Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. signed an agreement with a unit of United States-based Chevron Corp. to manufacture and sell its lubricant products in India, the companies announced last month.
Indian government-owned HPCL and Chevron Brands International LLC entered into a long-term trademark licensing agreement, the companies said in a joint statement. The agreement paves the way for Caltex-branded lubricants to be manufactured, distributed, and marketed in India by HPCL.
The partnership encompasses the licensing, production, distribution, and marketing of Chevron’s lubricant products under the Caltex brand, according to the statement. The companies didn’t disclose the financial details of the agreement. HPCL did not reply to requests for comment.
The agreement covers Chevron’s Havoline and Delo brands.
HPCL Marketing Director Amit Garg said the partnership clears the way to leverage the company’s market leadership to add value through a broader, premium products offering to Indian consumers.
Chevron did not respond to follow-up questions.
Mumbai-based HPCL, which operates six lubricant blending plants, supplies its products through a network of 274 lube distributors and 20,025 retail outlets in India, according to its latest annual report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022.
In that annual report, the company said its overall lubricant sales volume declined 12% to 545,200 metric tons for the fiscal year ending March 31, compared to 619,600 tons in the prior fiscal year. HPCL attributed that to constraints that included availability of product supplies because of a planned turnaround at its base oil plant in Mumbai.
HPCL’s base stock plant in Mumbai – owned jointly with Oil and Natural Gas, which has a 51.1% controlling stake – makes API Groups I, II and III base stocks. It is the largest base oil plant in India.