The Battle for the Engine Oil Market

Manvic Nzekwe-

As a result of inadequate information and ignorance on the part of many motorists and other end users, engine oil dealers across the country are flooding the market with foreign blended lubricants which experts say might be of lower quality.  

Presently, there are over 30 brands of such products, mainly from Asian countries, competing with the locally blended ones.  

Among the locally manufactured engine oil are Whiz Oil, AP, AZ, Conoil, Mobil, Tonimas, Hi Speed, Dozzy, Cann Oil, Citrol, Oando and others. The imported brands favourably compete with the ones blended in Nigeria due to their relatively cheaper prices. While a gallon of Mobil Super Engine Oil sells for almost N2000, a gallon of Sharlu or other imported brands sell for N1500.  

Experts point out that unless the foreign blends are taken to standard laboratories, it could be difficult to ascertain the quality of such engine oil. They also warn that the use of adulterated and substandard lubricants constitute great danger to the environment due to the unpleasant fumes automobiles that use them may generate  

Local challenges

Despite the warnings, many Nigerians still patronize such engine oil unknowingly. Many end users of the product who spoke to M2 say they use the imported ones because they are cheaper and claimed ignorance of its effects on vehicles. This trend might be as a result of the present economic hardship in the country and inherent hitches in the nation’s lubricant market.  

A report from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) revealed that the lubricant market is fraught with non availability of locally produced base oil which has caused proliferation of substandard lubricants. Nigeria is still importing base oil due to the fact that the unit in the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company, which is the only plant that produce base oil i Nigeria, has been out of production since 1995.  

Over the years, the Federal Government has been making efforts to eradicate substandard lubricants from the nation’s market without much success. The Minister for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, had recently announced that from 2010, all bulk sales of lubricants at undesignated retail outlets would be stopped.  

Also, he has directed the Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) to collaborate with all stakeholders involved in the lubricant market in checking unauthorized sale of the product.  

As a move towards that direction, a source at DPR disclosed that the agency has suspended issuance of base oil import permit to non licensed blenders as a way of curbing fake circulation of the products.  

The government gesture notwithstanding, the business still booms as a roadside seller of engine oil who simply gave his name as Ade, told M2 that the unbranded and imported lubricants are very much affordable. According to him, they (oil) all do same work as those produced by oil companies in Nigeria.  

A motorist in the Auto Parts Market at the Trade Fair Complex, Lagos, Mr. Chima Ude, said he is not aware of any effects of such oil in vehicles and stated that he does not care about the brand of oil used in servicing his car by his mechanic.  

Mr. Paul Okoye, a lubricant dealer in the same market, revealed that imported engine oil abound in the market and sells cheaper and faster than locally blended ones but refused to assure on their quality. He however, urged local blenders to educate the public on the importance of using standard lubricants on the vehicles.  

Reacting to the influx of imported blended engine oil, the Marketing Manager of an indigenous blending firm, Mr. Jack C. Ogbue, said the use of substandard lubricants could cause a big financial loss to end users with the resultant effect of engine knocks. He wants regulatory agencies to check the influx of lubricants and ensure that existing ones are of high quality.  

He also stated that their company, Whiz Products (W.A) Limited, a subsidiary of Pokobros Group, mainly concerned with the blending and manufacturing of automotive care variety products like Whiz Engine Oil, was the first indigenous company to receive license for blending oil in 1986.

Today, there are over 20 companies blending oil in Nigeria yet, it seems they are not enough for the market demand for the products which probably accounts for the influx.  

Research    

Motor oil or engine oil, as it is popularly called in Nigerian markets, is oil used for the lubrication of various internal combustion engines. It is mainly used for lubricating the moving parts of an engine. It also cleans, inhibits corrosion, improves sealing and cools the engine by carrying heat away from moving parts.  

According to Dieter Klamann, motor oil is derived from petroleum based and non petroleum synthesized chemical compounds. Presently, it is blended from base oils composed of hydrocarbons and to that extent, are organic compounds consisting entirely of carbon and hydrogen.  

In engines, there are parts which move against each other causing friction. Contact between moving surfaces, according to automobile experts, cause wear which could lead to lower efficiency and degradation of the motor engine. The resultant effect is an increase of fuel consumption and decrease in engine output which if not checked, leads to engine failure.  

Good engine oil should also contain detergents and dispersants to help keep the engine clean and minimize oil sludge build up. There are grades of engine oil ranging from single or mono-grade to multi-grade. The motor oil grade to be used in a given vehicle is specified by the manufacturer of the vehicle.