The focus is shifting toward synthetic long-drain engine oils
Ravi Chawla, MD and CEO, Gulf Oil Lubricants India, speaks on how demand for lubricants and oils is evolving in the construction, mining, and off-highway sectors over the next 12 to 18 months.
What new lubricants, engine oils, hydraulic fluids are you showcasing at Excon 2025?
At Excon 2025, we showcased a focused range of advanced lubricants, developed specifically for the evolving needs of India’s construction, mining, and infrastructure sectors — reflecting our philosophy of “Dream Beyond. Do Beyond”.
In engine oils category, we launched two products:
- Gulf Superfleet Professional ECON+ 5W-30: Designed for high-output, low-emission engines and delivers fuel-efficient, low-viscosity engine protection for modern equipment. With Volvo VDS-5 approval and engineered for BS VI emission norms, it ensures superior wear protection, longer engine life, and extended oil drain intervals even under severe operating conditions. The product meets API FA-4/SN/SN Plus, ACEA F01, Cummins CES 20087, JASO DH-2, Daimler 15C130, Ford WSS-M2C 214-B1, DDC 93K223 specifications, and has Mack EO-S 5 and Renault Trucks RLD-5 performance approvals.
- Gulf Superduty Fleetpro 15W-40: Designed for India’s infrastructure and mining fleets transitioning to advanced CEV-V emission norms. It delivers assured protection for exhaust after-treatment systems, including DPFs, while enabling a single-engine-oil solution across mixed fleets, helping reduce inventory complexity, minimise errors, and lower total cost of operation.
In transmission oils, we offer Gulf Syngear Axle 75W-90, a fully synthetic API GL-5 formulation designed for high-torque, high-load construction and mining applications. It extends gear and bearing life while reducing maintenance frequency to improve uptime and reliability.
Under hydraulic fluids, we offer Gulf Harmony ZF HVI Premium 46/68, a zinc-free high viscosity index oil listed under Bosch Rexroth RDE 90245, offers over 10,000 hours of TOST life, energy-efficient with extended oil life, and reduced downtime, and consistent performance across wide operating temperatures. We also offer Gulf Harmony FR HFDU 46/68, a synthetic, water-free fire-resistant hydraulic oil enhances safety in high-risk construction and mining applications while offering excellent lubricity, corrosion resistance, thermal stability, and reliable hydraulic performance under critical operating conditions.
How do you see the demand for lubricants and oils evolving in the construction, mining, and off-highway sectors over the next 12 to 18 months?
Demand for lubricants in construction, mining, and off-highway sectors is expected to remain on a growth trajectory, driven by India’s continued infrastructure build-out and manufacturing expansion. Even with increasing EV adoption, IC engines and multi-fuel platforms (hydrogen, fuel-cell, CNG, alternative fuels) will continue to require high-performance lubricants, making long-term consumption sustainable. The market may see short-term fluctuations or flat phases, but underlying demand from roads, metros, residential construction, quarries, ports, and mining operations remains structurally strong.
Gulf’s strategy focuses on higher-value and environmentally responsible solutions — long-drain synthetics, zinc-free hydraulic oils, biodegradable fluids, and scientific product selection platforms — supported by a dedicated pan-India technical services team, on-site diagnostics, filtration services, and frontline up-skilling to reduce churn and improve total cost of ownership for customers. The opportunity is significant, and companies that integrate technology, services, and sustainability-linked lubricant solutions into customer operations will continue to gain share and relevance in these core infrastructure-driven segments.
How are these products designed to enhance equipment life, reduce downtime, and improve fuel efficiency?
All the products we showcased at Excon 2025 are designed with a clear objective — to do beyond conventional lubrication by directly improving equipment reliability, operational efficiency, and total cost of ownership for our customers.
Our engine oils, such as Gulf Superfleet Professional ECON+ 5W-30, use advanced low-viscosity technology to reduce internal engine friction, leading to measurable fuel efficiency gains while ensuring superior wear protection. The extended drain capability helps minimize oil change frequency, reducing downtime and maintenance interventions. Similarly, Gulf Superduty Fleetpro 15W-40 protects modern exhaust after-treatment systems and simplifies fleet lubrication, which lowers the risk of errors, enhances engine durability, and ensures consistent performance across mixed fleets.
