Volume 6 Issue 7

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

Global activity has been suspended until China is back and fully operational again after the New Year holidays, at least, that is what everyone is hoping for. Time will tell.-by Adrian Brown

Indonesia Develops EV Policies

Indonesia, the largest automotive market in Southeast Asia, is considering new fiscal policies and regulations to encourage production and purchases of electric vehicles. It would probably be years before EVs affect the lubricants market, though, because the penetration rate is currently low.

Tough 2018 for Korean Base Oil Refiners

South Koreas four major base oil refiners - SK Lubricants, S-Oil, GS Caltex and Hyundai Shell Base Oil - each reported a deep cut in operating profit for 2018, despite higher sales revenue for the year.

AKR Establishes Lubricant Subsidiary

PT AKR Corporindo Tbk., an Indonesian supplier of petroleum products and chemicals, established a subsidiary last week to focus on the trading and distribution of lubricants.

Earnings Up for Gulf, Continental

Gulf Oil Lubricants India Ltd and Continental Petroleum both reported healthy increases in profit for their third quarters, the former thanks to a jump in sales, the latter due to cost cutting. Meanwhile Tide Water Oil Co. and Hi-Tech Lubricants both had setbacks in performance.

From Other Editions of Lube Report

Briefly Noted

Gulf Oil Lubricants India entered a partnership with Mahindra Logisticsto set up a more efficient supply chain. A central distribution center for Gulf Oil’s product portfolio has been set up in Chennai, India.Fluor Corp. announced yesterday it was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction management contract for Valvolines new blending and packaging facility in Zhangjiagang, China. Production is expected to begin by the end of 2020 at the 80,000-square-meter plant, which will have capacity to produce more than 30 million gallons of finished lubricants and coolants annually.