Trading company Legion Oil & Gas LLC GmbH decided to make a strategic move and organize a stock of Group III 4 cSt base oils in Riga to guarantee product availability for its clients in Europe and worldwide.
“Availability of Group III base oils is a big problem since August 2020 and Global market will remain short till July because of maintenance at key production facilities and growing demand” – Denis Varaksin, Legion Oil & Gas LLC director for base oils trading says.
Prices for 4 cSt base oils rose 48pc from 22 May 2020 to 5th February 2021 to 1090 USD/mt on FCA NWE basis according to Argus Base oils report.
Very few suppliers can guarantee spot supplies of Group III in February 2021 on limited production due to COVID-19 run-cuts, maintenance and unexpectedly strong demand.
Legion Oil & Gas LLC can deliver VHVI-4 or as it is also known as Group III 4 cSt base oils in trucks, flexi-containers and rail tank cars.
Group III is short on massive maintenance
Tatneft, sold approximately 10 000 tons of VHVI-4 (Group III 4 cSt) for January loading, offered only 1900 tons for February export loadings, which added tightness to the market. Tatneft’s Taneco refinery can produce 186’000 tons of Group III VHVI-4 and group II HVI-2 base oils.
One the world’s biggest Group III producers, Neste, has maintenance at its Porvoo 250’00 tons per year refinery in April-May 2021 and limited spot availabilities already since the end of 2020.
SK Lubricants has maintenance in March-April 2021 at its Ulsan refinery, which can produce 26’000 barrels of Group III base oils per day.
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) refinery in Taiwan that produces Group II base oils (600.000 tons/year) may not resume its full operation in January-February. GS-Caltex from South Korea that produces 1.3m tons/year of Group II and III will be shut for maintenance for March-April.
Naftan refinery also plans maintenance at its 200’000 tons per year base oils unit in April for one month and also may limit availability in March to build stocks for its long-term customers. Naftan produces HC4 grade which has viscosity of 4 cSt @ 100C and viscosity index normally above 120.
Legion Oil & Gas LLC supplies base oils in more than 20 counties and have regular relationships with 30+ refineries globally. The company offers flexible payment terms, on-time deliveries, and best prices.
To order Group III base oils please send your request including grade, quantity, destination, and comments to info@legionoilandgas.com
