Despite the firm already being a market leader in Peru’s industrial lubricants market with more than a 50% share and achieving a 5% increase in lubricant sales in the country last year owing to price increases as well as growth from distributors and the automobile segment, it is still seeking to apply new investments into Peru this year. As demand is expected to increase, this will call for significantly boosting Terpel’s lubricant production capacity in the Andean country.

 “In 2023, Terpel is seeking to grow its lubricant business in Peru by double digits,” Terpel General Manager Luciano Macias told Lube Report. “We will significantly increase our lubricant production capacity in the country this year,”

With the capacity to produce more than 500,000 barrels per year, Terpel boasts to have the largest and most modern lubricants plant in Peru, according to local paper Gestion. Macias said in a March 27 report in local publication DFsud that the company believes its investments in 2022 and additional investments this year will enable it to double its lubricants production capacity.

 “We intend to invest in making it even more efficient than it already is, all while cutting costs,” Macias confirmed to Lube Report. “This year we are going to start the installation of a new online mixer. Besides enabling us to manufacture and mix in a much quicker way, we will not have to maintain inventory.”

Moreover, as the company’s facilities are located in the coastal city of Callao near Lima, it has a direct connection to the Pacific Ocean, which enables it to receive base oils from Europe and the United States through the Gulf of Mexico.

With more than 50 years in the commercialization of fuels, lubricants, and convenience stores, Bogota-based Terpel operates in Colombia, Peru, Panama, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic. In Colombia, it boasts the largest private fuel station network with more than 2,000 service stations.

The company started in Peru in 2014 under the Gazel brand name and then in 2018 under the name Terpel. For lubricants, it offers the Mobil brand at all its services stations and distribution points throughout Peru.

In partnership with the Mobil brand, the company has introduced a new line of lubricants for the mining industry known as Mobil Delvac Modern. It will be available for trucks operating along the coast as well as in the mountains. The company is also offering a special line for motorcycles. 

In 2022, lubricants in Peru represented 21% of overall volume (84.6 million gallons) reporting a 3.6% uptick compared to 2021, while lubricants represented 68% of gross profit ($310,505 million), being 13.3% up year-over-year, according to the company’s earnings release. 

As for capital expenditures, it totaled $13.5 billion for lubricant factory investments in Colombia and Peru, with a goal to increase quality as well as regional coverage with the support of new lubricant centers, the company said in the release.