Gazprom Neft to enter Chinese lubricants market

Gazprom Neft said it will enter the Chinese oils and lubricants market and has already found a local partner. The company’s Gazpromneft – Lubricating Materials Chief Alexander Trukhan said, “Our sales in China are for now insignificant, but we have already found a local partner and are now developing strategy for entering the market.” However, Trukhan did not name the local partner. Gazprom Neft said it plans to introduce the G-Energy line and other finished products into the Chinese market, although it is open to the possibility of setting up production in China. The company is also interested in expanding in Europe, but the high price of assets is a big challenge. “We need to hold off maybe a year and a half, to see: [maybe the price of] enterprises will suddenly go down,” Trukhan said. He added that an asset-acquisition decision could be made before the end of this year or early next year. Gazprom Neft also wants to expand its oils and lubricants business in Asia, especially in Kazakhstan, where it has captured 45% of the market, and in Mongolia, where the company is now in second place in terms of sales. (October 4, 2011)