Petronas Lubricants targets 5% market share in India, make it exports hub

It'll also look at potential JVs or tie-ups with existing players in India to strengthen its network

Petronas Lubricants International looks to capture 4% of the India's total lubricants markets in the next five years time, the company's top management said on Thursday. The company will also look to use India as its hub to export products to neighbouring countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka.

"The facility at Maharashtra will be complete by December 2017 and will start production in the first quarter of 2018," said Guiseppe Pedretti, group chief commercial officer, Petronas Lubricants International SDN BHD.

Petronas Lubricants is setting up a lubricant blending plant in Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Patalganga for an investment of close to $50 million and 110 million litres of lubricants capacity.

The company also looks to use India as an export hub for sale to neighbouring countries like Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka once the Maharashtra facility starts production. The company already has a small presence in these markets.

Petronas Lubricants target to capture 4% of India's market share in five years time may prove to be an uphill task. Pedretti expects the industry to continue to grow at 3% per annum. In order to meet its target, Petronas will need to significantly outpace the industry growth rate. Pedretti is confident to meet this target through the new production facilities, brand building and other marketing strategies aimed at strengthening its network in India.

The company will also look at potential joint ventures or tie-ups with existing players in India in a bid to strengthen its network.

At present, Petronas Lubricants holds a small 1.1 % market share in India with volumes of around 22 million litres. The target set includes increasing these volumes to more than 70 million litres. For the April-February 2017 period, production of lubricants in India was at 955,000 metric tonnes, 2.2% higher from what it was last year. In India, significant share of the lubricant market continues to remain with the three public sector oil marketing companies.