The plant was constructed in 1985 and its integrated facilities comprise storage tanks for base oil and additives, automatic batch blending plant, finished product holding tanks, an advanced technology laboratory for quality control, packing facilities and warehousing. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has laid down a new regulation on specifications of lubricants allowed to be marketed in Oman. It will be enforced with effect from September 3, 2004. The new regulation is based on globally accepted API classification of products. The heartening news is that Shell Oman's range of world-class lubricants for petrol and diesel engine vehicles has always been above these new standards. Apart from being a matter of great pride that these lubricants are locally produced in Oman, this also means added reassurance for the consumers that when they buy Shell lubricants, they are buying better quality products which will protect their engines and the environment they live in. "Not all brands available in the market meet these high standards and hence have to withdraw many of their main selling grades," SOMC said. Shell Oman prides itself on the quality of its products and services and is the only oil marketing company to attain ISO 9001 (2001) accreditation for lubricant storage, handling, distribution and associated services. SOMC was also the first to attain the ISO 9002 certification way back in 1993. This blending plant in Oman has twice been the recipient of His Majesty the Sultan's "Best Five Factories" trophy, and was in fact the first factory in the Sultanate to receive ISO 9001 accreditation. The year 2003 also saw the plant upgrade to ISO 9001:2000 for all the operations in the plant i.e. inbound logistics, production, laboratory, outbound logistics and maintenance. It has achieved 87 per cent Omanisation levels at the plant and 80 per cent of the production is being exported within the region and globally. Speaking at the plant visit organised for the media, Irshad Lawati, managing director of Shell Oman, said: "The company markets a wider lubricant product range than any of its competitors and offers genuine bulk lubricant supply benefits accruing from its modern, fully computerised blending plant." "Lubricants are vital to the protection of engine and the environment. Shell lubricants are trusted for their superior formula and adherence to the most stringent quality standards. And we will continue to respond to the evolving needs of our customers to reward them with best value and top quality products," he explained. PIN//Times Of Oman