Increasing demand from the shipping industry for Total’s marine lubricants in the Asia-Pacific region has been a significant factor in the company’s decision to open its largest lubricant blending plant in Singapore. Last week (3 July 2015) saw the opening of Total’s new state-of-the-art facility in the Singapore Lube Park in Tuas South with an annual production capacity of 310,000 metric tons.

This new major hub will boost Total’s lubricant supply in the Asia-Pacific region, which already represents more than 25% of Total’s lubricants sales. The new facility will produce high quality lubricant oils and supply a wide range of segments, including automotives (two wheelers an cars), industrials as well as marine. With a population of more than 4 billion, Asian demand for lubricants is expected to grow by 18% and reach 20 million tons by 2025, almost a half of global demand. Total intends to double its Asian sales, with production from the new plant accounting for a majority of the accelerated growth.

Welcoming the opening, Total Lubmarine’s Head of Marketing, Serge Dal Farra said:

“This vast new plant underlines the commitment that Total has to the region and the importance of the shipping industry to us. Singapore is one of our busiest and most important marine hubs and we are able to meet our customers’ complex supply and technical support needs from here.”

He added:

“The new facility will provide direct access to the sea via a large brand new jetty allowing for easy delivery of raw materials and quick loading of finished products onto supply barges.”
 
As well as one of the world’s top bunkering ports, Singapore is also a leading marine lube hub. Total Lubmarine supplies 75 types of marine lubricant including cylinder oil for slow-speed engines running on ECA fuels below 0.1% sulphur, EAL-compliant lubes as well as greases, compressor, hydraulic and refrigeration oils.

In 2012 Total Lubmarine added three 700 dwt double-hulled barges to its Singapore based fleet to enable more vessel deliveries. The vessels have a cargo load capacity of 860 cu m for bulk and packaged lubricants, and are fitted with fire-fighting equipment. They are operated by Lubmarine’s logistics partner, Ocean Tankers, which operates a diverse fleet of support vessels and is a specialist in ship-to-ship transfers.
Source: Total Lubmarine