Malaysia's Hyrax Oil Sdn. Bhd, will be building a lubricant blending plant in Sri Lanka, with an investment of US$9 million.

The plant, to be established in partnership with state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, which owns the largest fuel station network in the country, will be the third lubricant blending plant in the country, and will cater to the local and international markets, the state information office said.

Ceylon Petroleum Corporation once had a state monopoly in lubricants for several decades until the plant was privatized in the mid 1990s when it was sold to Caltex. The market was later opened up, but there is still a tax difference between domestic blending and imported finished products.

The government of Sri Lanka issues licenses for the blending and sale of lubricants. Currently Chevron and Lanka IOC (a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corp.) are the only companies authorized to blend lubricants.

Hyrax, based in Kuala Lumpur, blends lubricants at its facility in Klang, Malaysia