The American Petroleum Institute holds its regularly scheduled spring Lubricants Committee meeting today in Houston. Two agenda items, the first and the last, stand out. First is a review of the Proposed ILSAC/OIL Engine Oil Development Process which, when completed later this year, would result in a revised quality upgrade process. Following widespread unhappiness with the GF-2 process, ILSAC (representing U.S. and Japanese automakers) made its initial proposal for change in late 2000. API spen...

Come April 2002, the Indian petroleum industry will be deregulated, including the four major public sector undertakings: Indian Oil Corp., Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd., and Indo Burma Petroleum. In early February Indian Oil Corp. acquired a controlling stake in Indo Burma. Bharat and Hindustan, which together control 30 percent of Indias lubricant market, go on the block in July. The bidding process promises nail-biting drama as the likes of British Petroleum, Shel...

The automotive lubricants sector may be used to change but, according to Infineum, it aint seen nothing like the next motor oil upgrades. In its annual Trends report, presented yesterday at the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association annual meeting in San Antonio, Infineum contended that past upgrades will pale in comparison to formulation changes required by looming regulatory and original equipment manufacturers’ demands. These changes will drive up costs by prohibiting the use...