Conocophillips upgrades to synthetic blends

[etech]

I've always had good luck with TropArtic. Looks like the 5W20 and 5W30 are now going to be synthetic blends. click on the August 3, 2004 Press Release CONOCOPHILLIPS UPGRADES SELECTED CONVENTIONAL MOTOR OILS TO SYNTHETIC BLENDS FOR ILSAC GF-4 Major Lubricants Provider Embraces “Good Just Got Better” Strategy with Massive Upgrade Beginning with its 5W-20 and 5W-30 Grade Oils HOUSTON, TX - ConocoPhillips Company, a leading global petroleum company and the fourth largest lubricants supplier in the U.S., today announced the company will upgrade selected conventional motor oils to synthetic blends, beginning immediately with its 5W-20 and 5W-30 mainline conventional oils. The robust product upgrade affects all four of ConocoPhillips’ “Family of Brands,” including Kendall, Phillips 66, 76 and Conoco motor oil brands. The initiative began as the company commenced reformulating its products to meet the latest ILSAC GF-4 specification. According to Scott McQueen, director of automotive products for ConocoPhillips Lubricants, the new synthetic blend oils feature strategic enhancements that go far beyond the standard industry requirements to ultimately provide the oil consuming marketplace with higher quality, premium oils at a competitive, conventional motor oil price. ... My dad ran a couple of cars over 300K on trop-artic. Of course that was in the 60's and 70's and quite a bit has changed since then.

 

[jthorner]

Interesting. It seems like they have already been doing this with the Motorcraft labeled product based on other postings and now are pushing it out across their product line. I would also expect them to simply make one oil in each grade and put different labels on it as marketing needs require. It is really crazy for any company to manufacture different oils for different sub-brands (Shell-Pennzoil-QuakerState and others). John

 

[Pat in Speedway]

I'm curious, but is this going to be badged as a synthetic blend or something like Motorcraft is? I know they currently have a synthetic blend. I just put some 10w30 syn blend in my ma-in-law's van last month. That stuff is HARD to find too. I used to get it up in the Chicago area at a Phillips station in Romeoville, IL until they stopped carrying it. Last batch I found was in Amarillo, TX at another Phillips station. However it's badged, this is good news for us die-hard TA users!

 

[cheeks]

I had a hunch this might be coming ever since picking up that Motorcraft 5w30 bottle in May and reading the back label. Looks like I might be right for once. Now, about those other 9,999,999 times...... Wonder if they'll sell it for $1.42 / quart like the Motorcraft 5w30, if in fact it's a legit syn blend. Either way you look at it, good time we live in.

 

[Motorbike]

What was in the past little ole Conoco got them a deal when they got the Ford contract .Before the merger Phillips was larger than Conoco and carried a large lube oil line . Without advertising at all they sell oil in every Walmart along with other parts stores and...in every dealership across the USA . In turn all they cannot do is market in a conventional fashion their own lube line . Now they may or may not make as much profit per whatever amount but they are making oil and alot of it and a large chunk of it is put in red bottles . I am pro Phillips no doubt . They have some outstanding oils available but as one member said they are hard to come by and inpart due to , well I won't go into it because what I've heard might be 1/2 rumor 1/2 fact. On another note . If I was involved directly by being employed by a large lube company I'd lobby to pay a fee to the BITOG forum to set up an area to post news about the company and it's products and offer some replies to tech questions about the products they offer to the public . I know it would be hard to answer every question so possibly a question of the week could be struck on or something of the likes . It would be good business practice IMO and of the type new to the industry outside thier own websites . Mobil , Conoco , Castrol , Valvoline , Citgo ect ect are you listening ?

 

[T-Keith]

Aren't most 5w20s and a lot of 5w30s Group III blends? Basically they are just calling it what it is. I always though it was a bit weird that both regular 5w20 and "sythetic blend" 10w30 both have Group III. -T

 

[Motorbike]

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Originally posted by T-Keith: Aren't most 5w20s and a lot of 5w30s Group III blends?

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Not currently . The Mobil Drive Clean and Exxon Superflo 5w-20 MSDS's are on the E/M website now . No group II used per the MSDS just two different group I streams while a big chunk of the Citgo 5w-20 is group II ,the rest is group I . Valvoline All Climate per the MSDS shows all grades to be group I only . Obviously some will change for API SM , some might just sit and rake in the money by bumping the add pack . Too early to tell except for the Conoco/Phillips oils .

