GP Petroleums plans Rs 100 crore plant in Gujarat

GP Petroleums, a part of the UAE-based GP Global, on Tuesday said it plans to invest Rs 100 crore in a new plant at Saronda in Gujarat to process over 3 lakh kilo litres of lubricants. This second blending plant of GP Petroleums Ltd (GPPL) would help the company cater to the entire gamut of the domestic lubes market, a release said. GPPL currently has a plant in Vasai near Mumbai with an annual capacity of 80,000 metric tonnes and houses a storage facility of 15,000 metric tonnes, which is one of the industry's largest in the country.

The new plant will manufacture specialty value added products, in addition to the automotive and industrial lubricants catering to the entire value chain. "We at GPPL are bullish about the growth of the Indian lubricant industry and aim to be one of its fastest growing players. The new facility will accelerate our growth engine, which will be led by the automotive segment in tier-2 and tier-3 cities and towns.

"We already have a robust partnership with over 500 distributors across India which will be strengthened further in the next few years," GPPL Chief Executive Officer Prashanth Achar said.

GPPL is the sole representative of Spanish oil giant Repsol in India and also has an agreement with GP Global MAG Lube to manufacture and market IPOL lubricants across the world. Apart from the home grown IPOL brand, the plant may blend Repsol branded automotive products as well, the company said.

"The new plant is part of our global growth strategy to produce and market 500 million litres of lubricants across the world through both organic and inorganic routes.

"India is a very important market for GP Global and we are confident of securing a higher market share in both automotive and industrial segments in the coming years," said GP Global Group's global head for lubricants and base oils, Sudip Shyam said. The IPOL and Repsol brands offer motorcycle, car and speciality oils besides diesel engine oils.

ALSO READ | Sensex, Nifty clock 4th successive loss; AGR woes hit telecom, financial stocks

ALSO READ | Yogi govt allocates Rs 500 crore for Ayodhya airport, Rs 18 cr for 'vedic vigyan kendra' in city