“Establishment of lubricating oil standard is urgently required to protect engine and reduce pollution from automotive engines”, said Shahinur Islam, associate professor of chemical engineering department of Bangladesh University Engineering and Technology (BUET), while presenting a study-paper at the seminar.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) organised the seminar titled: "Lubricating Petroleum Operation in Bangladesh” at Sonargaon Hotel in the city on Sunday.
With BERC chairman Monwar Islam in the chair, the seminar was also addressed by BERC Membear Rahman Murshed, BUET Professor Ijaz Hossain and Bangladesh Lube Blenders Association’s joint secretary Abu Zafar Md Saleh.
The study reveals that Bangladesh annually imports about 170,000 metric tons of different categories of lube oils while the global consumption was 36.1 million in 2017.
Of the imported lube oils, some 70 percent is used by motor vehicles in transport sector while remaining 30 percent by machines in industrial sector, it said.
But there is no monitoring system or mechanism to ensure the quality and standard of the lubricating oil, it observed.
The study mentioned that due to lack of regulatory and standard monitoring system and policies, many unscrupulous businessmen are setting up illegal lubricating blending units which ultimately causing huge damage to the engines in motor vehicles as well as industrial machines.
BERC chairman Monwar Islam said the regulatory body will set up a laboratory to facilitate the quality and standard testing for lube oils.
Abu Zafar M dSaleh said they will always support any move from the government to set standard of lube oils as they have been facing uneven competition because of illegal business of petroleum lube oils.