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Marking the fifth anniversary of its presence in the Southeast Asian marine lubricants market, Lukoil Marine Lubricants hosted a reception in Hong Kong last week.

The event was held at Hong Kong's Renaissance Harbourview Hotel on 7th December and was attended by over 50 key clients of Lukoil, including BSM, Fleet Management Limited, FW, Misuga Kaiun, Anglo-Eastern, Wallem Shipmanagement, OOCL, China Merchants Group and other leading shipping companies which operate in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Lukoil Marine Lubricants - a subsidiary of Russian oil giant Lukoil - was founded in 2007 as a standalone sales and marketing business focusing on the production and sales of marine lubricants worldwide. The company supplies lubricants in more than 900 ports worldwide.

Commenting on the Russian firm's progress, Viktor Zhuravsky, CEO of Lukoil Marine Lubricants, stated that the company now has a market share of more than 10 percent of the marine lubricant market - up on the previous figure of 8.5 percent given earlier this year.

"Over the last few years, Lukoil Marine Lubricants has developed into a large international player and currently accounts for over 10 percent of the marine lubricant market. In particular, the company grew significantly thanks to its partners from Southeast Asia who believed in its innovative products and services," Zhuravsky remarked.

"In the fastest-growing Asia-Oceania region, we plan to actively promote our products not only for the marine industry but also for the automotive and industrial sectors. China remains one of our top-priority markets. We continue to strengthen our position in the region given the significant growth of interest in Lukiol lubricants here. In the near future, we plan to set up a subsidiary company in China," said Maxim Donde, General Director of Lukoil Lubricants Company.

Production

Lukoil produces annually around 1 million tons of oils and greases at 9 manufacturing facilities in Russia, Belarus, Austria, Finland, Romania and Turkey as well as at 20 involved plants worldwide. The company is the largest manufacturer in Russia; it claims to produce 40 percent of the country's lubricants.

Products

The Russian firm's Environmentally Acceptable Lubricant (EAL) range of biodegradable, minimally toxic and non-bioaccumulative lubricants are: PLANTOSYN HVI, PLANTOGEAR S, PLANTOGEL 2S (EAL), NAVIGREASE BIO 2 and NAVIGREASE BIO 0.

The supplier's iCOlube system is designed to optimize vessel engine performance and efficiency. It tailors cylinder oils to prevailing engine requirements and fuel type. According to Lukoil, the feed rate always stays at an optimum level while only the fuel sulphur content needs to be entered. This way, it maintains best engine conditions, reduces oil costs, saves fuel and is environmentally friendly, Lukoil says.