Petronas Lubricants’ blending plant in India to commence operations in October

Petronas Lubricants International (PLI), the global lubricants arm of Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS), expects to start operating its new lubricants blending plant in Patalganga, India, in October.

The lubricant blending plant is currently in the commissioning stage, after 30 months of construction. The plant is the most modern in PLI’s global network, with investment amounting to USD 55 million.

“India has a very big market. It is important for us to establish a stronger presence and credibility with the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),” said Guiseppe D’Arrigo, PLI managing director and group CEO. PLI currently sells 25 million litres of lubricants in India. The new lube blending plant will boost capacity by an additional 110 million litres.

PLI currently has a network of multiple OEM partnerships including Tata Motors Ltd, Fiat Group, New Holland, Doosan Group, Case Construction, Maruti Suzuki India, Piaggio and BharatBenz for branded and co-branded lubricants.

The Indian market is expected to grow annually by six percent per year.