Chevron invests Rs.1.9 b on new facility

Chevron officials at the foundation laying ceremony.

As the lease on the land on which Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC's (CLLP) blending plant is built is due to expire in July 2014, the Board of Directors of CLLP decided to relocate the existing plant to Sapugaskanda at an estimated cost of $ 15 million, which will include replacement of certain equipment with the latest technology available in the world and increased storage capacity for base oil and other raw materials.

"A state-of-the-art warehouse facility will also be built within the plant premises for optimum cost and operational efficiency and business partner convenience," a spokesman for the company said.

The new facility will consist of blending, filling and warehousing with a storage capacity of 1.4 million litres for raw materials and finished products.

The total area of the plant buildings will be 5,000 square metres with the capacity to produce 45,000 mt of finished lubricants in a single shift operation, and has been designed to improve material flow for optimal efficiency and productivity.

Designing of the plant was done by Indo-East and Chevron Global Engineering with advice from a US Petroleum Construction Consultancy, Worley Parsons.

The new facility is expected to be commissioned during 3Q, in 2014. "Chevron Lubricants exports its products to the Maldives and Bangladesh and has plans to grow the business in a sustainable way to benefit all stakeholders," he said.