The commission estimated that the targets would cut around 54 million metric tons of CO2 between 2020 and 2030, equivalent to the total annual emissions of Sweden, and could mean fuel savings worth U.S. $29,418 over five years for truck owners.

Trucks account for 5 percent of road vehicles but produce 35 percent of Europes transport emissions, the commission said.

ACEA Works Toward 2018 Upgrade

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association is working to complete an upgrade of its ACEA automotive engine oil standards by the end of this year. The first upgrade since 2016, the 2018 European Oil Sequences promise new and replacement tests, additional light-duty categories and the potential elimination of older such categories.

Listed among the new tests are borrowed from other geographies, such as the Toyota VVT wear test Sequence IVB developed for ILSAC GF-6, the next passenger car specification upgrade in North America. The Sequence IVB was adopted into GF-6 in May, despite criticism that it does not adequately distinguish between oils that do provide the desired level of antiwear protection and those that do not.

Automaker members of ILSAC, the International Lubricant Standardization and Approval Committee, said the group developing the test will work to fix it before GF-6 comes to market, which is currently expected to happen in the second quarter of 2020.

ACEA officials declined to comment on the state of the Sequence IVB or to say if they have concerns about making it part of ACEAs sequences.

Synthetics Demand Rising in Poland

Polands synthetic motor oil consumption has tripled the past 10 years, increasing from 5.5 percent of lubricant demand in 2007 to 16.3 percent last year, according to a recently published study by Kantar TNS consultancy.

Conducted on behalf of Shell Polska, the study found that in 2017 the principal growth in Polands finished lube market came from the synthetic oils segment.

Last year Poland consumed 227,000 tons of finished lubricants, the study found, citing data by the Polish Oil Industry and Trade Organization.

Motorists in Poland are increasingly using products with very low viscosity, [as low as] 0W-16 grade, according to Lukasz Radzyminski, sales director at Shell Polska. This is due to the growing sales of cars equipped with modern engines whose manufacturers require use of such oils.

The study also found that the new car sales in Poland rose 18 percent in 2017, to almost 500,000.

At the Plant

The U.K.s Slicker Recycling Limited and Germanys Avista Oil have entered into a partnership to build a 100,000-ton capacity API Group rerefinery in Kalundborg, Denmark. The facility will be completed by 2019, an Avista statement said. An existing plant at the site was damaged by fire last year.

Fuchs Lubricants South Africa started a $10 million grease plant expansion at its factory in Isando, Gauteng, South Africa. Fuchs is also spending $13.3 million on a new warehouse at its U.K. headquarters, a raw materials facility and manufacturing machinery.

U.A.E. energy company Adnoc plans to invest $45 billion at its Ruwais refinery over the next five years to become a leading global downstream player. There are no specific plans for base oil or lubricant investment at this time, an Adnoc spokesman told LubesnGreases.

U.K. formulator, blender and distributor Multisols depot in Irlam, Manchester, clocked five years without a lost work day accident.

Doing Deals

Castrol and Taqa Arabia will enter a joint venture called Castrol Egypt Oils S.A.E. to produce and distribute Castrols industrial and automotive lubricants in Egypt.

The U.S. division of BASF signed an agreement with specialty chemicals distributor Chemroy in June to manage its portfolio of antioxidants, base stocks, surfactants and additives in Canada.

Indian vehicle maintenance Cross Roads will offer ExxonMobil Lubricants as part of its provide vehicle maintenance service packages delivered at a subscribers home or place of work.

BP invested $20 million in Israeli ultra-fast charging battery developer StoreDot. StoreDots technology may have applications in electric vehicle technologies, a sector in which BP is actively investing.

Petro-Canada Lubricants Inc. has extended its partnership with the FIA European Truck Racing Championship team, Truck Sport Lutz Bernau.

Condiment Contaminant

A brand of mayonnaise in France was found to contain engine oil, reported a French newspaper. The products were made with 40,000 tons of sunflower oil that was cut cut with 280 tons of engine oil sold to the manufacturer by a Ukrainian company.

The products were tested but were found not to pose a significant health risk due to the low levels of contaminant, authorities said. The European Commission said that a 60-kilogram person can safely consume up to 1.2 grams of engine oil without risk.