CPC Corp. to start lubricant production in Vietnam next year

CPC Corp., Taiwan announced that its lubricant blending plant in Vietnam’s Dong Nai Province will start production by the end of next year. The plant will have an annual capacity of 32,000 kiloliters of lubricants, as well as solvents.

CPC Corp. Chairman Tai Chein revealed that the company will invest as much as TWD 1.79 billion (USD 60.53 million) to build the lube blending plant, which includes 15 storage tanks for base oils and additives which are used to make finished lubricants.

The plant will be operated by MAXIHUB Co. Ltd., a joint venture company founded by CPC Corp., Unishine Chemical Corp. and Excel Chemical Corp. CPC Corp. will own 40% of MAXIHUB and the remaining shares will be held equally by Unishine Chemical Corp. and Excel Chemical Corp.

The state-owned company said the project was undertaken in accordance with the Taiwanese government’s New Southbound Policy to explore opportunities in Southeast Asian markets.

The lube blending plant is the company’s second “southbound” investment in Vietnam after CPC’s joint venture company, Dai Hai Petro Corp., was established in 1994 to distribute liquefied petroleum gas in north Vietnam.

CPC Corp. is also seeking business opportunities in Indonesia, where it currently is looking at relocating a naphtha cracker unit, which was shut down in Kaohsiung’s Nanzih District in 2015. CPC Corp. also plans to invest in a new petrochemical plant in East Java in collaboration with state-owned PT Pertamina. The new petrochemical plant would be capable of producing 500,000 tonnes of ethylene and 270,000 tonnes of propylene per year.