Clarifies duration and scale of capacity expansion work. Original story was published on 24 March.
Spanish base oils producer Ilboc plans to halt its 650,000 t/yr Group II and Group III plant in Cartagena from June in order to complete work to increase capacity by up to 50pc.
Ilboc — a 70:30 joint venture between South Korea's SK Lubricants and Spanish integrated firm Repsol — will have finished 70pc of the project by the end of March, according to Repsol, including adding 290,000m³ of storage tanks and increasing loading capacity at the terminal. Most of the remaining work is on the productive process of the plant itself and should be completed during the turnaround over the summer. The timing of the restart and utilisation rate following the works is not confirmed.
Ilboc produces Group II and Group III base oils ranging from 2cst to 6cst viscosities. Base oil grades are marketed by SK Lubricants as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) approved Yubase brand in global markets.
Repsol recently completed a one-month turnaround of the Group I base oils unit at its 220,000 b/d Cartagena refinery, adjacent to the Ilboc plant. The unit has a capacity of 130,000 t/yr of Group I base oils and produces about 300,000 t/yr of asphalt.
