"The plant is expected to be set up by 2006," Monirul Islam, managing director of Gulf Oil Bangladesh Limited (GOBL), marketing company of the UK-based Gulf Oil International, told The Daily Star on Wednesday.

Mobil is the first multinational oil company which last year established a blending plant in Chittagong in a joint venture with state-owned Jamuna Petroleum Company.

Initially, GOBL will start blending oil at Eastern Lubricant Bending Limited (ELBL) of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) within next three months.

"We have already signed a deal with the BPC to use Eastern Lubricant for blending lube oil," said the GOBL managing director.

Apart from Mobil and ELBL, there are three lube oil blending companies in Bangladesh --- one in public sector and others in private sector. The other public sector company is Standard Asiatic Oil Company Limited.

The GOBL will add latest technology to the ELBL plant, which will increase the plant's capacity, Monirul Islam said at the company's first Distributors' Conference held at a local hotel on Wednesday evening.

A Rouf Chowdhury, vice-chairman of GOBL and chairman of Rangs Group, and V Romesh, vice-president of Gulf Oil International, also spoke at the function.

Speaking at the conference, A Rouf Chowdhury urged the dealers to maintain good relations with the customers.

Satyabrata Das, senior general manager (sales and marketing) of the GOBL, made a presentation on the company's present state and future business plans.

The product range of GOBL include engine oil, gear oil, grease oil and industrial oil. The company is going to start marketing of filter in Bangladesh in future, Das added.

More than 150 GOBL dealers from across the country attended the conference. They requested the company to enhance publicity for better sale of lubes.