Malaysia’s Petronas, on Monday, said it would invest $50 million in setting up a lubricant plant near Mumbai.
Petronas Lubricants International, the lubricants manufacturing and marketing arm of Malaysia’s national oil and gas company Petronas, signed a land-lease agreement with Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to build a lubricant oil blending plant, a company statement said.
The agreement “marks the first step towards the construction of a world class lubricant blending plant with a 60 kilo tonnes per annum (kta) capacity that will cater to Petronas’ growing market volume,” it said.
Phased approach
The plant will be constructed on 25 acres in Patalganga, near Mumbai, in a phased approach, with a provision to expand the capacity to 120 kta in the second phase, translating into investments worth $50 million.
The first phase of the plant is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.
Giuseppe Pedretti, Asia Regional Head of Petronas Lubricants International, said, “Asia is a key region to carry this growth, and India, as one of the economic pillars of Asia, continues to be an important focus country for us.”
“Since our venture into India in 2006, we have charted a five-year cumulative annual growth rate of more than 57 per cent, through the support of our distributors, OEMs and business partners here,” he added.
Positive signs
Having established a foothold, Petronas is taking the next step towards establishing Petronas’ lubricants business and brand in India, which involves investing into building facilities that will support supply chain network.
MIDC CEO Bhushan Gagrani said, “this is a good time to invest in the Indian economy as there are positive signs of the economy to exceed its expectations in the next financial year.”
