The Arabian Petroleum Supply Co. (APSCO) signed on Sunday a multimillion long-term contract to blend and supply lubricant products to Petronas Marketing Sudan Ltd, a subsidiary of Petronas Malaysia. The agreement, held at the APSCO headquarters in the Industrial City here, will take effect immediately, with the initial shipment of 200 tons to be delivered next month (November) via the Red Sea. Signing on behalf of the company, Khalid S. Al-Tayeb, APSCO director for Lubes & Specialties, said the accord “is one of the major deals” for APSCO in 2009, and “hope to fulfill its commitment and comply with all the services” as stipulated in the contract. He added long-tem arrangement between the two companies covers a full range of lubricant products ranging from land transport, agricultural, industrial and aviation, among others. APSCO will blend the products for Petronas Sudan under the “toll bleeding” scheme, which means that the process will be done in accordance with the specifications and standards mandated by the latter. Abdel Mutaal M. Osman, Petronas Sudan general manager and CEO, said the selection of APSCO was done after a long process of surveying and evaluating other blending plants in the region. He said that Petronas Sudan deemed it economically viable and logistically easier to tap the services of APSCO, which has a long track record in the blending business, having for its clients major international oil companies aside from truck and car manufacturers. “APSCO is the most convenient supplier for us,” Osman pointed out, saying that it would only take 12-15 hours sailing time for the finished products to reach Sudan through the Red Sea. He expressed optimism on increasing the volume of lubricant shipment, since the Sudanese economy keeps growing, with the GDP forecast to grow 6 percent in 2009. Demand for lubricants in Sudan is at a rate of 45,000 tons a year, Osman said, and 10 percent of which will be supplied by APSCO. APSCO was founded in 1961 by the Ali Reza family in partnership with the then Mobil, which is now ExxonMobil. APSCO's full range of lubricant products are at present being exported to 20 mostly Arab and African countries. It generated a turnover of $2.5 billion in the third quarter of this year, APSCO finance manager Tariq M. Mousa said, adding that it has recorded $2.8 billion in 2008. Its net profit reached SR93 million in the third quarter of this year, an improvement from SR82 million in the same period in 2008, he added. Mousa forecast that its net would be in the vicinity of SR130 million in the fourth quarter this year. __
