Big data holds the key to learning more from scrape-down oil analysis

ExxonMobil Marine announced it had contracted Palantir Technologies, an industry leader in data analytics, to use its technology and expertise to develop enhancements for the Mobil Serv℠ Cylinder Condition Monitoring solution. Saurav Ghosh, Brand Manager, Aviation & Marine Lubricants, ExxonMobil, discussed the improvements during an interview with The Motorship in late 2022.

By using Palantir’s technology, ExxonMobil was able to develop a robust analytics platform to analyse ExxonMobil’s extensive database of oils sampling data points, collected across a multitude of operating conditions. The results will enable customers to measure and monitor cylinder oil conditions using an array of parameters, helping subscribing vessels further optimise lubricant performance, improve engine reliability and reduce unscheduled maintenance.

This on-demand service affords customers the ability to conduct fleet wide analysis, industry benchmarking and leverage predicitive analytics to glean operational insights and drive decision making while providing additional peace of mind about their lubricant choices and operating health of their engines. “But that’s just a small subset of what it can do,” explained Ghosh.

Looking ahead, the system is expected to enable ExxonMobil to start identifying warning signs before difficulties arise, using a continuous feedback approach. “Rather than confirming that the data is identifying a trend, we would expect the system to eventually begin to draw a user’s attention to trends they hadn’t been expecting. This way they’ll be able to address issues before they become problems, helping avert avoidable maintenance and costly downtime,” said Ghosh.

Ghosh said that while the product development was principally intended to help customers manage their operations and make their fleets more reliable by reducing uncertainty around cylinder lubricant condition, ExxonMobil is also exploring collaborations with engine developers, who were also increasingly keen on combining cylinder oil monitoring data into their engine condition monitoring systems.

Interest in ExxonMobil’s scrape-down analysis capabilities is likely to grow due to the increasing use of LNG and the introduction of new fuels, which are expected to come into use as a result of the IMO’s ambition to reduce the carbon intensity of international shipping. “There may well be other opportunities for ExxonMobil to collaborate with OEMs to see how we can complement each other for the benefit of our customers,” Ghosh concluded.