API’s lubricants standard process improvement group to hold first meeting on August 15 

The American Petroleum Institute’s (API) lubricants standards process improvement group, which has been tasked with evaluating API’s current standard-setting process for lubricants and recommend improvements, will hold its first meeting on August 15 at API headquarters in Washington, D.C. A draft charter has been circulated for comments.

API globally licenses hundreds of passenger car (gasoline) motor oils (PCMO) and heavy-duty (diesel) motor oils (HDMO). API standards are developed by industry stakeholders, which include U.S. and Japanese OEMs, lubricant manufacturers and marketers, base oil manufacturers and petroleum additive manufacturers, as well as independent labs. The specific process in practice today are published in API 1509, a document which describes the voluntary API Engine Oil Licensing and Certification System (EOLCS).

No timeline for this activity has been established yet, according to API’s Dennis Bachelder. Two key issues that will have to be decided soon, however, is how many people will be in the group and will passenger car and heavy-duty be tackled together or separately.

During the API Lubricants Group business meeting in July, there was a tentative choice to have two oil marketers, two base oil marketers, two representatives from the American Chemistry Council (ACC) which represents major petroleum additive makers, and two OEMs, said Bachelder. However, he added, “This may not be the final group design.” Another suggestion that was floated earlier was to have four representatives, instead of two, from each interest group.