2011-07-29 10:40

SINGAPORE -- Sinopec held a groundbreaking ceremony in Singapore on Thursday for the oil giant's first lubricant plant outside China through direct investment.

Located in southwestern Singapore, the plant will be built on a land of 40,000 square meters. Sinopec Lubricant Company, the subsidiary of Sinopec Group, will make an initial investment of 580 million yuan ($90 million) in the plant.

The plant, which is expected to be completed and equipped by September 2012, will have an initial production capacity of 100, 000 tons of lubricants per year.

It will also be the regional hub of the company for production, servicing and logistics in the Asia Pacific, including Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Sinopec said the project is part of its strategy for global expansion through the construction of overseas plants and the establishment of a global sales and service network. The company said it will concentrate on the Asian and Pacific markets in the global expansion.

"The setting up of our lubricant plant in Singapore is an important step in our international expansion. We believe that the completion of our plant will help to significantly enhance Sinopec Lubricant's presence and status all round, from the trading of products to technical expertise and branding," said Song Yunchang, General Manager of Sinopec Lubricant Company, a subsidiary of the Sinopec Group.

Song said the Singapore plant will serve as the model for Sinopec's future investments overseas, production, sales and plant operation.

"Singapore will be our gateway to the rest of the world as we embark on extending our global footprint," he said.

The state-owned Sinopec Group is China's largest integrated energy and chemical company. The subsidiary Sinopec Lubricant Company the largest high-end lubricant manufacturer and marketer in China, selling its products under the brands of Great Wall Lubricant and Sinopec.

Sinopec Lubricant Company has been growing at an annual rate of about 50 percent. It currently sells its products and services to more than 40 countries and regions worldwide.

Sinopec also entered into a joint venture in March with Saudi Aramco to build a full-conversion refinery in Yanbu on the west coast of Saudi Arabia.