Spanish oil producer Repsol has begun lubes manufacturing in Malaysia and China with plans for further Asian growth.
The new production will boost Repsol's lubes sales to 20,000 tonnes in Asia by 2015, the equivalent of more than 25% of its Spanish annual output and is the result of an agreement between Malaysian industrial group UMW.
The plants, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Guangdong in China will help to meet the significantly increased demand in the Asian region, with Repsol adding imported automotive synthetics to the lubes mix from its Spanish refinery in Puertollano.
The latest move is just the start of planned growth in the region by Repsol, with the company planning to enter markets in Singapore, Brunei, Papua New Guinea and Myanmar of the next few years, with additional production centres in Indonesia and Japan. Sales in 11 countries could total as much as 9.3m litres.
The UMW agreement is set to last five years with product being shipped in 209, 20 and four litre containers.