UAE Lubricants Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends And Forecast (2025 - 2030)

UAE Lubricants Market Trends and Insights

ADNOC Ruwais Refinery Expansion Raises Local Base-Oil Supply

The multi-phase upgrade at Ruwais increases Murban light crude routing to base-oil units and lifts scheduled exports to 1.665 million barrels per day by late 2024, replacing volatile Asian cargoes and trimming freight bills. Domestic feedstock allows blenders to optimize formulations, support premium synthetics, and hedge against currency swings. Cost savings filter through to industrial buyers, reinforcing the UAE lubricants market as a sourcing base for regional re-exports. The project aligns with national diversification goals and offers long-term supply security during global logistics disruptions.

“Make it in the Emirates” Industrial Push

The National In-Country Value program directed AED 48 billion into local procurement by H1 2024 and lifted Emirati employment at ICV-certified firms by 40%^{[1]Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, “National In-Country Value Program,” moiat.gov.ae}. Dubai Industrial City’s 13.9 million square-foot expansion brings 300 factories online, while Abu Dhabi’s strategy targets AED 172 billion in manufacturing value by 2031^{[2]Dubai Industrial City, “13.9 Million sq ft Expansion,” dubaiindustrialcity.ae}. These investments elevate demand for hydraulic fluids, gear oils, and specialty greases, underpinning growth in the UAE lubricants market. Customs exemptions on machinery and inputs further improve the economics of local blending, drawing international majors to set up in-country lines.

Post-COVID Rebound in Construction Equipment Parc

Registered commercial vehicles in Dubai jumped by 100,000 units in 2024, pushing the total above 400,000 and driving extended-drain lubricant uptake for heavy equipment. Abu Dhabi’s construction and building-materials footprint spans 12.8 million square meters, supplying mega-projects that run equipment nearly round-the-clock. Growth in hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, and concrete pumps boosts grease and hydraulic-fluid volumes. Equipment modernization trends accelerate the pivot to premium synthetics engineered for severe desert duty cycles, amplifying the value mix within the UAE lubricants market.

Gradual Shift from Group I To Group II/III Base Oils

UAE blenders are phasing out Group I stocks as they realign with OEM viscosity and volatility standards for Euro-5 drivetrains. Imports of Group II and Group III grades, now supplemented by Ruwais output, stabilize supply and curb exposure to spot-market spikes. The shift supports better oxidation stability, longer drain intervals, and reduced top-up rates, which together improve the total cost of ownership for fleet operators. These performance gains explain the expanding share of synthetics and semi-synthetics in the UAE lubricants market despite a premium over mineral equivalents.

Rapid EV Adoption in Dubai Taxis

Hydrogen fuel-cell Toyota Mirai pilots and the RTA pledge to electrify 25% of transport modes by 2030, eliminating routine passenger-car motor oil demand across the emirate’s 12,000-strong taxi fleet. Public transport patronage topped 360 million trips in H1 2024, removing 1 million daily car journeys and eroding combustion-engine lubricant volumes. While EV-specific thermal-management fluids emerge, their fill capacities are smaller than conventional PCMO sums, pressing overall growth for the UAE lubricants market.

Counterfeit Lubricants in Grey Markets

Enforcement raids seized AED 26 million in fake Toyota parts, including 34,000 oil filters, in 2019, and earlier crackdowns confiscated AED 36.7 million in illicit stock, underscoring persistent grey-market leakage. Counterfeit blends cause engine failures, tarnish brand reputations, and force legitimate blenders to increase traceability costs, all of which sap pricing power and curb premium-product uptake. The UAE’s role as a regional re-export hub heightens vulnerability to transshipment fraud, requiring tighter customs cooperation and holographic security labels.

