Shell opened its eighth world-class lubricant blending plant in China with the opening of its Tianjin plant, stating it is set to meet growing lubricant demand in China. This complements seven Shell lubricant blending plants already operating in greater China. The new plant can produce 330 million litres of finished product per year and has the potential to expand to 500 million litres. At its full potential capacity, the plant would be Shell's largest lubricant blending plant in China.
Dennis Cheong, Vice President Shell Lubricants Supply Chain, said, "In the last few years, we have made multi-million dollar investments in Shells lubricants supply chain in Asia, particularly in China, in both new and existing assets. This plant is our most automated and advanced facility yet. It is strategically located in the Tianjing Nangang Industrial Park to capture demand for transport and industrial lubricants in Northern China. China remains a key growth market for Shell Lubricants. We will continue to invest in upgrading and expanding our existing assets and are committed to building a robust lubricant supply chain here.
Shell lubricants are produced by the company at its network of close to 50 lubricant blending plants around the world. Other than the eight lubricant blending plants in greater China, Shell also has three grease manufacturing plants in the country. In fact, Shells largest grease plant globally is also located in Zhuhai, China.
The Shell supply chain network in China is further supported by a lubricants dedicated research centre in Shanghai, Shell Shanghai Technology Ltd. This technology centre works closely with local original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and customers to develop lubricant technology that meets modern specifications. Furthermore, Shell recently inaugurated the Shanghai Commercial Centre, moving its major downstream and trading businesses, including lubricants, to this financial hub.
The new state-of-the-art lubricant blending plant in Tianjin produces a full range of Shell branded engine oils including Shell Helix passenger car motor oils and Shell Rimula heavy-duty engine oils. The new plant is also fully integrated with Shells global gas-to-liquid (GTL) supply chain with access to GTL base oils made at the Pearl GTL plant in Qatar. This enables the plant to produce premium tier products from natural gas, such as Shell Helix Ultra with PurePlus Technology, for Chinese consumers.
This plant also meets the highest industry standards in blending technology with three blending systems, five fully automated, high-speed filling lines and five more filling lines in the pipeline. It also has bulk vehicle loading facilities to cater to customers with bulk supply deals such as fleet owners or general manufacturing businesses.
