Total to Upgrade TOTAL QUARTZ Products to Meet Upcoming API SN Plus Specifications

HOUSTON, April 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) has announced that May 1, 2018 will be the first licensing date for API SN Plus. Total is ready for the initial available upgrade of API SN Plus and will have all appropriate TOTAL QUARTZ products certified as API SN Plus before the official launch date.

Many of the vehicle manufacturers today are shifting towards smaller, turbo-charged, and more fuel efficient engines to meet the continuously aggressive demands on fuel consumption and carbon emissions. While significant improvements have been made in power density and fuel economics in these engines, vehicles manufacturers now struggle with an unpredictable phenomenon called Low-Speed Pre-Ignition (LSPI).

LSPI can be best described as a premature combustion event before spark ignition takes place. This generally occurs at low speeds and high loads, resulting in very high pressure in the combustion chamber. If left unchecked, this "super-knock" can cause destructive damage to engine parts. Though there is not a single cause of the event, research indicates that engine oils can be reformulated to mitigate LSPI while still maintaining engine oil performance.

In order to combat LSPI issues and provide the ultimate engine protection, Total will upgrade current API SN products to have the new API SN Plus additive technology. The following products will be approved to claim API SN Plus specifications starting May 1:

• TOTAL QUARTZ 9000 FUTURE FGC ? SAE 0W-20 and SAE 5W-30; full synthetic motor oils
• TOTAL QUARTZ 9000 FUTURE XT ? SAE 5W-20, SAE 5W-30, and SAE 10W-30; full synthetic motor oils
• TOTAL QUARTZ 7000 FUTURE XT ? SAE 5W-20, SAE 5W-30, and SAE 10W-30; semi-synthetic motor oils
• TOTAL QUARTZ 5000 FUTURE XT ? SAE 5W-20, SAE 5W-30, and SAE 10W-30; mineral motor oils

For more information about API SN Plus and TOTAL QUARTZ product offerings, please visit www.totalspecialties.com.

About Total Specialties USA, Inc.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Total Specialties USA, Inc. is a part of the Americas Division for the Marketing & Services Branch of the Total Group. Total Specialties USA, Inc. offers a wide range of lubricant products including TOTAL QUARTZ synthetic performance engine oils. Our products are sold through a comprehensive network of distributors, direct channels and an online presence. In addition to a growing distribution network and evolving production capabilities, we're committed to heightening our brand awareness through partnerships in motorsports.

About the Marketing & Services division of Total

The Marketing & Services division of Total develops and markets products primarily derived from crude oil, along with all of the associated services. Its 31,000 employees are present in 110 countries and its products and services offers are sold in 150 countries. Every day, Total Marketing Services serves more than 8 million customers in its network of over 16,000 service stations in 65 countries. As the world's fourth largest distributor of lubricants and the leading distributor of petroleum products in Africa, Total Marketing Services operates 50 production sites worldwide where it manufactures the lubricants, bitumen, additives, special fuels and fluids that sustain its growth.

About Total

Total is a global integrated energy producer and provider, a leading international oil and gas company, a major player in low-carbon energies. Our 98,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, cleaner, more efficient, more innovative and accessible to as many people as possible. As a responsible corporate citizen, we focus on ensuring that our operations in more than 130 countries worldwide consistently deliver economic, social and environmental benefits.

Cautionary note 

This press release, from which no legal consequences may be drawn, is for information purposes only. The entities in which TOTAL S.A. directly or indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. TOTAL S.A. has no liability for their acts or omissions. In this document, the terms "Total" and "Total Group" are sometimes used for convenience where general references are made to TOTAL S.A. and/or its subsidiaries. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them.

This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TOTAL S.A. nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Total Specialties USA, Inc.