Knowledge of the performance of cutting fluids in machining process is important in order to improve the efficiency of any machining process. The objective of this work is to compare the performance of CPO to commercially available cutting fluid which is Solkut 2140 cutting fluid in terms of cutting forces, surface roughness of the workpiece and tool wear in turning process by using coated carbide insert as cutting tool and AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel as workpiece material. In general, the results indicated that CPO performed better than Solkut 2140 in reducing the cutting forces, improving the surface finish and reducing the tool wear. CPO has been used as a cutting fluid in this work because it provides the desirable quality for boundary lubrication, biodegradable, less toxic and vast resources. © 2011 IEEE.