 

[G-MAN]

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Originally posted by Motorbike:

quote:

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Originally posted by T-Keith: Aren't most 5w20s and a lot of 5w30s Group III blends?

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Not currently . The Mobil Drive Clean and Exxon Superflo 5w-20 MSDS's are on the E/M website now . No group II used per the MSDS just two different group I streams while a big chunk of the Citgo 5w-20 is group II ,the rest is group I .

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I don't care what XOM's MSDS sheet says, there is no way they can build a 5w20 that meets GF-3 and the Ford spec from nothing but Group I. No way.

 

[csandste]

Conoco-Phillips may be small in comparison to Exxon-Mobil or Chevron-Texaco but (if memory serves me right) it's still the nation's eighth largest corporation. More proof that in this economy oil rules the day.

 

[Cutehumor]

quote:

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Originally posted by etech: My dad ran a couple of cars over 300K on trop-artic. Of course that was in the 60's and 70's and quite a bit has changed since then.

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This stuff is readily available at walmart for 1.04/qt There's hardly any UOA of this stuff

 

[Pat in Speedway]

The Wally Worlds in Indiana haven't carried TA for a couple of years now. Best I can do is $1.69 at Autozone.

 

[Bugshu]

Phillips Petroleum was the first company to release a multigrade oil. Their famed TropArctic line of motor oils reflected that their oil could be used from the Tropics to the Artic with equal effectiveness. They had a long line of innovations and Phillips oils and products were especially prized by the aviation community. Phillips having bought Tosco and Conoco is now the #1 refiner of oil in America and probably in the world. In my little small town, our local Phillips refinery has a unit that can take the filthiest of Arabian oil and filter it and clean it so that it refines like Brent Light Sweet Crude. Phillips has the patented S Zorb sulphur removal technology that enables them to remove most sulphur from their oil and gasoline products. Im sure that others here could debate additives a little better than me and know more about synthetics. However, Im familiar with Phillips refining and I can post with confidence that Phillips probably could produce and sell a very high quality grade 3 basestock oil thats labelled a synthetic blend without much additional cost added to their supply chain. Pure oil refines easier than dirty oil and nobody refines more oil than Phillips. They have all kinds of filters, units, and refining processes to filter oil to its purest state before they start to refine it. Without claiming expert status, its easy for me to believe that TropArctic oil has one of the purest, cleanest and high quality basestocks of any of the traditional dino mineral oils. It would be a piece of cake for Phillips to start selling high grade synthetic blends at traditional grade 2 prices. Happy Motoring Bugshu

 

[Motorbike]

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Originally posted by G-Man II: I don't care what XOM's MSDS sheet says, there is no way they can build a 5w20 that meets GF-3 and the Ford spec from nothing but Group I. No way.

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Would you care to explain to the forum exactly why you are certain this is so since the MSDS stating otherwise seems not to factor in per your statement?

 

[Brian Reid]

quote:

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Bugshu: [QB]Their famed TropArctic line of motor oils reflected that their oil could be used from the Tropics to the Artic with equal effectiveness.

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Trivia: The Trop-Arctic brand was a brand of Manhattan Oil Company in St Paul, Minnesota. Their slogan was "It satisfies from Pole to Pole". Standard Oil Company bought Manhattan. A portion of the Standard Oil Company severed from Standard in a Texas court decision with the Manhattan Oil Company, and was in turn absorbed by Anglo-American Oil Company. http://www.carcollector.com/feature_detail.cfm?StoryID=720&typename=Features http://www.us-highways.com/sohist.htm

 

[Ray H]

