SENTRON LD 5000 Approved And Recommended By Three More OEMs – MAN, Guascor And MDE

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada – April 17, 2008: After three very successful field trials, Petro-Canada today announced that their SENTRON LD 5000 (http://www.sentron.ca/) premium natural gas engine oil is approved and recommended by three of the world’s leading natural gas engine manufacturers – MAN, Guascor and MDE. The MAN field trial was carried out at the RISØ National Laboratory power house in Roskilde, Denmark in a MAN AG E 2842 LE 12 cylinder engine fuelled by sweet natural gas. The Guascor field trial was in a 560 FSGLD natural gas engine used in power generation. The MDE field trial was in a model E 2482 DN catalyst-equipped natural gas fuelled module supplying combined heat and power to a hospital in Augsburg, Germany.

The approvals and recommendations are as follows: MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG for use in their natural gas-fuelled engines under specification M 3271-2; MDE for use in naturally aspirated engines fuelled with natural gas, under specification BS 3211 f; and Guascor for use in FGLD and SFGLD natural gas engines under specification IO-G-M-25-001 A.

“We are very excited to announce these three OEM approvals,” says Julie Matthews, Category Manager, Natural Gas Engine Oils, Petro-Canada. “Being approved and recommended by leading manufacturers like MAN, Guascor and MDE further solidifies SENTRON LD 5000 as a premium natural gas engine oil. Our SENTRON brand has always stood out as one of the highest quality oils available. It’s field-tested and field-proven, now with over 40 million fail-safe hours of operation.”

During each field trial, SENTRON LD 5000 displayed several performance characteristics and benefits, including exceptional piston cleanliness, extended drain intervals and enhanced deposit control.

The objectives of the MAN trial were to evaluate drain intervals and to assess the deposit control and wear performance of SENTRON LD 5000 against another MAN AG E 2842 LE 12 cylinder engine at the same location using a well-known competitor’s oil. The duration of the trial was 4,803 hours.

Electrical power output of each engine was 300kW at 1,500 rpm, and sump capacity of 45 litres. Results and data were compiled during inspections, with pistons, cylinder heads and liners examined by MAN at their Nuremburg, Germany facility. Average drain interval for the engine using SENTRON LD 5000 was 960 hours, approximately double the competitor’s oil in the other engine. “MAN representatives were quite satisfied with the results. Piston cleanliness was particularly noteworthy,” says Nick Moat, R & D Specialist, Natural Gas Engine Oils, Petro-Canada.

The Guascor trial concluded after approximately 4,000 hours. The test unit, known as Motor 11, is rated at 935 kilowatts (0.935 MW) and is one of the oldest units at the facility. It is maintained by Guascor I + D in Vitoria, Spain. Inspection at the end of the test, carried out by Guascor engineers, proved several SENTRON LD 5000’s performance benefits, including excellent wear, sludge and deposit control. “The Guascor 560 FSGLD unit showed overall light piston deposits, including lower than normal ring groove deposits and virtually no cylinder liner bore polish,” says Moat.

With MDE, after an 8,439-hour test, the engine was inspected by MDE engineers. “Notable findings included very low piston groove deposits, engine cleanliness, and very good wear protection and deposit control,”

explains Moat. Other impressive aspects were oil consumption which was kept at a very low level, 0.11 g/kW-h, and drain interval extended to 6,000 hours from the standard maintenance interval of 1,250 hours. As well, catalyst pressure differential was measured and met MDE’s requirements.

Petro-Canada can now add MAN, Guascor and MDE to their list of OEM approvals and recommendations, which already includes Caterpillar, Waukesha and GE Jenbacher.

High performance additives are incorporated in SENTRON LD 5000 for the extra performance required for severe service applications, including high output, turbocharged engines that encounter high exhaust gas temperatures. With its extremely robust base retention and acid resistance, it is also expected to meet the more severe operational needs of “light” biogas, sewage gas, coal bed methane and halogen-free landfill gas operations.

SENTRON LD 5000 provides revolutionary performance for up to 200% longer drain intervals and exceptional overall engine protection. It features outstanding anti-wear / anti-scuff protection to reduce wear of piston rings, cylinder liners and bearings. Superior valve recession control is achieved by appropriately balanced sulphated ash. SENTRON LD 5000 has extremely low oil volatility, which improves work environments through the reduction of oil odour and minimized oil consumption and related exhaust emissions.

Petro-Canada blends and packages more than 350 different lubricants, specialty fluids and greases that are exported to more than 60 countries on six continents. Products are manufactured from 99.9% pure base oils – among the purest in the world. As the world’s largest producer of white oils and the leading supplier of factory fill automatic transmission fluids, Petro-Canada is focused on going beyond today’s standards. With more than 30 years of experience in blending Groups II and III base oils, the company delivers a diverse line of innovative lubricants to meet an ever increasing range of international specifications. Petro-Canada specializes in offering customers products and services proven to increase productivity and lower operating costs, lubrication consolidation, technical leadership and training.

For more information on products and services, please call 1-800-268-5850 (English Canada), 1-800-576 1686 (French Canada), 1-888-284-4572 (United States), 44 2476 247294 (Europe), or visit lubricants.petro-canada.ca (TSE: PCA, NYSE: PCZ).