Lubecut

Lubecut is one of the derivatives of crude oil and is one of the cuts of the distillation tower of oil refineries. Lubecut has two types, heavy and light, each used in the oil industry.

According to experts, only a good lubricant (oil, grease, etc.) can guarantee the optimal operation of machine equipment. About 55% of premature equipment failures are due to inappropriate lubricants in the industry. Lubricants are substances used to reduce friction and prevent the wear of moving metal parts in contact with each other.

This article will discuss lube cuts, the main component, and raw materials for motor oil production.

What is a lube cut?

lubecut is the main component and raw material for producing motor oil, which makes up about 85-95% of it. Usually, by refining crude oil, only a few percent of hydrocarbon materials with atomic numbers between 20 and 50 are obtained, which are suitable for use as lubricants. It is one of the oil cuts (products) called oil cut or lube cut. This cut is actually the oil refinery feed.

Lubecut is converted into oil from crude oil refineries then in the oil refineries, the refining operation is performed on the lubecut. Finally, a substance called base oil, the main ingredient of motor, industrial, and grease oils, is prepared from it.

As mentioned, the base oil is produced from lubecut. Basically, lubricants consist of two components: base oil and additives. After adding additives to the base oil, the final lubricant is obtained.

The process of obtaining lubecut

Production of base oil from lubecut by performing the refining process, in addition to separating non-hydrocarbon compounds, hydrocarbon compounds are also divided according to their boiling point, which is derived from the number of carbon atoms in their molecules. Usually, by refining crude oil, only a few percent of hydrocarbon materials with atomic numbers between 20 and 50 are formed, which are suitable for use as lubricants. It should be noted that the type and degree of viscosity of the base oil obtained depend on the lubecut input to the oil refinery. Therefore, to produce different base oils, it is necessary to use different lubecut.

The rest of the materials obtained from crude oil refining are mainly lighter materials suitable for fuel consumption. Hydrocarbons with less than 15 carbon atoms have a low flash point and high volatility, which are not ideal for use as lubricants due to their low viscosity.

It should be noted that not all crude oils are suitable for preparing base oil. In choosing crude oil for the production of base oil, you should pay attention to many factors, such as the chemical composition of crude oil, the cost of refining, the percentage of oil cut in crude oil, market demand, and many other factors. For this reason, the rate of base oil refined from crude oil in different parts of the world is different, and it is mentioned from 5 to about 20% in various sources.

Iran is the largest producer of lubricants in the Middle East

At present, in Iran, four important oil refineries are engaged in producing high-quality oils from the lubecut obtained from crude oil. After the energy market, the lubricant market is the largest in the country, and as one of the downstream industries of the oil refining industry, it has a history of more than 70 years in Iran.

The movement of nearly 20 million light and heavy vehicles in the country has made Iran one of the largest markets for the production of motor oils and industrial and automotive oils in the world. Currently, Iran is the only producer of an oil product called “Lubecut” in the Middle East due to having the exclusive type of “Refined Oil” in its possession, so some of the oil-rich countries of the Persian Gulf, such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, despite The construction of numerous oil refineries have no capacity to produce lubecut. Almost one percent of the country’s crude oil is spent on producing the product lubecut and annually in terms of volume About 1,750,000 tons of lubecut varieties are produced by Iran’s refineries.

Pricing method of lubecut in Iran

As the main raw material, the rate of lubecut is dependent on the fuel oil rate and therefore dependent on the oil rate. Luebcut pricing formula is based on the Nima exchange rate and 95% of fuel oil 180 FOB Persian Gulf and it is determined by taking into account the factor of 15.1.

95 * % Nima system dollar * 15.1 * price of fuel oil 180 degrees FOB Persian Gulf = Lubecut base price

The price of lubecut depends on the price of fuel oil. The base oil price is also affected by this lube oil price. According to the price relationship between crude oil and fuel oil, among these materials, there is a price correlation.

For advice on buying heavy and light lubecut and other products, contact our consultants at Iran Petroleum.