The new supply company will enable us to work much more closely with our customer network, Gulf Oil International Vice President of Operations and Production Tobias Tasche said in a written statement.

Q8Oils declined to comment, citing a customer confidentiality agreement, but the company may have put the Antwerp facilities in position to take on new business. For several years it has been executing a multi-phase upgrade and expansion of the blending plant. The plant now has capacity to produce up to 225,000 metric tons per year, a Q8Oils spokesman told Lube Report.

Oil, fuel and lubricant marketer Gulf Oil International is part of Indias Hinduja Group conglomerate. Q8Oils is a subsidiary of Kuwaiti national oil company Kuwait Petroleum Corp.

Gulf Oil has grown significantly in recent years, entering new markets and undertaking projects such as construction of a lubricant and grease factory in Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, and a lube plant in Le Reja, Argentina.

Gulf Oil said the Antwerp facility will become its sole supply point for lubricants sold in Europe.