We were quite happy to see Emeka Umejeis piece Will Naphthenics replace Group I in Africa? in the December issue. However, I can see from some of the comments by industry professionals that our position was not described entirely correctly.

I agree with Gill and Richard Mugambi that the VI and other key features would not be sufficiently close to match Group I by utilizing naphthenic feedstock alone. However, for the sake of clarity, it is crucial to understand that the blends we propose for Group I replacement are indeed blends of naphthenic and paraffinic base oils, not purely naphthenic base oils.

Prof. Thomas Norrby

Senior Technical Advisor Lubricants

Naphthenics

Nynas AB

Nynshamn, Sweden