In the latest profile of a company from our worldwide network of partners and distributors, we speak to Yoshiki Kiuchi who is Marine Group Manager at the lubricants company of ENEOS, the 135-year-old Japanese firm preparing for the future.
ENEOS traces its roots directly to the 19th century Nippon Oil and is Japan’s largest oil and gas company. It has long supplied lubricants to the marine sector and has been partnering with Lubmarine since 1985. Now the two companies are working together to research the next generation of lubricants as the shipping industry experiments with alternative fuels in its bid to decarbonize.
How did ENEOS’s lubricant company come to work with Lubmarine?
Our customer is the vessel and the vessel goes around the world. We have clients with several hundreds of vessels that need lubricants wherever they stop. We can supply them very strongly in Japan but we needed partners for the rest of the world. All the major oil companies are very strong in supplying marine lubricants and since 1985, we decided to work with Lubmarine.
We develop our own formulations of lubricants with engine makers, meeting their high standards and specs. We needed to carefully select a partner so that we were sure the vessels we supplied with our formulations would also take Lubmarine’s formulations and that they could mix in the tank. Lubmarine formulations and ENEOS’s complement each other very well.
How has the relationship with Lubmarine helped you deliver value to your customers?
One big thing has been the supply network. There is a large number of ports around the world and almost all of the time, Lubmarine is able to supply. Their network is very very strong. And conversely, for Lubmarine, we are extremely strong in Japan.
Our communication is very good. This came out especially during the Covid time when the shipping industry experienced all sorts of problems like big delays and shortages. Together with Lubmarine, our effectiveness in supplying our customers during this time was very good and we appreciate this now because our customers keep repurchasing.
There is also a technical advantage. Lubmarine is one of the fastest developers when it comes to next generation lubricants and ENEOS is also moving into this area. There is an excellent collaboration between us on this.
How do you see the future for the marine lubricants sector?
I think hydrogen and ammonia engines in vessels are definitely coming and we need next generation lubricants for that. We want to be able to handle these kinds of fuels and to do that we need to develop our formulations closely with engine manufacturers.
At the same time, two or three years ago we predicted these new kinds of engines to come in 2025. But now we are thinking they will only come in full by 2030. And even if they are successful, they will replace around 40-50% of the old engines. That still leaves 50% of engines using crude oil-derived fuels such as gasoil. So, we cannot drop the ball on our current business either.
What do you like doing when you are not at work?
I like cooking. During working hours there can be so much pressure and stress. To forget everything, I like to focus on cooking. I have a family – a wife and three kids – and I especially like cooking pasta. They really like it! When I see their happy faces as they eat my pasta, this releases my stress and I am once again excited to go back to work. Most of last weekend I was cooking for my family.
