South Korean companies are exploiting the increased demand for Group III base oils with involvement in two new major projects.
The first is a deal between Korea's S-Oil and Brazilian lubes distributor Cosan Lubrificantes e Especialidades to market and distribute the Asian company's Ultra-S Group III base oil across Brazil. Korea's expertise in the production of API Group III oils is increasingly paying dividends as OEMs demand higher performance lubricants.
In Brazil, Cosan estimates that Group III products now account for some six percent of the country's total base oil use and, with this new marketing deal, the company is now expanding its activities which originally began with distribution of ExxonMobil's Mobil-branded products.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, South Korea's Hyundai Engineering Co is believed to have struck a deal to build Kazakhstan's first base oil production plant on the site of the now operational Shymkent blending plant.
According to Lube Report, the new facility in Southern Kazakhstan will produce some 200,000 tons of Group II and III base oil annually and cost almost $900m to construct. Work is due to begin at the end of this year, although details remain sketchy.