Netherlands’ June base oils output rises

The Netherlands’ base oils and lube output recovered in June from a 20-month low in May but remained well below production levels in 2021.

The country’s base oils imports also rose, boosting total supply to a three-month high.

Base oils and lube output of 71,000t in June rebounded from 17,000t the previous month, CBS Statline data showed.

The last time output had been so low was during plant maintenance work in the third quarter of 2020.

Base oils output still fell in June for a sixth month from year-earlier levels, cutting production to 387,000t in the first half of the year.

The volume was down 35pc from 597,000t during the same period last year.

The lower output coincided with prolonged plant maintenance work in Italy and the loss of access to base oils supplies of Russian origin.

The lower supplies overlapped a seasonal pick-up in European lube demand and surging crude oil prices.

The combination of tighter fundamentals and higher crude prices triggered a surge in European base oils prices in the first half of the year.

A sharp rise in the Netherlands’ base oils and lube imports cushioned the impact of the drop in output.

Imports of 1.87mn t in the first half of the year more than doubled from less than 820,000t during the same period last year, the CBS Statline data showed.

The country’s base oils imports got a boost this year from a surge in supplies from Belgium. That country is the key European destination for shipments of US origin.

The Netherlands' total supply, or production plus imports, came to 455,000t in June and 2.26mn t in the first half of the year.

The volume was up 60pc from 1.41mn t during the same six-month period last year.