Total Vietnam lowers lube prices

Total Vietnam lowered retail prices on lubricants by VND1,000 (5 US cents) per liter since mid-August. The move is indicative of the company’s commitment to cooperate with consumers in Vietnam. “The reduction is expected to share difficulties with Vietnamese clients and contribute partly to stabilizing prices of goods in general and prices of lubricants and oil products in particular,” said Jean Nehlil, general director of Total Vietnam. Total began operations in Vietnam in the 1980s in oil and gas exploration and production in north Vietnam. It bought the lubricant business from ExxonMobil, including a lube blending plant in Dong Nai province, in 2009. The company currently holds a 12% share of the local lubricant market. Vietnam is Total’s key market in Asia. (August 23, 2011)