Base oil import record
Base oil import record – In 2021, Brazil imported around 868 thousand cubic meters of base oils, which represented an increase of 33% over the previous year and 47% over 2019. This volume was responsible for an expense of US$ 796.3 million (FOB), and the United States was the largest supplier to the country, with just over 68% of the volume.
The vast majority of imports are groups II and III base oils, since national production only includes group I produced by Reduc, a small amount of naphthenic (group V) produced by Lubnor and a little of Group II produced by re-refining from Lwart.
The main supplier was the United States with something around 595 thousand m3, representing 68.5% of all Brazilian imports, followed by Malaysia with 6.2%, South Korea with 6.0%. Sweden comes next with 2.8%, followed by Russia with 2.4%. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar follow in the sequence, with 2.2% each.
The final number for national production in 2021 have not yet been finalized by Petrobras, but it is estimated that it could be above 610,000 m3, the highest in the last 5 years.
Brazil will still be a major importer of base oils for a long time, which will have a great impact on prices and on the production chain of finished lubricants. The recovery and the growth of the market lead to a greater demand for base oils, most of groups II and III and, as a consequence, to all the difficulties of the international supply chain, such as the high dólar rate, hurricanes in the USA, storage restrictions, transport crises etc.
Brazil currently expects a movement of agents from the Government and Petrobras, towards some proposals for partnerships and investments, considering a local production of Group II, at the Gas-Lub pole, in the city of Itaboraí, in Rio de Janeiro.
