Nynas announced last week the opening of a 32,000 cubic meter storage depot in Singapore, part of a plan to grow its naphthenic base oil business in the Asia-Pacific region.
With this new logistics hub in Singapore, Nynas now has three hubs around the globe, including Antwerp, [Belgium,] and Houston, said Simon Day, Nynas vice president for naphthenics.
Previously, a blend of two base oils might require a specific delivery from Antwerp, and would keep the customer waiting for about two months, Day said in a recent press release. This will cut lead times from six weeks to two weeks for Asia-Pacific customers.
Nynas Asia-Pacific supply chain now mimics what it has established in Europe and the Americas, the company said. Nynas, a Stockholm, Sweden-based joint venture between Finish oil company Neste Oil and Venezuelas nationally owned Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., will now make a wide variety of oil grades available at the Singapore hub, the company said. This enables it to supply blends to regional clients faster and produce tailor-made products on site, and to react quickly to sudden, unforeseen demands in the market.
Completed in October, the hubhas 18 storage tanks ranging from 250 cubic meters to 3,500 m3. It expects 24 incoming vessels per year from Houston and Antwerp and 35 outgoing vessels per year – to local depots in Asia, including China (Shanghai, Tianjin), South Korea (Ulsan), Indonesia (Merak), Australia (Sydney) and Japan (Nagoya).
Nynas sells specialty oils for electrical, tire and lubricants applications and has sales offices in China, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, India and Australia.
We plan to double our current sales in five years, said Pascal Verhoie, regional director for Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The new hub will supply major Nynas customers who are global, and local customers in the electrical, tire and polymer industries, [in addition to those in] lubricant industries, especially metalworking fluids and greases. We also serve niche applications in the chemical industry.
Until now Nynas leased a 7,400 m3 storage facility in Penjuru, Singapore.
Nynas acknowledged that its difficult to evaluate Asias demand for base stocks, but noted that it believes the changing base oil landscape will increase naphthenics demand globally. Nynas takeover of the Harburg refinery in Hamburg, Germany, clearly indicates the companys confidence in a bright future for its naphthenic oil products, with our production capacity set to soar by 30 to 40 percent.
According to the companys report for its Sept. 30-ending third quarter, Nynas has increased its sales of process oils used in tire manufacturing in the Asia, Middle East and Africa markets, especially in China. It also signed several agreements to supply transformer oils to Japanese original equipment manufacturers.