French oil giant Total Lubricants opened a grease production plant in Tianjin, China, its first in the Asia-Pacific region and eighth grease production unit worldwide.

The facility cost 50 mil­ lion yuan (U.S $7.2 million) and has production capaci­ty of 5,000 metric tons per year of lithium and lithium­ complex grease for auto­motive and industrial appli­cations, said Senior Vice President Francois Dehodencq.

The plant sits on 7,336 square meters at the site of Total's largest blending plant in China at the Tianjin Free Trade Zone.

China is the largest mar­ket for Total lubricants sales worldwide, noted Ting-wee Liang, president of Total (China) Investment Co. In 2015. Total combined its two lube businesses in China, Total Lubricants and Elf Lubricants, to create Total Lubricants China, which is headquartered in Beijing and has blending plants in Zhenjiang, Guangzhou, and Tianjin.