One interesting thing I noticed about the 5w30 EP is that during the Mobil 1 shortages last year because of the ExxonMobil PAO plant damaged by Hurricane Ike, the tightest allocations of any Mobil 1 oil was 5w30 EP. Mobil claims that EP oils have "50% more SuperSyn" than regular Mobil 1. I assume that SuperSyn is mostly PAO/Ester base stock, but not sure.
PAO Shortage Squeezes Mobil 1
By George Gill
10/28/08
The continued shutdown of the ExxonMobil Chemical polyalphaolefin (PAO) plant in Beaumont, Texas, has forced ExxonMobil Lubricants and Specialties to institute a sales allocation on a variety of Mobil 1 synthetic lubricants, effective Oct. 1.
“On Sept. 15, ExxonMobil Lubricants and Specialties was notified by our primary polyalphaolefin supplier, ExxonMobil Chemical, that Hurricane Ike had caused significant disruption to production capabilities at their Beaumont, Texas, plant, and to the ability of their suppliers to make deliveries of critical raw materials and services to the site,” the company told customers in a letter obtained by Lube Report. As a result, ExxonMobil Chemical implemented an allocation on sales of PAO base stocks to customers including ExxonMobil itself. “This allocation is expected to last several months,” the letter stated.
According to Lubes’n’Greases magazine, the Beaumont facility is one of the world’s largest PAO plants, with capacity to make 82,000 metric tons per year.
ExxonMobil spokesman Kevin Allexon confirmed yesterday that the PAO plant remains shut down due to the hurricane damage. “We have folks working on the repairs, we’re making good progress, but there’s no timetable for how much longer it will be,” Allexon told Lube Report.
According to the advisory letter, customer liftings are restricted to 100 percent of prior purchases on products such as Mobil 1 SAE 0W-40, 5W-40 and 15W-50 engine oils; on Delvac Synthetic ATF; Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w30 and 10W-40; and Extended Performance 5W-20, 10w30 and 15W-50 motor oils. Also at 100 percent allocation is Mobil 1 ESP 5w30.
There is a 65 percent allocation on the brand’s SAE 10w30, and the allocations drop even further for Mobil 1 0W-20, 0w30 and 5W-20 oils, to 25 percent. Truck and SUV 5w30 is also at 25 percent allocation.
The tightest allocations are those in force for Mobil 1 5w30 (20 percent) and EP 5w30 (15 percent).
In the letter, ExxonMobil explains that a product on 100 percent allocation means a customer can continue to purchase it at the customer’s average 2008 purchase levels. Volumes for the allocation are based on a customer's average monthly purchases from January to August 2008.
http://www.imakenews.com/lng/e_article001239508.cfm
