SINOPEC held a groundbreaking ceremony in Singapore yesterday for the oil giant's first lubricant plant outside China through direct investment.

Located in southwestern Singapore, the plant will be built on a land plot measuring 40,000 square meters. Sinopec Lubricant Company, a subsidiary of Sinopec Group, will make an initial investment of 580 million yuan (US$90 million US dollars) in the plant.

The plant is expected to be completed by September 2012 and will have an initial production capacity of 100,000 tons of lubricants per year.

It will also be the company's regional hub for production, servicing and logistics in Asia Pacific.

Sinopec said the project is part of its global expansion strategy, which will be centered on Asia-Pacific markets.

"The setting up of our lubricant plant in Singapore is an important step in our international expansion," said Song Yunchang, general manager of Sinopec Lubricant Company.

"We believe that the completion of our plant will help significantly enhance Sinopec Lubricant's presence and status, from the trading of products to technical expertise and branding."

Song added the Singapore plant will serve as a model for Sinopec's future investments overseas.

"Singapore will be our gateway to the rest of the world as we embark on extending our global footprint," he said.

The state-owned Sinopec Group is China's largest integrated energy and chemical company.

Source:shanghaidaily.com