Chevron Corporation announced last Tuesday that its affiliate, Chevron Singapore Pty Ltd, has signed an agreement with Caltex Australia Petroleum Pty Ltd. to become an authorized distributor of Chevron premium Group II base oils in Australia. With limited in-country production of premium base oils, this agreement will help meet tightening lubricant specifications by creating a de facto source of local supply while minimizing import complexities for lubricant formulators

With in-region availability of Chevron Group II base oils, lubricant formulators will have an economical option for optimizing formulations for tightening ACEA, API and OEM specifications, as well as the opportunity to offer industrial lubricants that may have longer oil life and lower additive treat rate, says Chevron. As part of this agreement, Caltex Australia will offer Chevron Group II products, Chevron Neutral Oil 100R, Chevron Neutral Oil 150R, Chevron Neutral Oil 220R and Chevron Neutral Oil 600R.

“Caltex’s breadth of expertise, combined with its technical experience and highly efficient national distribution network make it an ideal partner for us in supporting the needs of Australia’s lubricant marketers," said Cary Knuth, vice president, Chevron Base Oils.

Caltex Australia is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and is therefore entirely independent of all other Caltex or Chevron-branded businesses around the world. Caltex Australia’s base oil distribution business is also managed separately from its finished lubricants business. The two divisions benefit from Caltex Australia’s large-scale operations and local knowledge of the Australian market. The base oil distribution organization has put in place highly experienced technical and supply chain teams that are well versed in the unique challenges in the country.

“We are pleased to represent Chevron Group II base oils,” said Bruce Rosengarten, Caltex Australia’s executive general manager commercial. “This agreement allows us to offer more than base oil to our customers. We can offer access to Chevron’s broad portfolio of approvals in place, which can reduce customer costs and complexity in qualifying new formulations. And with three plants producing base oils with the same specs, we will have supply to meet our customers’ needs.”

Caltex Australia has grown to become the country’s leading transport fuel supplier, with a network of approximately 1,900 company-owned, franchised or affiliated sites. It operates as a refiner, importer and marketer of fuels and lubricants.