Mumbai, India-based GP Petroleums Ltd last Wednesday announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Spanish oil company Repsol to exclusively blend and market the latter's premium quality lubricants in India.

"With the tie-up with Repsol, we will be marketing their entire product range as part of our portfolio. With the economy showing recovery, the lubricant segment is expected to witness growth in future," Gulf Petrochem Group managing director Sudhir Goyel said in a statement.

GP Petroleums, a subsidiary of UAE-based Gulf Petrochem Group, has a strong presence in the industrial lubricants market with its flagship brand IPOL. The company will now unleash a new aggressive marketing strategy in the automotive segment also with Repsol, Goyel said.

GP Petroleums, among the leading lubricant players in the country, specializes in industrial lubricants, automotive lubricants, process oils, transformer oils, greases and other specialties under the brand name IPOL in India and overseas.

"India will be a very important market for us and this tie-up will help us expand our footprints in this ever growing economy. Partnering with GP Petroleums Ltd, a brand with strong presence in the Indian lubricant market, has given us a firsthand advantage in this sector," Repsol Lubricants Director Orlando Carbo said.

Gulf Petrochem Group's in-house base oil storage facility of 17,000 KL is one of the largest in the Indian industry which uses cutting edge remote sensing technology to accurately measure and control the storage volumes. It has an annual production capacity of 80,000 KL.

In April of this year, UAE-based Gulf Petrochem Group purchased Sah Petroleums, an Indian listed lubricant company, and renamed it as GP Petroleums Ltd.