Fuels & Lubes International 1997 – Issue #4

Cosmo oil launches Philippine joint venture
MANILA, Philippines — A joint venture between Thailand’s Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd. and a group of local investors, Cosmo Oil (Phils.) Inc., was launched here April 7, signaling the entry of the first foreign oil company since the full deregulation of the Philippine downstream oil industry early this year

Japan’s Deregulatory Moves Have Not Aided Fuel Imports
Reprinted with permission from The Nikkei Weekly
Almost a year after the Japanese government eliminated some restrictions on gasoline imports remaining controls favoring big petroleum-industry players have dampened import growth.

Esso to construct 2 lube blending plants in China
Esso (Tianjin) Company Limited and Esso (Zhejiang) Company Limited, Chinese affiliates of the Exxon Corporation, announced this month that they plan to construct their first two lubricant blending plants.

Tankstore diversifies into Petchem storage
Singapore-based oil storage firm Tankstore has decided to diversify by converting about a fifth of its 930,000 cubic meters of storage capacity to petrochemical storage. Tankstore, incorporated in Singapore in 1990, is a 50/50 joint venture of Paktank International of the Netherlands and GATX of the United States. The company has invested about $S300 million since coming to Singapore.

Special Report
Lubricant future directions:
Annually, Wickliffe, Ohio-based Lubrizol Corp. produces an ambitious review of past and future trends in fuels and lubricants.

Lube Tech Report
Base oils in a changing environment:
Until recently, finished lubricants were prepared largely from solvent refined base stocks, with additive packages providing the primary means for achieving differentiated lubricant requirements.

Fuel Tech Report
Trends in gasoline formulation:
Reformulated gasoline (RFG) now represents about 30 percent of total U.S. gasoline sales. While the oil industry has literally engaged in “reformulating” fuels since the introduction of the horseless carriage, writes one expert, the term RFG became popular as a result of the 1990 U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments.

Toyota to produce hybrid engines:
Toyota apparently will begin significant production of a hybrid electric/gasoline powered vehicle by late this year. The vehicle, which it is said will be based on the RAV4 platform, will double fuel efficiency to something on the order of 60 miles to the US gallon and cut emissions by 90 percent compared to conventionally powered compact cars.

Asia – Pacific Regional News
The Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) and joint venture partners plan to open five more retail service stations in China by the end of the year.

The Chinese government will start prohibiting the sale of leaded gasoline in Beijing July 1.

The Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), through its registered holding company Petronas Phils., Inc., plans to enter the Philippine retail gasoline market this year, reports Business World.

The Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) has awarded a 13 million baht (US$500,000) consultancy contract to Enincerche SpA of Italy to draw up a master plan for its 1.5 billion bahht (US$57.5 million) scheme to develop a world class research and development center.

Mobil is considering a 500 million baht (US$19 million) program to expand capacity at ts 300,000 barrel blending plant in Prapadaeng, Thailand.

Indo Mobil will build a 60,000 ton per year lubricating oil blending facility at Aralti, near Delhi.

Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals will build a lubricating base oil refinery at Ratnagiri, Maharashta, in India.

Leaded gasoline will be phased out by 2000, according to Indonesia’s Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana.

Indonesian officials are calling for the reduction of the price in unleaded fuel to make its use more common.

A surge in diesel imports in the last few months has resulted in oversupply in inland regions in China.

Maruti Udyog Ltd., India’s largest car maker, expects to produce 335,000 units in 1996-97, up from 276,000 cars a year earlier.

Honda Motor Co. will increase its number of dealers in Thailand to 20 by the end of this year from the current 15, and sales outlets to about 100 from about 90.

Oil India Ltd. (OIL) will divest about 10 percent of its equity this year, according to the company chairman.

Eastman Chemical is to build a new oxo alcohol plant at Pulau Sakra in Singapore.

Exxon Corp. announced its plan to build an 800,000 ton per year naphtha cracker in Singapore.

Automobile production in Japan in February dropped 1.1 percent from a year earlier to 933,539 units as reported by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Petronas and Union Carbide are said to be nearing an agreement on construction of a 600,000 tons per year cracker facility at Kampung Tok Arun.

Itochu opened its first service station in February, using the Itochu name.

Japan released further deregulation steps which include for the energy sector, abolishing the requirement that before opening a service station, owners must show the Ministry of International Trade and Industry that they have supply contracts with oil refiners.

Japan’s oil industry, stung by falling prices since decontrol of prices last year, reportedly has asked the government to play a greater role in monitoring prices.

Mobil says it sold 260,000 barrels of lubricants in Thailand last year for revenues of 2.1 billion baht (US$80.5 million).

A number of projects of the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) have been put on hold by the Thai cabinet as part of the government’s austerity program, reports the Bangkok Post.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment said that there is a proposal to build two smaller refineries, that together would equal the output planned for Dung Quat.

Caltex Australia, 50 percent owner of Australian Petroleum (Ampol), says that it expects higher profits in the second half of 1997 and believes that demand for petroleum products in Asia will continue to grow rapidly.

Petronas signed a joint venture agreement with Dialog MCV Snd Bhd and GATX Terminals (Pte) Ltd. for a 300 million ringgit (US$119.7 million) centralized chemical storage facility in Terengganu.

Singapore-based firms signed nine agreements which will result in the investment of US$140 million in China’s Fujian Province, Business Times reports.

Petroleum product demand in South Korea in January-February, was 135.9 million barrels compared to 135.7 million barrels a year earlier.

Sinopec and Engelhard of the U.S. plan a joint venture for manufacture of catalysts for fluid catalytic cracking units in refineries.

Dow Chemical, in a joint venture with Sinopec, will build a petrochemical complex in Tianjin, that will include a 600,000 ton per year naphtha cracker.

Exxon Chemicals Corp. has formed a wholly owned holdings and operating company in India, Exxon Company India, and is establishing an R&D center at Whitefield, Banglore, valued at 10.5 crore rupees (US$29.2 million).

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), is committing 115 billion rupees (US$3.2 billion) for growth over the next five years.