Indian Oil to start lubes production in Sri Lanka

18 September 2007 08:51  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE--The Sri Lankan arm of Indian Oil Corporation Lanka IOC (LIOC) will start producing finished lubricants in October, with its blending plant scheduled to be commissioned later this month, the company’s managing director R Ramakrishnan said on Tuesday.

 

The plant has the capacity to produce 18,000 tonnes/year of finished lubricants, including all types of automotive, industrial and marine lubricants under IOC’s Servo brand, he told ICIS news.

 

It would sell about 5,000 tonnes/year in the Sri Lankan market, he said, pointing to Mauritius, the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and the Maldives as potential markets for its finished lubricants.

 

The company would rely on base oils imports from IOC, its parent company in India, for feedstock, he added. The first parcel of 5,000 tonnes of base oils from India arrived on 9 September, he said.

 

Lanka IOC has been marketing finished lubricants imported from India in Sri Lanka for more than two years.

 

Caltex has an 80% share of the Sri Lankan lubricants market where annual demand is estimated at 45,000 tonnes. The other major suppliers are Shell, Castrol, ExxonMobil and Gulf Oil.

By: Shibu Itty Kuttickal
+65 6780 4359

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