Shell opens new lube blending plant in Indonesia

As part of its continued growth strategy, Shell has opened its latest lubricant blending plant in Asia and the largest internationally-operated lubricants plant in Indonesia, the company announced on Thursday.

The facility is located at the Marunda Centre, north of Jakarta, and sits on 75,000 square meters of land, equivalent to 10 football fields. The plant is capable of producing 120,000 tons (136 million liters) of finished lubricants each year, enough to change the oil of more than 460,000 motorcycles or almost 90,000 cars every day.

"This plant is testament to our confidence in the strength of the lubricants market in the country," said Mark Gainsborough, executive vice president of Shell Lubricants. "Indonesia is the largest lubricants market in Southeast Asia and is one of the growth engines for the industry in the region, alongside China and India. 

"This plant brings our world-class lubricant production capability to Indonesia, strengthening our global supply chain," he continued. "It enables us to meet the lubricant needs of our Indonesian customers, with our high quality and premium lubricants, made at this new facility. Indonesia’s economy has grown rapidly in recent years, and lubricants are an essential enabler for this country’s growth ambitions in almost every sector,” 

The plant will produce Shell’s leading lubricants brands like Shell Helix (passenger car motor oil), Shell Advance (motorcycle oil), Shell Rimula (heavy duty engine oil), Shell Spirax (transmission oil), as well as other industrial lubricants. These products will support Indonesia’s growing demand for vehicle motor oils and other lubricants for applications in sectors like mining, power generation, transportation and the growing infrastructure building sector.

In 2015, Shell was recognized for the third year in a row as the top international lubricants brand by the Indonesia WOW Brand Award, especially for Shell Helix, Shell Advance and Shell Spirax. In 2014, independent research confirmed that Shell was the most preferred international brand of passenger car motor oil in Indonesia, the company said. The same survey shows that in Asia, Shell also ranked first or second in China, Malaysia and Thailand.

The plant has world-class, automated lubricant blending, filling and packaging technology, and the company says it is equipped with a stringent quality control system that tests lubricants at all stages of production to ensure products meet the high-quality specifications associated with Shell’s brands. 

As part of the focus on quality products, the plant will also have a dedicated world-class lubricant-testing laboratory.