The problem with CAS#s in an MSDS is we're as much in the dark about what is done with the stream as what isn't. Manufacturers don't lie, but they give as few trade secrets away as they can get away with. It's entirely possible to have a common Group I solvent-refined and dewaxed CAS#: 64742-54-7 (this stuff's used in everything from paint to motor oil to insecticides to pharmaceuticals in various states of purity) run through a hydro-cooker and emerge as a Group III+ - and that, friends, is so close to Group IV performance it hurts. Case in point: Kendall's current GT-1 Synthetic Blend Motor Oil (and there's no guarentee the same formula will be available when the "regular" 10W-30 becomes a synthetic blend next Spring - more on this later) MSDS states that the "Synthetic Base Oil" is good ol' CAS# 64742-54-7. Fine. But we don't know what proportion is really the good stuff. Rats. However, further along in the report is a very tantalizing bit of information: "11. TOXOCOLOGICAL INFORMATION Synthetic Base Oil(CAS# 64742-54-7) Carcinogenity: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has concluded that severely hydrotreated mineral oils are not carcinogenic. This product meets the OSHA guidance for severe hydrotreating [emphasis mine]." Are we to conclude from the above quote that this stuff is really all Group III and that Kendall (aka ConocoPhillips) is being quite honest about how they describe it versus a certain British Petroleum entity who shall remain nameless? Dunno - but there it is for y'all to wrestle with. The four ConocoPhillips motor oil brands, Conoco Phillips Kendall 76 will be identified prominently as "Synthetic Blend" on the front of the various brand bottles. First shipments are due on August 16, but, who knows how long it'll take to reach store shelves. Also of interest according to the press release is ConocoPhillips statement that by next spring, the various brands of 10W-30 viscosity in the lineup will also receive the same "Synthetic Blend" treatment. (That's mah oel, yup, yup, yup, yup!)

 

[Bugshu]

Yes the history lesson is noted. Phillips did in fact purchase the TropArctic name brand from Manhattan Oil Company. http://www.phillips66lubricants.com/index.htm In 1954, Phillips introduced the first multi-viscosity oil. In fact, Phillips was a leader in the discovery of plastics. Scientist Paul Hogan accidently discovered a process for refining plastics (polyethylene) out of oil when one of his experiments got corrupted during a lunch break. He was a brilliant and truly nice man. Phillips Petroleum was probably at the leading edge of scientific advancement of refining and oil processing until greenmailer T. Boone Pickens tried to take over the company and Phillips bought him out at the cost of Billions. Much of the R & D budget went out the window in the decades that followed and Phillips chopped probably half its jobs and most of its development staff. Only the best, brightest and hard working engineers were maintained. A story went around the office about an efficiency firm that came to Phillips to discuss head count reductions and they came across a man with his feet up on the desk reading a newspaper. When asked about his job description he shrugged and replied that he didnt have one. The efficiency expert put the man on the list of employees to be fired. Phillips Executives gasped when they saw the list and informed the expert that the man had patented a process that had heretofore made Phillips a Billion dollars in profits. If he wanted to read the paper it was ok with the Phillips Executives. If he wanted to go to the lab that was fine. They didnt want to interfere with a mind that could patent a Billion dollar profit maker. Phillips Petroleum may or may not have leading technology in their oil these days. In fact, their top production facilty for producing motor oils was the Kansas City facility and they closed that many years ago. Id still put Phillips ability to manufacture, refine and produce high quality basestocks up with anybody in the game. Make no mistake, Phillips is still VERY good at refining oil and producing quality products from the process. Happy Motoring All, Bugshu

 

[G-MAN]

quote:

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Originally posted by Motorbike:

quote:

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Originally posted by G-Man II: I don't care what XOM's MSDS sheet says, there is no way they can build a 5w20 that meets GF-3 and the Ford spec from nothing but Group I. No way.

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Would you care to explain to the forum exactly why you are certain this is so since the MSDS stating otherwise seems not to factor in per your statement?

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The trade journals have been replete with articles since the advent of GF-3 about what it takes to build a motor oil that meets that spec. The only grade of oil that could be produced with ANY Group I in it and still meet GF-3 is 10w30. When faced with Ford's demanding specs and requirements for 5w20, Conoco had to completely rethink how they were going to build an oil to meet those specs. What they came up with was a Group II/Group III blend with a rather exotic AW/EP package. Other companies chose to stick with Group II+ and handle the oxidation issue with high doses of moly (e.g, Pennzoil). As for the MSDS, I've learned that you can rarely (if ever) count on them to give you an accurate account of the base oils used in a finished PCMO or HDEO. The MSDS sheets are not generated by the engineers and tribologists who actually design the oils. And in most cases MSDS templates are used, which often times results in erroneous, though "close enough for govt work," ingredient listings.