Guide · New in Ethiopia
Engine oil for LNG and CNG trucks in Ethiopia
Natural gas trucks, buses and generators are arriving in Ethiopia. They need engine oil made for natural gas engines, and that oil has been hard to find here. This guide explains why it matters and where to buy it.
Short answer
LNG and CNG engines need natural gas engine oil, not diesel engine oil. In Ethiopia, Alexandria Trading PLC in Addis Ababa supplies Weichai 15W-40 Natural Gas Engine Oil, in 18 L pails and 200 L drums.
Why gas engines need their own oil
Most natural gas truck engines use spark plugs and burn their fuel hotter than a diesel engine. Engine oil always burns in small amounts, and ordinary diesel engine oil leaves ash when it does. In a gas engine that ash builds up on the valves, the spark plugs and in the combustion chamber, where it can cause misfires, knocking and valve damage. Gas engines also put more strain on the oil through heat and combustion gases. Natural gas engine oil is made to leave less ash and to stand up to that heat.
LNG or CNG: the same oil
LNG is natural gas cooled into a liquid, so a truck can carry more of it. CNG is natural gas compressed into high-pressure tanks. Either way the gas reaches the engine as a gas and burns the same way, so LNG and CNG engines take the same type of oil. Use the grade your engine maker specifies. For many heavy-duty gas engines that is an SAE 15W-40 natural gas engine oil.
Oil from the maker of the engines
Weichai is China's leading maker of natural gas engines for heavy trucks, and it makes Weichai 15W-40 Natural Gas Engine Oil for those engines. As an authorized Weichai distributor, we import it directly from Weichai under our petroleum products import licence.
Changing and storing gas engine oil
- Follow the oil change interval in your engine manual. If you have lost the manual, send us the engine plate.
- Keep gas engine oil and diesel engine oil apart, and label pumps and containers, so the two never get mixed.
- Store drums under cover and off the ground, and keep them closed until you use them.
- Where oil analysis is available, use it to set change intervals for your own trucks.
Questions
Where can I buy LNG engine oil in Ethiopia?
From Alexandria Trading in Addis Ababa. We import Weichai 15W-40 Natural Gas Engine Oil for LNG and CNG engines, in 18 litre pails and 200 litre drums, and can arrange delivery across Ethiopia.
Is LNG engine oil different from CNG engine oil?
No. LNG is natural gas stored as a liquid and CNG is natural gas stored under pressure, but the engine burns the same gas. One natural gas engine oil serves both, as long as it meets your engine maker's specification.
Can I use diesel engine oil in a natural gas engine?
Only if your engine maker allows it. Gas engines need oil made for gas engines, which is why we stock Weichai's natural gas engine oil.
Order natural gas engine oil
We supply Weichai 15W-40 Natural Gas Engine Oil in 18 L pails and 200 L drums, from Addis Ababa to customers across Ethiopia. For diesel engines, see our guide to engine oil for heavy-duty trucks.