My understanding is that ACEA specs are self-certified. I think Penrite have always done a good job and I trust them, but in the old days Valvoline Australia would claim things like A3/B4 and C3 which is just not possible under the modern sequences as they are mutually exclusive when it's comes to stuff like SAPS levels.
However Valvoline have recently pull their socks up and I am less concerned now.
Speaking to Valvoline over the phone a few years ago, they told me DuraBlend (DB) was a better product than EngineArmour (EA) as the DB contained more synthetic and you could push out the OCI for longer. They said DB was a 12 month oil while EA was a 6 month oil. On the bottles (from memory) DB was rated A3/B4 (TBN > 10) while EA was rated A3/B3 (TBN > 8), in general. But Valvoline did some silly labels back them. Their old EA 15W40 spec sheet clearly says TBN of ~ 8.
I recently rang Valvoline and they said they have just upgraded EA to be the same quality as DB. The new EA has increased synthetic content. The bottles are now labeled A3/B4 (TBN > 10) and the new 2017 spec sheet show a correct TBN of ~ 10. So it all seems to line up.
They said DB is now only being sold to garages and workshops for their professional line, while the EA is for the DIY people. But now it's the exact same stuff...guy on the phone stressed that. If you look around big stores, some sell a product called Valvoline DuraMax, I was told this is just DuraBlend done as a special package.
The new EA (A3/B4) is very good, the older EA (A3/B3) more of a basic product. That's my take on multiple Valvoline conversations, and studying their spec sheets a bit too much.
The new EA bottle looks a bit different too, just google EA images and compare to your bottle. Easy to tell apart. Nothing wrong with the old stuff though, I just prefer the new stuff.
I would order them like this for 15W40 semi-synthetic
1. New EA
2. Penrite Vantage
3. Old EA
For 10W40 semi-synthetic I would go the Penrite Vantage first.
Just my 2 cents.