It is two years since AeroShell Ascender was presented to the aerospace industry at the Dubai Air Show following its approval as a high performance capability oil to the new SAE AS 5780 specification for gas turbine lubricants. The product has now moved a significant step closer to full commercialisation with the expected approval by International Aero Engines (IAE).
AeroShell Ascender was developed for the latest generation of gas turbine engines as a low-coking, high compatibility product, which Shell believes will be superior to all other products on the market.
From its performance to date the product produces negligible coke formation in the engines so any traditional engine problems associated with coke are highly unlikely to occur. AeroShell Ascender has also been tested extensively for elastomer compatibility, which is a known service challenge with some other products on the market. It therefore offers the customer the balance of low coking performance with excellent elastomer compatibility, which in turn could help reduce maintenance and operational costs for the airline.
AeroShell Ascender was chosen by IAE as the first new recently developed turbine oil to be tested in a V2500 engine. The oil certification engine test programme was first ratified by the Federal Aviation Authority and commenced in April of this year and ended in July after it completed 150 hour endurance running including high oil temperature/ low oil pressure testing. It then went on to complete an additional 300 hours durability testing of other engine components recently installed. The engine has now been stripped and the various comments sent back to the manufactures for inspection. Once complete Shell hopes to gain full approval for AeroShell Ascender for use in the IAE V2500 engine.
Richard Jory, General Manager for Shell Aviation in the Middle East says:
"This will be the first commercial engine approval for AeroShell Ascender and several operators in the Middle East have already shown a keen interest in the benefits that using a high performance capability oil such as Ascender could bring to their operations."
The oil is also running in several other engines including the GE GENx test bed engine which will be used to power the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner and also in the Alliance GP7200 engine which powers the new Airbus A380.
The long road to full authorisation continues after SAE AS5780 approval, with individual engine approvals necessary to ensure the continued safe and reliable operation of today's modern gas turbine engine.
ASTO 560
AeroShell Ascender is the latest addition to Shell Aviation's turbine engine oils, which also includes AeroShell Turbine Oil 390 commonly used in auxiliary power units to overcome 'hung start' problems, and also AeroShell Turbine Oil 560, which has now completed a flight evaluation programme in CFM-56 engines, and is awaiting official approval from Snecma.
-Ends-
The Shell Aviation business, part of the Shell Group, is a world leader in marketing aviation fuel and operating airport fuelling facilities, it also has a huge range of knowledge on everything from formulating better fuels to designing and managing cost-effective installations.
Shell Aviation has invested heavily in the future of aviation. Particularly in the areas of new locations, upgrades to existing ones, technical advances, and people - at local, regional and global levels. It is one of the few oil companies with research and development facilities dedicated to the aviation sector.
Its operating methods focus on local strength backed by global support and it places great emphasis on training. Meaning that the skills and professionalism of its people are maintained at high levels.
Disclaimer:
The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this publication "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this publication refer to companies in which Royal Dutch Shell either directly or indirectly has control, by having either a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise a controlling influence. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as "associated companies" or "associates" and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as "jointly controlled entities". In this publication, associates and jointly controlled entities are also referred to as "equity-accounted investments". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect (for example, through our 34% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.
This publication contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'', ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''will'', ''seek'', ''target'', ''risks'', ''goals'', ''should'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this publication, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; changes in demand for the Group's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserve estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including potential litigation and regulatory effects arising from recategorisation of reserves; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this publication are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov ). These factors also should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this publication, [17 November 2009] Royal Dutch Shell nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this publication.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions. We use certain terms in this publication that SEC's guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.
ENQUIRIES:
Shell Media Relations
Adil Jaouhari
+9 71 5055 24965
© Press Release 2009
