Study Period: 2017-2027

Base Year: 2021

CAGR: >1 %

Bangladesh Lubricants Market Overview

Market Overview
The Bangladeshi lubricants market is projected to register a CAGR of over 1% during the
forecast period (2022-2027).

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country during the first half of 2020, the
automobile and transportation, and various other industrial sectors have been affected
significantly. For instance, the automobile industry in the country witnessed
uncertainty in 2020 and registered a decline of around 40% in sales during the year.
However, the Automobile industry has seen a slight increase in the year 2021. The
market is expected to see a surge in the forecast period.

• In the short term, one of the major factors, like increasing construction activities in
the country, is expected to drive the market. On the flip side, low adoption rates of
 synthetic lubricants due to high prices are expected to hinder the growth of the
market.

• The automotive and other transportation segments dominated the market with a
share of around 70% in terms of demand, and it is expected to grow at a significant
rate during the forecast period.
 Major Players
1. Trade Services International (Total)
2. Ranks Petroleum Limited (Royal Dutch Shell PLC)
3. Rock Energy Ltd (Caltex/Chevron)
4. MJL Bangladesh Limited (Exxon Mobil)
5. BP PLC (Castrol)
6. Gulf Oil Bangladesh Ltd.

Recent Developments
• In June 2021, Lube-rref (Bangladesh) Limited has begun construction on a new industrial
complex on the banks of the River Karnaphuli, which will feature a jetty, a tank
terminal, a modern base oil refinery, a hydrogen plant, and a specialised bitumen
factory. This will help in increasing the company’s lubricant sales in the country.
• In February 2019, BNO Lubricants introduced Nynas technology-based transformer oil
and nanotechnology lubricants to minimize carbon emission and ensure the longevity of
engines.
• In April 2018, MJL Bangladesh Limited introduced a multi-compartment delivery truck
for lubricant delivery for the first time in Bangladesh.

The lubricant market is one of the potential markets in Bangladesh. The size of the local lubricant
market stood about BDT 4200 crore in 2021. There are about 100 brands of lubricant products in
Bangladesh. Both of local & imported lubricant products are available in the market. The vehicles,
industries, agriculture, water vessel etc. are the major consumers of this products. The industry experts
projected that the demand of the lubricant products will be raised for next 15 to 20 years & will reach
the market size about BDT 6000 crore to BDT 8000 crore very soon.
MJL Bangladesh is the major player in the local lubricant market with an
unassailable 27% market share. Mobil is a popular brand manufactured by MJL
Bangladesh in multigrade. They are enjoying 70% market share of the industrial
lubricant sector.

Major local and imported brands

MJL Bangladesh Limited, formerly Mobil Jamuna Lubricant Limited, is a joint

venture company established by ExxonMobil in the downstream petroleum sector
of Bangladesh.

The company commissioned a state-of-the-art Lube Oil Blending Plant (LOBP) in

Patenga, Chittagong — the first of its kind in the country — in May 2003,
according to MJL Bangladesh.

There are also many imported brands in the local lubricant market. BP (British
Petroleum), Total, Shell, Castrol, Caltex, GULF, HP (Hindustan Petroleum), Kixx,
SK and Mak available in the local market. Many low-quality imported brands are
also available here.

BNO lubricant of Lub-rref (Bangladesh) Ltd, FUCHS lubricant of Fuchs Lubricants

Bangladesh Ltd and Omera lubricant of Omera Petroleum Ltd, a subsidiary of
MJL Bangladesh, are other major local brands.

There are many low-quality and low-cost lubricant brands in the local market,
industry people say.

Market share of major

brands

According to a market research

by an importer company, Mobil is
by far the market leader with a
26% share, followed by BP with
12%, Total 8%, FUCHS 7%, Shell
3%, Castrol 3%, Caltex 2%,
GULF 1% and Servo 1%. The rest 37% is dominated by other around 100 low -
quality and low-cost brands.

The lube market has two segments — automotive sector and industrial sector. Of
the total demand for lubricant, 70% is in the automotive sector and the rest 30%
in the industrial sector.

In the automotive sector, 32% of the demand is in the passenger vehicle

segment, 62% in the commercial vehicle segment and only 6% in the motorcycle
segment, according to the market research.

Lubricant market will rise with growing population, as every motor, be it vehicles
or machines, needs oil for smooth operation, notes Md Omar Sharif, manager
(sales) of HNS Group, the sole dealer of SK Lubricant ZIC, a South Korean
engine oil manufacturer.

Major challenges facing the sector

As there is no designated monitoring authorities for the sector, anybody can enter
the lubricant industry, which has rendered it difficult to ensure quality.

There should be strict regulations to ensure that no low-quality brand enter the
industry, demands a high official of MJL Bangladesh Ltd, preferring anonymity.

He says: “As there are too many players, the market has been flooded with
inferior quality products with minimum accountability.”

“Counterfeit products have been another problem area for this industry. To
counteract the problem, MJL has introduced some security mea sures in its
products for easy identification like 'security seal' on all its four to five products,
and soon it will be on all its one-liter product cans too,” he adds.

Much more awareness is required

Lubricants for vehicles and industrial equipment are what blood is for humans and
animals. If the good quality oils are not used in equipment, it will eventually
damage their various components.
For cost cutting, many people use low quality lubes marketed by unscrupulous
traders. Lube oil cost is only 1%-2% of what is required for running an engine or
equipment, but it can ensure almost 100% safety of the equipment if it is of good
quality.