Quote:
Originally Posted by BiggerBoat
|
Mobil 1 will NOT ever post a specification for NOACK Volatility on any product information sheet. They do not want John Q. Public to know that their claimed "Fully Synthetic" is a lie.
Mobil 1 syn has contained refined petroleum since 2005, after the hurricane destroyed their PAO true synthetic plant.
EP is suspect to contain refined petroleum because of Mobil 1's newly released VISOM group III+ base stock (circa 2010). Read the stakeholder release from Mobil 1 referring to VISOM.
"
Visom is viewed as a precursor of GTL, and hence it’s use now in our flagship formulations eases our transition to a GTL world"
Translation, Extended Performance must contain group III+ highly refined petroleum base stocks. It's not 100% pure as Mobil 1 would have you to believe. That's why the NOACK spec isn't supplied.
Quote:
A natural evolution of the formulation
The Mobil 1 formulation strategy has always been based on selecting the best components available. We now have the very high quality Group III+ base stock, ‘Visom’ exclusively available to ExxonMobil. As we developed the Mobil 1 ESP technology we found that combining Visom with PAO could deliver a formulation of equivalent performance to an all PAO formulation.
Competitive advantage
Visom is the only non-PAO stock that can deliver the required performance to formulate a 0W grade oil that meets European OEM engine oil specifications. Visom is not available to our competition.
To support Mobil 1 growth
Global PAO capacity is limited. As we quickly approach this limit, new base stocks must be explored to ensure we can support the continued growth of the Mobil 1 family of products.
To ensure continuity of supply
As we saw with the 2005 hurricane, the more flexibility we have in our formulations, the better placed we are to withstand disruption to our supply. We can balance PAO and Visom supply fluctuations to ensure we can always deliver the final product to our customers.
To maintain market relevant pricing
As PAO supply has tightened globally, raw material costs have increased substantially. In the future, an exclusively PAO formulation may be priced out of the market or result in significant margin erosion.
To prepare for next generation basestocks (GTL)
Commencing 2010, the next generation of base stocks derived from Natural Gas (Gas To Liquids) will enter the market. These high quality basestocks will arrive in substantial quantities and will probably be used in the majority of competitive premium formulations. Visom is viewed as a precursor of GTL, and hence it’s use now in our flagship formulations eases our transition to a GTL world, and helps us understand how to maintain flagship performance using these high quality non-PAO basestocks.
|
and this follow up post on BITOG by a man who already tried to tell people of the change, but no one would hear it.
Quote:
I reported this change in the M1 formulations here four years ago and a global firestorm ensued. I took lots of grief over it, including people writing to the owner of my company, and dragging my name through the mud on the Internet. There are still people who adamantly deny that M1 formulations use Group III.
This presentation, dating sometime between 2005 and 2009, clearly shows that EM changed the M1 formulations to include Group III+, and that they did not want to tell their customers:
"With the exception of Germany, this reformulation will be invisible to consumers and B2B customers."
and:
"There will be no proactive customer communication relating to this reformulation. However, an internal briefing document and Q&A has been prepared to allow sales to respond in the unlikely event of a customer question."
This explains all the canned responses customers got when they asked EM about the change.
As I have consistently said, I use M1 and consider it a great oil, but I am happy that the truth is finally confirmed by EM. My name is finally cleared.
Tom NJ
|