There is an extraordinary degree of fear and uncertainty around the global impact of COVID-19 on the oil industry. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Asian Lubricant Manufacturers Union (ALMU) has taken all of its activities online to continue to provide support and direction to its members and to foster solidarity during these challenging times.
On 19 May 2020 at 10-11 am SGT, ALMU will deliver a webinar entitled “Base oil markets: the only constant is change”. The webinar will address many of the industry challenges in a heavily oversupplied base oil market. Changes in base oil supply and demand will be discussed including a decrease in Group I supply in favour of Groups II and III and how such changes will impact lubricant blenders. The presentation will also examine growth in Group IV (PAO) availability with investments by major suppliers, as well as dwindling supplies of bright stocks. Blenders need to consider the need for base oil interchange and have backup plans.
The base oil webinar forms part of a series of ALMU webinars presented by Jack Zakarian of JAZTech Consulting. The online course will provide much-needed trends and information to assist businesses with their long-term planning. Zakarian, who spent his entire career working at Chevron, is sometimes referred to as the “Father of Group II”. He will draw on considerable knowledge gained over his 40+ years of experience not only in the technical area, but across supply chain, marketing and technical support. The webinar will appeal not only to technical, sales and marketing personnel but also to senior executives.
A follow up webinar on 23 June 2020 will cover “Best practices in lubricant formulation and blending: Reducing complexity, waste and finished product contamination”. Zakarian will discuss how to develop “robust” formulas, that is, formulas that blend right the first time with minimal adjustments, as well as how to set batch release specifications and to implement quality monitoring for tests that cannot be run at batch release. Whether you develop your own product formulas or get them from suppliers, there are many formulation items that need attention at the plant level. Zakarian will introduce the concept of “core components”, or complexity reduction, to simplify inventory of base oils and additives.
The inevitable long-term impact of electric vehicles (EV) on lubricants will be examined on 21 July 2020 in the aptly titled webinar “When will electric vehicles take charge: Potential impact on lubricant formulations and sales channels”. During this webinar, Zakarian will assess the impact of EVs on lubricant demand and manufacture and consider the performance properties needed for EV lubricants that are distinct from those of current lubricants. Change intervals for grease, transmission, and axle fluids will be very long and the supply of lubricants for service fill will be small. Factory fill supply of EV lubricants will be the biggest sales channel, so lubricant manufacturers need to develop good OEM supply relationships.
To support ALMU members at this challenging time, all member companies are entitled to one complimentary seat, while additional seats are priced at US$20 each. The cost for non-members is US$50 each..
For more information, or to register for any of these webinars, visit https://asianlubricants.org/webinar
