Base oil producers increased base oil prices by 50-100 USD/mt depending on the grade for March loading from refinery or March-April dispatch from ports according to the data compiled by Legion Oil & Gas LLC.
“Prices keep on rising from the beginning of the year and are likely to continue its surge in April while supply is limited, and crude oil prices are near 100 USD/bl on geopolitical tensions” – director for base oils and lubricants from Legion Oil & Gas LLC says.
March and April are months with seasonally high demand: lube blenders stock ahead of peak demand from the agricultural sector as well as from drivers who tend to change oils after winter and before summer driving season.
During March and April at least 3 refineries will face maintenance which could affect base oils production. Among these refineries are Yaroslavl refinery (50/50 joint venture between Rosneft and Gazpromneft), Novokuibyshevsk refinery, owned by Rosneft and Perm refinery (Lukoil). While the first two refineries confirmed they will have fewer base oils available in March-April, sources in Lukoil say that base oils availability will be stable despite some turnaround on other units. These 3 refineries account for 1,1 million tons of base oil capacities, 90% of which is Group I and 10% is Group II. Russia has 8 base oil units with a total capacity of 2,6 million tons.
Russia mostly exports Group I SN150, SN350, SN500 base oils and bright stock (BS-150. It is also a significant supplier of Group II 100N, 200N and 300N grades as well as Group III 4 cSt or VHVH-4, 6 cSt also called VHVI-6 and 8 cSt or VHVI-8.
Legion Oil & Gas LLC holds stocks of base oils from multiple base oils producers in various ports and has competitive pricing based on market expertise and constant improvements. To order base oils please send you request through contact form or email info@legionoilandgas.com
