New fact booklet from Shell Oils
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In a hard-hitting new fact booklet from the Shell stable, the workings of the oil supply chain from the oil well to your engine are explained.
Not a deeply technical booklet, it concentrates rather on the methods of the buying and selling of crude oils and the key intermediate product known as "Base Oil". The book goes on to reveal the compromises that are sometimes made in adding Base Oils to the various chemical additives that go to make up a diesel engine oil. It also explains that quite often the chemical additives were designed to go with a totally different Base Oil, with the result that the engine oil in some packs may not be anything like it claims to be on the outside.
Other revelations in this booklet are the claims that some oils that claim to "meet the requirements" of international specifications or engine manufacturers may never have been tested at all. Not unnaturally Shell say that such oils could be doing untold damage to your diesel engines.
It's a very revealing booklet and well worth taking a few minutes to read if you operate or maintain a diesel engined fleet.