ENOC Group has announced a strategic alliance with Indian Oil Company (IOC), the largest commercial oil and gas company in India worth US$63 billion, in a joint effort to expand its global footprint while building on IOC’s R&D infrastructure to mitigate future manufacturing challenges.

The ENOC-IOC partnership includes R&D efforts, to jointly develop cylinder oil compliant to the Sulphur cap of 0.5 percent from the current 3.5 percent. The environmental impact of these efforts on ocean transportation will have technical, operational and commercial consequences.

The agreement will also enable ENOC to expand its presence to over 180 ports in 28 countries to provide its customers with high-end marine lubricants and technical services.

His Excellency Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO, ENOC, said: “The marine oil industry is becoming more eco-conscious as international regulators set standards to control air pollution from ships. With tighter restrictions in designated emission control, ship owners, marine oil manufacturers and suppliers need to work together to ensure greater quality control. ENOC’s alliance with one of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies, IOC, will help mitigate these environmental risks through world-class research & development and manufacturing that meets the IMO standards.”

With the approaching International Maritime Organization (IMO) global Sulphur deadline in January 2020, ship owners are racing to become compliant within the next year. The aim is to reduce the Sulphur contents currently present in oil used to fuel ships to reduce the impact of pollution on populations living close to ports and coasts specifically.

The partnership will also enable ENOC to obtain approvals from existing manufacturers in the Indian Subcontinent more swiftly, through IOC’s R&D centre – which is sought to be one of the largest centres in Asia.

The ENOC Group-IOC alliance is one of biggest collaborations within the marine lubricant industry with both entities within the sector jointly offering greater value proposition for its customers.

About ENOC

Emirates National Oil Company Limited (ENOC) L.L.C. is a leading integrated global oil and gas player operating across the energy sector value chain. A wholly owned company of the Government of Dubai, ENOC was initially established in 1993.

About Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil)

ndianOil's core business has been refining, transportation and marketing of petroleum products. In line with India's growing energy demand, the Company has over the years expanded its operations across the hydrocarbon value chain - upstream into oil & gas exploration & production and downstream into petrochemicals, besides diversifying into natural gas and alternative energy resources .

lndianOil continues to expand its business operations abroad through its overseas establishments in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, the UAE, Singapore and USA. During the year 2017-18, the Company has set up offices in Myanmar and Bangladesh.