India’s HPCL enters Myanmar’s lubricants market

India’s state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL) has entered Myanmar’s lubricants market as part of a broader plan for Indian oil companies to play a bigger role in the country’s petroleum industry.

India is pushing to supply fuel to Myanmar to meet rising demand in the country. In February, India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, visited Myanmar to explore opportunities for India’s state-owned oil refineries to supply refined petroleum products to Myanmar.

Myanmar’s three state-owned oil refineries, with a combined capacity of around 2.5 MMTPA, are insufficient to meet domestic demand.

“Having achieved the number one position in the domestic market, HP Lubricants sought to prove itself in foreign shore by venturing into Myanmar,” the company said in a statement.

HPCL is the first Indian oil company to start marketing lubricants in Myanmar, choosing the commercial hubs of Yangon and Mandalay, to market its products.

HPCL owns and operates two refineries in India, one in Mumbai in the West Coast with a capacity of 7.5 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), and another in Visakhapatnam in the East Coast with a capacity of 8.3 MMTPA. HPCL also owns and operates the largest base oil refinery in the country, producing more than 40% of India’s total base oil production. HPCL also produces more than 300 types of finished lubricants, lubricating greases and specialty products.