The American Petroleum Institute (API) has returned to regular licencing of passenger car engine oils after temporary implementation of provisional licences.
As reported in April a major log-jam in passenger car engine oil licencing had forced the regulations body to suspend its normal registration process and was issuing provisional licences only.
Now, the API has returned to normal licencing procedures, according to Lube Report, after a key test has once again become available. The problem arose when API rejected the existing Sequence VG (5-G) oil sludge and deposit test because of a poor batch of reference fuel used to power the Ford test engine and produce the test sludge and varnish.
With an inability to find suitable reference fuel, the test was suspended by API and provisional licences issued for any new engine oils being produced since April 2011. Because the test is almost universal to all modern passenger car engine oil specifications, this was a virtual blanket provision.
However, at the end of June a new fuel batch was tested and approval has now been given by the API to restart the standard licencing process. At the same time, work is beginning on the Sequence VH test, the successor to the VG test, and is expected to be introduced as an industry standard in 2013.