MOSCOW – The Turkish lubricant market is recovering from rampant illegal trade of base oil and is in a healthier state than in previous years, with OMV Petrol Ofisi the leading domestic lube marketer and Shell the top foreign lube brand marketer, an official with a Turkish lube blender said at an industry event last month in Moscow.
Turkeys production of industrial lubricants is higher than that of automotive lubricants which shows that the countrys industrial and construction sector is booming, as is its population growth, Eleni Soultanika of the Turkish lube blender Petroyag told the Global Business Clubs CIS Base Oils and Lubricants conference held in Moscow in May.
The breakdown is similar to the developed economies such as Germany or the United States, she said, albeit with one difference: Half of the population of Turkey is under the age of 30.4 with growth rate of 1.4 percent, whereas it is only 0.2 in the European Union and 0.1 in Germany.
Soultanika is chief technology officer at Petroyags 50,000 metric tons per year blending plant in Gebze. It primarily supplies industrial lubricants and specialties.
Foreign lube brands in Turkey hold a majority share of lubricant sales in the country, she said. In 2013 Shell supplied 17 percent of the markets lubricants. Shell was followed by BP with 11 percent and Total, which held an 8 percent share of the market. Russian Lukoil claimed 4 percent of the market.
The largest domestic lube marketer is OMV Petrol Ofisi, which held 17 percent of Turkeys lube market in 2013, Soulantika said, adding that smaller lube marketers such as Opet, Atak and Moil held 7 percent, 2 percent and 1 percent shares, respectively. The remaining 25 percent is divided among other suppliers.
Owned by the Austrian energy giant OMV, Petrol Ofisi is also the largest fuel retailer in the country with a country-wide network of filling and service stations.
In 2014, Turkey produced 116,000 tons of commercial vehicle engine oil, 50,000 tons of passenger car motor oil and 3,000 tons of motorcycle engine oil. In addition, the production of gear and transmission oils amounted to 32,000 tons, Soultanika said.
In 2012 BP was the largest engine oil marketer, supplying 27 percent of the countrys engine oil, Petroyag estimated. BP was followed by OMV Petrol Ofisi, which held a 21 percent share. The third-largest engine oil marketer in the country is Shell, which had 17 percent of the market in 2012. Total and Opet held 13 and 10 percent of the market respectively, while Lukoil, Atak and Moil held 5 percent, 4 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
In 2013 Shell was the largest industrial oil marketer, with a 25 percent segment share, according to Petroyag. It was followed by Petroyag (24 percent) and OMV Petrol Ofisi (19 percent). In the same year, Opet and BP held 6 percent each, while Total and Lukoil held 5 percent each. Moil and Atak held 1 percent each and the rest, or 25 percent, belonged to other industrial lube makers.
Between 2009 and 2013, much of the Turkish transportation sector was tainted with imported API Group I base oils adulterated as diesel fuel. Because the illicit trade had such a large impact on the fuels market, the government imposed a temporary ban on sale and transfer of base oils in Turkey. To a certain degree, the measure was effective, and the base oil oversupply decreased from over 1 million tons in 2011 to 288,000 tons in 2014, Soultanika said, adding that the government is continuing efforts to reduce the illegal practice.
Petroyag also found that Turkey imported 72,000 tons of Group II, Group III and naphthenic base oils in 2013. Germany, Sweden and Holland were the top three supply partners in this category.
The country is a significant finished lube exporter too. In 2013 Turkey exported 174,000 tons of finished lubricants, with engine, compressor and turbine oils holding 75 percent of the total export share, Soultanika said. Eight percent of the exported oils are hydraulic and 6 percent are white oils, while other types of exported oils accounted for 11 percent.