prepare an invitation for bids for engineering, procurement and construction.