How Natural Gas Becomes Pennzoil Motor Oil

When looking at the label of a Pennzoil full synthetic motor oil bottle you will see the words ‘Made From Natural Gas’ on it. But what exactly does that mean? Pennzoil’s full synthetic motor oil, unlike other synthetic motor oil, is created with natural gas as a starting material, which has fewer impurities than base oil derived from crude.

The patented, revolutionary technology is what makes motor oil like Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic motor oil able to provide complete protection for top engine performance for motorists on the road.

It Starts with the Base

Creating Pennzoil full synthetic motor oil is a step-by-step process. Starting with a base oil, Pennzoil uses its patented gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology which takes natural gas and turn it into a crystal-clear liquid base oil. From this process, Pennzoil is already ahead of other motor oils, because its base oil is 99.5% pure and with fewer impurities found in the base oil of other synthetic and conventional motor oils, which are typically made from crude oil to start.

Imagine scooping a cup of water from a murky river and pouring that cup through a filter. The water, even through the filter, will still contain impurities. Think of this as the process to create a base oil with crude oil.

Now, imagine taking oxygen and hydrogen from the air and chemically bonding it together to make H₂O, or water. The result of this process will leave the cup with fewer impurities when compared to the filtered, murky water from the river. Think of the process of making pure water as Pennzoil’s gas-to-liquid technology, thus creating its base oil, which is crystal clear.

Pennzoil Scientist and Technology Specialist, Sean Nguyen, relates Pennzoil motor oil to making the perfect soup at home.

“I compare the formulation for motor oil to making your favorite soup. You must start with a good base stock in order to make your soup more flavorful. With a good base stock, the rest of the ingredients will complement the base stock to make it a richer, better soup. The same premise applies with motor oil! GTL base stock is 99.5% free of impurities and has inherent performance characteristics over crude-derived base oil,” said Nguyen.

Adding Pennzoil’s High-Performance Additives

But what is next, after the base oil is created? From there, Pennzoil scientists and technology specialists use their extensive research to create the various Pennzoil products seen on shelf today. Depending on the Pennzoil product, Pennzoil scientists add a combination of high-performance additives to help the product perform best for motorists’ needs. For example, Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage Full Synthetic motor oil, includes additives that help keep pistons cleaner¹, protects older seals, provide better fuel economy² and deliver less burn off than other high mileage motor oils¹.

“A motor oil’s formulation should have a balance based on the wear protection, cleanliness, oxidation resistance and other specific needs. Those needs derive from industry and OEM specifications, viscosity metrics and more,” said Nguyen. “When we know what benefits (think flavors in soup) we already have in our base oil, we can then focus on additives that will enhance the performance of our finished oil, as seen in our Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic line of motor oils – just like making that perfect soup.”

From Clear to Gold

The innovative and high-performance additives that are found in Pennzoil motor oil not only help your engine, but they are responsible for giving Pennzoil its distinctive amber color. The combination of Pennzoil’s made from natural gas base oil and its tested and proven performance additives are what makes Pennzoil confident in protecting your engine for up to 15 years or 500,000 miles, guaranteed³ .

Ready for Purchase

Once the additives are tested, proven and selected, Pennzoil then takes its patented combinations for each product and blends them at plants located across North America. There, products are bottled and shipped to retailers and service centers, available for purchase wherever motor oil is sold.

More than 40 years of research and development and more than 3,500 process patents have gone into the creation of Pennzoil’s motor oil made from natural gas. Be confident while on the road and know that with Pennzoil under the hood, you’re getting the protection and performance needed for today’s modern engines.

^{1 Based on Sequence IIIH results. Does not apply to Pennzoil Platinum® Euro motor oil
2 Based on the latest industry standard
3 15 years or 500,000 miles whichever comes first, guaranteed, if you exclusively use Pennzoil Platinum® Full Synthetic motor oils. Your engine must have less than 125,000 miles and have been manufactured in the past 72 months. To maintain your warranty, change your vehicle’s oil and oil filter at least as often as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Enrollment required. Keep your receipts. Other conditions apply}