Agenda for Argus Global Base Oils & Lubricants Summit
Explore the full agenda for the Argus Global Base Oils & Lubricants Summit, examining the market forces, supply challenges and commercial priorities reshaping the global industry. As supply security rises up the corporate agenda, trade flows continue to evolve and OEM requirements become increasingly complex, companies across the value chain are reassessing how they manage risk, secure supply and drive growth.
Through market outlooks, leadership panels, industry debate and expert analysis, the programme explores the key issues shaping business decisions today, including pricing transparency, formulation flexibility, product integrity, regulatory developments, AI adoption and the evolving balance between efficiency and resilience.
New for 2027, day two introduces a series of interactive industry working sessions held under Chatham House Rule, creating opportunities for deeper discussion and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. These sessions will explore approvals, re-refined base oils, workforce development, market intelligence and emerging applications.
Browse the sessions below to discover the trends, risks and opportunities shaping the future of the global base oils and lubricants market. If you would like to discuss speaking opportunities at the 2027 event, please get in touch.
Agenda
Summit day one
- 08:45 - 08:55
Chair's opening remarks
- 09:45 - 10:25
Argus Global Market Outlook: Supply, trade flows and pricing in a changing market
- How have recent geopolitical and supply disruptions changed global market balances?
- Group I, II and III fundamentals: where are the biggest supply risks and opportunities?
- How are feedstock disruption, refinery economics and production changes influencing availability?
- Regional pricing dynamics and arbitrage: is the market becoming more globalized or fragmented?
- How are changing trade flows altering regional competitive positions?
- Which indicators should market participants watch most closely?
- Three key risks and opportunities for the next 12–24 months.
Speakers Include:
Gabriella Twining
Global Editor - Base OilsArgus Media
Guo Harn Hong
Global Lead Base OilsArgus- 10:45 - 11:05
Panel: The future lubricant mix: How OEM requirements are reshaping base oil demand
- Today's OEM decisions will determine tomorrow's lubricant market. What should producers, additive companies and marketers be preparing for?
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Fuel economy, emissions, durability, lifecycle carbon footprint and sustainability targets continue to raise performance expectations across the value chain
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What role will Group III+, PAOs, re-refined base oils and other advanced base stocks play as OEM requirements evolve?
- How will electrification, synthetic fuels, hydrogen and changing powertrain technologies influence future lubricant requirements and base oil demand?
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Is the value chain ready for the next generation of lubricant performance requirements, or are increasingly fragmented OEM specifications and circularity expectations creating new challenges for suppliers?
Speakers Include:
Kari Kulmala
Global OEM Liaison ManagerChevron Base Oils
Charlotte Edwards
Senior Marketing Specialist, Industrial LubricantsAfton Chemical- 11:05 - 11:45
Morning networking break
- 11:45 - 12:25
Securing supply: How the base oils landscape is changing
- Extended Group III shortages continue to reshape procurement strategies, pricing dynamics and lubricant production across multiple regions
- Premium base stocks remain under pressure: what do recent disruptions in Group III, Group III+ and PAO markets reveal about future supply resilience?
- Allocation is back on the agenda, changing the balance between suppliers and buyers
- The decline of Group I capacity: has the market lost an important source of flexibility?
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Trade flows continue to evolve as buyers seek greater control over supply risk and secure lower-carbon supply options
- The Strait of Hormuz disruption: what prolonged disruption could mean for global Group III supply, trade flows and market recovery?
- Is access to supply becoming a greater competitive advantage than price?
Speakers Include:
Alistair Meyer
Director - Global Strategic Accounts & New Business DevelopmentNynas
Mark Lord
Managing DirectorAztec Oils- 12:25 - 13:05
Panel: Asia and the changing geography of global trade
- China's growing self-sufficiency, India's long-term growth story and the Middle East's expanding role in global supply: how are regional competitive advantages shifting?
- New investment, capacity expansions and changing trade patterns: will they reshape global markets or simply redirect existing flows?
- How are sanctions, compliance requirements, sustainability expectations and supply chain transparency influencing supplier selection and trade routes?
- Which regions are becoming strategically more important to producers, traders and investors, and where are the greatest vulnerabilities emerging?
- Where are the biggest opportunities and risks likely to emerge over the next five years?
Speakers Include:
Ali Al-Ganzory
CEOG&B Global Corp- 13:05 - 14:30
Networking lunch
- 14:30 - 15:10
Panel: Product integrity, compliance and regulation: Protecting trust in the market
- Product integrity and market confidence: where are the biggest risks for producers, distributors and end users?
