Yemisi Izuora
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has sought the intervention of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in efforts to stop circulation of sub-standard lubricants in the oil industry
Kachikwu who made the appeal while delivering a keynote address at the 2nd Nigerian Lubricants Summit on Tuesday in Lagos warned on the dangers of such products.
The minister who was represented by the Managing Director, NNPC Retail Ltd, Mr. Ladipo Fagbola stated further that “the use of sub-standard lubricants in the industry should be discouraged considering its danger on equipment and machinery.”
He therefore urged the SON and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to beam searchlight on imported lubricants into the country.
On his part, the Chairman of Lubcon International Group, Alhaji Jani Ibrahim, argued that sub-standard lubricants can lead to accidents at workplace and on the road if vehicles and machineries suddenly break down due to fake lubricants.
He said the challenges confronting stakeholders is poor quality of base oil imported into the country. “We need to prevent the country from becoming a dumping ground. Importation of processed lubricants is a big challenge to the sector.
“Innovation is key to industry growth and development, hence, the need for investment in research and development,” he said.
He said effects of used lubricants on the environmental should be critically reviewed.
“I think there is need for us to present a Bill to the National Assembly on recycling of used lubricants in the country,” he said.
The Technical Consultant to the Summit, Engr. Kayode Sote stated that there is no gainsaying the fact that “a major problem faced by engineers through the years has been challenge of preventing or minimizing the estimated loss of about 33 per cent of useful energy generated in industry due to friction.
“However, the selection and application of lubricants and their interface with appropriate lubrication of machine elements are directly related to the quality of the products and their performance standards.
“The need to blend and market lubricants is therefore sacrosanct and indeed a necessary perquisite to ensure optimal plant efficiency, energy saving and overall cost and effective maintenance of machinery in industry.”