Shell Lubricants can help unlock efficient reliable power for Myanmar

Yangon, 16 May 2017 – Today, Shell Lubricants held a seminar with power plant operators and other power sector companies in Myanmar to discuss and demonstrate how using the right lubricants can help improve productivity and reduce equipment downtime. This can potentially help light up more homes in Myanmar and reduce power outages.

According to the World Bank, Myanmar’s economy is projected to grow an average of 7.1% per year over the next three years. This will bring an increased demand for energy, particularly for electricity from the power sector. In the summer of 2016, Yangon’s electricity consumption increased to 1,200 megawatts and it is estimated that an extra 500 megawatts would be needed in 2017.

“Today, about two-thirds of Myanmar’s population is not yet connected to the national electricity grid and 84% of rural households lack access to electricity. Access to reliable and affordable energy is necessary for ensuring sustained and inclusive growth of Myanmar’s economy. Shell is committed to supporting the power sector in Myanmar especially considering the government’s goal of total electrification by 2030. We organised this power sector seminar to discuss industry trends and challenges impacting lubrication”, said Sethuraman Ks, General Manager for South East Asia and Oceania, Macro-distributors, Shell Lubricants.

Lubricants can help increase productivity and reduce total cost of ownership for turbines, transformers and stationary engines. According to international industry research by Shell, this savings opportunity is recognised but undervalued. 58% of companies recognise that lubricant selection can help reduce costs by 5% or more, but only 8% realise that the impact of lubrication could be up to six times greater.

For example, Indonesia’s PT. Java Energy Semesta (JES), runs its own power plant and uses gas- powered engines. They wanted to optimize the use of gas engine lubricants to reduce the cost of maintenance of generator sets as well as improve performance and productivity.

After consulting with Shell’s technical experts, JES switched to Shell Mysella S5 N40, which is approved by many OEMs for gas engines. After a year of operation, JES was able to extend the oil drain intervals up to nearly double, from 750 to 1300 hours. With the increase in the intervals, machine downtime was reduced, thereby increasing the availability of electrical power. They reduced the use of automatic lubrication, which led to savings in lubricant costs and reduced maintenance and operating costs.

Over the last five years, Shell Lubricants has delivered $139 million in documented savings to customers worldwide from a variety of industries including power generation, manufacturing and agriculture. These savings indicate the potential for lubrication excellence to deliver total cost of ownership (TCO) reduction and productivity increases in the industry.