Gulf Oil International Ltd (GOI) announced it is partnering with Q8Oils, Europe in a series of moves, one of which will see Gulf branded lubricants manufactured in Q8Oils' Antwerp, Belgium plant. Q8Oils is a subsidiary of Kuwaiti national oil company Kuwait Petroleum Corp.

Effective July 1, 2015, GOI plans a new Gulf supply company that will use the Antwerp facility as the only location in Europe from which Gulf will supply Gulf blended lubricants to Gulf's distributors.

Gulf Oil International Vice President of Operations and Production, Tobias Tasche, told OEM/Lube News "A new Gulf Oil International Company, Gulf Oil Supply Company Limited, will manage the sales of Gulf branded lubricants to the Groups distributors in Europe this will form the platform for Gulfs and the distributors future business growth in Europe".

"The new supply company will enable us to work much more closely with our customer network; this is a vital step to ensure Gulf Oil International Ltd meets the strategic objectives planned for the company for the next 5 years" said Tasche.

"Working in collaboration with Q8, in both Europe and the Middle East, allows us to supply in bigger volumes, with top quality products, thanks to newer facilities and a plan to invest in technology that will ultimately assist the growth of the Gulf branded business. To that end, it gives me great pleasure that we are working with Q8 to further strengthen Gulf's presence in the downstream landscape in addition to introducing our own supply operation."

Gulf customers will be able to purchase directly from the new supply company, starting July 1, 2015.

This Antwerp lubricant blending facility is not new to Gulf lubricants. The facility was owned by Gulf Oil Corporation prior to the merger with Chevron in 1984.

"After an interlude of several decades Gulf is coming home! In the meantime the plant has been substantially expanded and upgraded and has recently undergone a major improvement programme, to make the plant among the most modern in Europe and the perfect base for Gulf to manufacture high-specification Gulf products meeting the latest OEM approvals.", Tasche. told OEM/Lube News.

Gulf Oil International Ltd (GOI) is part of the $18 billion Hinduja Group. The Gulf lubricant brand is present in more than 100 countries, across five continents.