Shell says Rotella T ready for 2002

HOUSTON, Texas (July 9, 2001) — Shell said testing shows its Rotella T Multigrade 15W-40 engine oil with Advanced Soot Control is ready for new, low-emission heavy-duty engines scheduled to hit the market in late 2002.

Company officials said the oil meets or exceeds the anticipated requirements of the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) Proposed Category-9 (PC-9) for Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) equipped engines.

API is expected to begin licensing so-called API PC-9 category oils for these engines in mid-2002. Most heavy-duty major engine builders will begin selling EGR engines in October 2002.

EGR engines require tougher engine oils with the ability to minimize soot-related engine wear, soot-related thickening of engine oil, and the neutralization of acids created in the engine by EGR technology.

Shell has engaged in product development of PC-9 oils for the last two and one-half years. According to Aimin Huang, the product development specialist responsible for Rotella T development official pass/fail limits are not yet established, but “we believe that our testing data will satisfy the three critical new engine tests.”