South Korea’s base oils output held steady in October for a third month amid more balanced fundamentals and firmer prices in the region.Base oils output of 2.69mn bl (378,000t) in October was up by the equivalent of less than 3,000t from the previous month and down by less than 3,000t from August, industry data showed.The country’s base oils output mostly held close to those levels throughout the year, except for June and July when maintenance work impacted production.The output levels were down from more than 2.80mn bl/month (395,000 t/month) in the first eight months of 2022.This year’s steady output coincided with regional Group II base oils values that maintained a much higher premium to regional diesel prices than in 2022, ICIS data showed.The steady output was sufficient to support a surge in South Korea’s base oils exports in October to an eight-month high.The higher exports helped to cover for a drop in shipments from Taiwan because of plant maintenance work..S Korea’s Oct base oils exports rise