In transmission systems, Gulf Syngear Axle 75W-90 employs a fully synthetic formulation that withstands extreme loads and temperatures. This extends gear and bearing life, reduces wear-related failures, and helps equipment stay operational longer — a key requirement in mining and infrastructure projects where uptime is critical.
For hydraulic systems, Gulf Harmony ZF HVI Premium 46/68 delivers exceptional thermal and oxidation stability, enabling oil life beyond 10,000 hours. Its high viscosity index ensures smooth operation across temperature extremes, improving energy efficiency and reducing component stress. In hazardous environments, Gulf Harmony FR HFDU 46/68 enhances safety through fire resistance while maintaining excellent lubricity and system reliability.
By combining advanced formulations with deep understanding of Indian operating conditions, we help customers reduce breakdowns, improve fuel efficiency, and extend equipment life — truly doing beyond, together to support India’s infrastructure ambitions.
With the industry gradually moving toward electric, hybrid, and alternate-fuel machinery, how are lubricant needs changing?
Lubricant requirements are evolving from conventional fluids to high-performance, application-specific, and environmentally responsible solutions. Although electric, hybrid, and alternate-fuel machinery adoption is increasing in construction, mining, and off-highway sectors, internal combustion engines—including multi-fuel, hydrogen, CNG, and fuel-cell platforms—will continue to depend on advanced lubricants, ensuring sustained overall demand.
The focus is progressively shifting toward synthetic long-drain engine oils that increase revenue-generating uptime, zinc-free and energy-efficient hydraulic fluids that align performance with environmental expectations, biodegradable and higher-spec fluids engineered for India’s diverse and contamination-prone operating conditions, scientific application-based product selection platforms supported by diagnostics and filtration-led oil-life extension, and Gulf’s expansion into EV fluids and charging infrastructure, which integrates lubrication expertise into the emerging mobility value chain.
Even as powertrain technologies diversify, the market continues to accept higher-value lubricants when they are backed by technical support, correct product practices, equipment uptime assurance, and total cost of ownership outcomes, making this transition a shared opportunity for growth and productivity.
What is your growth outlook for India’s industrial and off-highway lubricant market over the next three to five years?
The industrial and off-highway lubricant market in India holds a strong and sustainable growth outlook over the next three to five years. India’s continued momentum in infrastructure development, mining expansion, and manufacturing capacity creation ensures that lubricant demand will grow alongside the equipment ecosystem. Even as the industry gradually adopts electric, hybrid, and alternate-fuel platforms, internal combustion engines—including multi-fuel and emerging hydrogen-based powertrains—will continue to rely on high-performance lubricants, preserving the core consumption base and expanding the addressable opportunity for advanced fluids.
At Gulf, we are aligning ourselves to this market evolution with purpose and readiness. Our portfolio focus on long-drain synthetic formulations, energy-efficient and zinc-free hydraulic fluids, and contamination-resilient thermic and industrial oils reflects our commitment to deliver measurable productivity and total cost of ownership benefits to our customers. We are complementing these products with India’s largest B2B technical services footprint, condition monitoring, and lubricant filtration services that extend oil life and equipment uptime. In parallel, our expanding capabilities in EV fluids and public charging infrastructure further integrate us into the evolving mobility value chain.
Our outlook remains anchored in optimism because the Indian market consistently rewards higher-value solutions when backed by reliability, technical confidence, and stakeholder trust. Over the past decade and a half, our deep OEM collaborations and capacity-aligned supply chain actions demonstrate that Gulf is not just participating in India’s growth story—we are committed to shaping it, together with our partners and customers.
A-303, Navbharat
Estates,
Zakaria Bunder Road,
Sewri (West), Mumbai - 400 015,
Maharashtra, India
+91-22-24193000
Subscriber@ASAPPinfoGlobal.com