Motor Oil Licensing Program Protects EOLCS Chain of Custody

WASHINGTON —As of July 1, 2012, many motor oil service customers will see the exact brand of oil used in their vehicle printed right on the receipt. The new rule, adopted [DATE] at the National Conference on Weights and Measures in Missoula, Mont., established that [TEXT FROM HANDBOOK]. The National Institute of Standards and Technologies will publish this rule in the 2012 Handbook 130, which advises states on weights and measures regulations.

"This is a great step in ensuring motor oil customers are getting the high quality motor oil they've come to know and trust," said Kevin Ferrick, manager of training and certification programs at the American Petroleum Institute (API). "It's no longer inferred that name brand oil is being put into customer's vehicles — now it will be written right on the receipt."

The rule comes in response to industry reports of abuse throughout the distribution and installation of motor oils in consumer vehicles. Within the industry, API administers the Engine Oil Licensing and Certification System (EOLCS) to certify that oils comply with industry standards, and recently adopted the Motor Oil Matters (MOM) program, which certifies the chain of custody for EOLCS products from the manufacturer to distributor to installer to end-user.

"The EOLCS and MOM programs validate the products and methods of delivering high quality motor oil to the customer. The addition of the Handbook 130 rule brings the transaction full circle and provides legal recourse for non-compliant participants," added Ferrick.

API represents more than 470 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America's energy, supports more than 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers $86 million in revenue to our government every day, and, since 2000, has invested nearly $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.