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lubricant oil with high thermal rating in order to increase performance and reli-ability. Depending on the location where the equipment will be used, there may also be a requirement to comply with spe-ciÞ c environmental legislation. ÒThermal stability is really the key aspect of the product, along with the controlled amount of additives used. When we look at the mechanical seals for example, these run at high speeds, creating a pressure differential, which generates a lot of heat. If the lubricant breaks down at high temperatures you get deposits building up on the face of the seals which may cause long term re-liability issues. You donÕt want anything ß aking out across those surfaces, you want them to remain absolutely clean and in order to attain that you need a lube with a high thermal stability and a perfectly balanced additive count, be- cause additives can drop out of the ß uid and cause lacquering of the seal faceÓ, said Morrissey. Castrol is a global company and as such they have many options on how to market the new product. ÒI think there are two elements we need to take into consideration when marketing this product. First there is the equipment and project we know of today, where we will be working col- laboratively with the technical depart- ments, receiving direct feedback on the product. There is also a more interesting part, where we try to discover in what other applications the lubricant can be used, for instance, thrusters and well capping may beneÞ t from this kind of lubricant, the potential is huge and thatÕs where our global organization will come into play,Ó said Pino. Facts about the new Environmental Lubricant ¥ Performance assurance has been achieved by benchmarking the ß uid through testing against existing lubri- cants of known performance and track record,¥ An alternative environmental oil so- lution, which has little or no additional risk to reliability, and with the beneÞ ts of higher performance,¥ Further rig testing and real life ma-chine running hours will ensure maxi-mum conÞ dence before launch, ¥ For wet gas compressor the contra-ro- tating seal tests and full compressor trial are planned, with TRL4 to be reached by March 2014,¥ Next steps for the hot pump develop- ment (400F/ 204C) is to qualify the elas-tomers/polymers over a wide tempera- ture range for extended periods, ¥ Market demand for larger capacity machines will push performance limits of the barrier oil.Marine Technology Reporter 25www.seadiscovery.com MTR #1 (18-33).indd 25MTR #1 (18-33).indd 251/23/2014 10:18:50 AM1/23/2014 10:18:50 AM