Shell Neft’s Torzhok blending plant to produce 200 million liters of lube oils by 2027

Major oil company Royal Dutch Shell plans to increase lubricant production in Torzhok, Tver Region to its design capacity of 200 million liters per year in 2027, according to Sergey Starodubtsev, director-general of Shell Neft, its Russian affiliate.

“We plan that the plant will be fully loaded by 2027,” he said, five years later than original forecast.

Shell is currently supplying about 120 million liters of finished lubricants to the Russian market, with 90 million liters being produced in Torzhok.

Russia is among the top five most promising markets for Shell’s lubricants business, Starodubtsev said. Shell is the largest lubricant manufacturer and marketer in the world.

Shell built its lube blending plant in Torzhok in 2012. The plant produces a wide range of lubricants, including engine oils, marine lubricants, hydraulic and gearbox oils.

With regards to its fuel business, Shell Neft said it plans to double the number of fuel retail outlets in Russia, currently at 259, in the next four to five years.

Vitaly Maslov, head of Shell’s Russian retail business, expects fuel sales rising anywhere from 8% to 12% in 2018.