REGULATION
Standards and regulations adopted in the Middle East
Kritika Jaiswal, Director, Energy, Kline
The Middle East countries have been actively updating and implementing standards and regulations to align with global practices and address regional needs. These regulations span various sectors, including automotive and industrial focusing on quality, safety, and sustainability. This write-up explores the recent regulatory developments in the automotive and industrial sectors across the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), with a focus on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar.
GCC countries are rapidly updating automotive and industrial regulations to align with global standards, focusing on quality, safety, and sustainability. Harmonised standards (GSO 1785-1/2) and stricter emission rules (e.g., UAE’s EURO 6B by 2026) are driving demand for advanced lubricants and cleaner technologies. Ambitious electric vehicle (EV) targets across the region are reducing demand for traditional engine oils, prompting suppliers to innovate with synthetic, bio-based, and EV-specific products.
National strategies like Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and UAE’s Operation 300bn are boosting local manufacturing and renewable energy initiatives, further shaping lubricant market trends. Supplier responses include expanding re-refined base oil capacity and launching eco-friendly formulations.
Overall, evolving regulations and sustainability goals are transforming the lubricants sector, driving innovation and supporting economic diversification in the GCC.
For the automotive sector, the GCC Standardization
Organization (GSO) has played a pivotal role in harmonising automotive regulations across member countries to ensure harmonisation ensures product quality, environmental protection, consumer safety, and trade facilitation across the region. These regulations can be broken down as follows...
General standards
GSO 1785-1and GSO 1785-2 standards released in 2023 conform with API and ACEA classifications respectively with both focusing on standard set performance requirements for oils, covering aspects like wear protection, oxidation stability, and engine cleanliness.
Emission standards The countries are at various stages of adopting stricter emission standards. UAE requires new imported light and heavy vehicles to meet EURO 6B standards starting in January 2026 which becomes further stringent with all vehicles needing to comply by July 2027. Other GCC countries have different regulations, for example Bahrain at EURO 4 levels and Saudi Arabia at EURO 5 levels.
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.190 DECEMBER 2025 23
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