S-Oil to market Aramco base oils in Europe, Asia-Pacific

London, 25 February (Argus) — South Korean refiner S-Oil, in which Aramco holds 63.4pc, will have exclusive marketing rights for the Group I aramcoDura, Group II aramcoPrima and Group III aramcoUltra base oil brands in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Aramco's US refining subsidary Motiva will market the three grades in the US; its Saudi base-oils business Luberef will sell to the Middle East and Africa.

Aramco said that the objective of the new zonal structure is to provide reliability and security of supply. Timelines for implementation could vary between regions.

Aramco has assured its customers that there would be no change to product quality in the near-term, but that investment options that could align product specifications between regions are being reviewed.

The three producers have a combined global production capacity of 5mn t/yr of Group I, II and III base oils. They produce Group I base oils in Saudi Arabia, Group II base oils in the US, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, and Group III base oils in South Korea.

Aramco brands have API approvals, and are in the process of testing to achieve ACEA approvals.

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