Segment Analysis

By Product Types: Engine Oils Maintain Dominance while Greases Accelerate

Engine oils held 55.75% of the UAE lubricants market in 2024 due to a large on-road fleet and extensive construction machinery. The segment’s defensive bulk ensures stable baseline volumes, though value expansion now comes from low-SAPs, high TBN synthetics engineered for Euro-5 diesel after-treatment compatibility. Greases, the fastest-advancing product, grow at 5.68% CAGR as newly launched factories in Jebel Ali, Khalifa Industrial Zone, and Hamriyah adopt high-load bearings and enclosed gear drives requiring calcium-sulfonate or lithium-complex greases that tolerate desert dust ingress. 

Local suppliers capitalize on regional climatic extremes. ENOC’s PROTEC X-TREME SAE 5W-40 covers both passenger-car and light-duty diesel segments and advertises 20,000 km drain potential under GCC conditions. Emarat’s Power Plus 20W-50 remains popular with older taxis and small fleets seeking thick-film protection during peak summer heat. These climate-specific blends differentiate local brands inside the UAE lubricants market size parameters while maintaining global specification compliance.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Distribution Channel: Direct Sales Reinforce Quality Assurance

Direct sales captured 49.12% market share in 2024 and are projected at a 4.34% CAGR through 2030, reflecting a manufacturer preference for supply-chain traceability amid counterfeit risks. ADNOC Distribution leverages more than 500 service stations that serve 20 million customers monthly, offering OEM-approved lubricants, oil-analysis services, and loyalty programs. Industrial clients such as steel mills and desalination plants sign multi-year supply agreements that bundle reliability audits, tank-farm monitoring, and staff training, ensuring long-term stickiness.

Retail chains and gasoline stations still matter for convenience-based top-ups and light-duty oil-change packages. Digital-only entrants such as CAFU deliver doorstep oil changes ordered through mobile apps, tracking drain intervals and issuing alerts to drivers, a model that meets demand for contactless services. Blenders increasingly adopt API-enabled inventory dashboards to coordinate route-to-market partners, minimize stockouts, and defend margins inside the expanding UAE lubricants market.

By End User: Automotive Leads while Power Generation Accelerates

Automotive applications made up 48.16% of 2024 consumption, owing to high per-capita vehicle ownership and the national role as a re-export hub for Gulf and African second-hand cars. Euro-5 adoption drives premium synthetic penetration and elevates the overall value per liter sold. Construction fleet rejuvenation, visible in Dubai’s 34% surge in commercial transport operators, supports high-viscosity engine oil and hydraulic fluid demand.

Power generation, projected to grow at 5.12% CAGR, is fueled by utility-scale gas turbines, barge-mounted generators, and peak-shaving engines that need low-ash, high-TBN oils designed for high load factors. Long drain requests extend beyond 8,000 operating hours, resulting in higher per-unit lubricant consumption even if equipment counts are modest relative to automotive totals. The net effect is a rising value contribution from the power segment to the UAE lubricants market size and a widening portfolio of specialty turbine oils blended in-country.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

Dubai and Abu Dhabi collectively command a dominant share of the UAE lubricants market because they house the largest vehicle fleets, port complexes, and manufacturing clusters. Dubai’s strategic re-export role channels significant transit volumes for onward shipment to East Africa and South Asia. The emirate’s 13.9 million square-foot industrial park achieved 97% land occupancy, bringing multiple precision-machining firms online and spurring demand for soluble metalworking fluids and high-film-strength gear oils.

Abu Dhabi’s low-cost feedstock access through ADNOC and an AED 10 billion stimulus for heavy industry amplify lubricant requirements in petrochemical plants, cement kilns, and power stations. The emirate’s proximity to the Ruwais base-oil complex ensures rapid supply replenishment, buffering industrial users from global freight volatility and stabilizing the UAE's lubricants market share of domestic producers.

Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah contribute through mid-sized factories and port activity. Sharjah’s decades-old industrial zones sustain a cluster of small lube blenders that serve intra-GCC clients, while Fujairah leverages deep-water berths to bunkering operations and ENOC’s ELOMP facility, which ships over 250 metric tons annually.