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Approved, self-certified and equivalent performance or sustainability claims can create confusion across the value chain
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Regulatory requirements continue to evolve, but enforcement, verification and market expectations vary significantly between regions
- What risks are created when products fail to meet advertised performance claims?
- How significant is the commercial impact of non-compliant, mislabelled or underperforming products?
- What would a stronger framework for confidence, accountability and enforcement look like?
Speakers Include:
Michael Boyer
DirectorSAIL-Europe
Alan Outhwaite
ChairVLS Technical Review Panel
Damien Browne
Fuels & Engine Oils Development ManagerLubrizolSpeakers Include:
David Wright
Director GeneralUKLA- 15:10 - 15:40
Keeping products moving: Additives, substitutions and formulation flexibility
- How much flexibility really exists when supply disruptions collide with approvals, specifications and customer requirements?
- Additive availability: an emerging constraint that cannot be solved through base oil substitution alone
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Technical alternatives, sustainability targets and commercial realities: where do the biggest compromises emerge?
- How much formulation flexibility actually exists during periods of disruption?
- What did recent shortages reveal about the industry's ability to adapt?
- Where do additive and raw material availability create the greatest bottlenecks?
- Which substitution strategies are proving successful in practice?
- 15:40 - 16:10
Re-refined base oils: Growth opportunity or constrained alternative?
- Have recent conventional base-oil shortages materially strengthened the business case for re-refined supply?
- Is demand being driven primarily by economics, supply security, sustainability commitments or customer requirements?
- What are the biggest constraints on growth: feedstock, collection infrastructure, capacity, approvals or customer acceptance?How are blenders balancing performance requirements with sustainability and formulation objectives?
- What would need to change for re-refined base oils to become a materially larger part of mainstream supply?
- 16:10 - 16:40
Afternoon networking break
- 17:20 - 17:25
Chair's closing remarks
- 17:25 - 20:00
Drinks reception at an iconic London location
Summit day two
- 08:45 - 09:00
Chair's opening remarks and working session briefing
- 9:05 - 9:45
Executive keynote: Where will value and growth come from next?
- Which market changes now look structural rather than cyclical?
- Where are companies finding the most resilient sources of value and margin?
- How are resilience, diversification and changing customer requirements influencing investment?
- Which markets, products and capabilities offer the strongest opportunities for long-term growth?
- What will successful base oils and lubricants businesses need to do differently over the next five years?
Moderator:
Gabriella Twining
Global Editor - Base OilsArgus Media- 10:15 - 10:55
Panel: Reimagining lubricant innovation — from technical development to customer value
- Which technology developments are materially changing lubricant and grease performance?
- How are customer requirements influencing product-development priorities?
- Where are electrification, advanced manufacturing, cooling and thermal management creating new performance requirements?
- What prevents promising new products from reaching commercial scale?
- How can companies shorten development and commercialization timelines without compromising performance?
- Which innovations have the strongest potential to create measurable value for end users?
Speakers Include:
Joris van der List
Technology ManagerQ8 OilsSpeakers Include:
Trevor Gauntlett
PrincipalTrevor Gauntlett Consulting- 10:55 - 11:35
Morning networking break
- 11:35 - 12:05
Workforce trends, talent and the future of employment
- What are the biggest recruitment and retention challenges facing the industry?
- How are companies responding to an aging workforce and the need for knowledge transfer?
- Which skills will become more valuable as digitalization and AI develop?
- How are expectations of employers changing among the next generation of industry talent?
- What can companies realistically do to improve attraction and retention?
Speakers Include:
James Moorhouse
DirectorABN Resource Ltd- 12:05 - 12:45
Industry outlook and wrap-up: What will reshape base oils and lubricants?
Format: Interactive audience voting, table discussion and editorial fireside discussion
Delegates will use live voting and table discussions to identify and rank the forces set to have the greatest impact on the lubricants industry, from regulation and changing vehicle technology to sustainability, base oils, formulation innovation, supply chains and digitalisation.
The session will explore where the industry is prepared, where it may be falling behind and which developments could be underestimated. It will conclude with Argus editors bringing together the audience results, key themes from the conference and the latest market developments to identify the biggest opportunities, risks and priorities for the industry.
Speakers Include:
Guo Harn Hong
Global Lead Base OilsArgusGabriella Twining
Global Editor - Base OilsArgus Media- 12:45 - 12:55
Chair's closing remarks
Speakers Include:
Guo Harn Hong
Global Lead Base OilsArgus- 12:55 - 14:00
Networking lunch and close
