Replace Ron 92 petrol with E5 bio-fuel: Before G-hour

The “elimination” of RON 92 petrol is expected to promote the people to use E5 bio-fuel. Picture: ST.

It is earlier at least 15 days

According to Petrolimex, it has determined to business E5 bio-fuel of its whole system earlier than the plan for at least 15 days. That means, no later than December 15, 2017, the whole system of Petrolimex with 2,400 business units will only supply 2 types of petrol: Ron 95 and E5 bio-fuel.

The representative of Petrolimex said that: for the mountain, remote areas, due to geographical conditions, the implementation may be slower than central ones, but the roadmap still follows the plan.

A report of Petrolimex shows that: by November 10, 2017, Petrolimex has converted about 40%. It also set a target for its business units to stop selling Ron 92 by December 15, 2017. With the intermediate distribution system, Petrolimex also announced to customers about the policy of replacing Ron 92 with E5 since January 1, 2018, to help customers to be actively transferred or being supported (if any).

Regarding the E5 bio-fuel supply, Petrolimex CEO Pham Duc Thang said: Starting investing in late 2014, so far, the Group has 5 inline points of E5 bio-fuel in Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho. These units have been operating at full capacity to meet the E5 demand for transition roadmap. It is expected that in the first half of 2018, Petrolimex will invest into 2 more inline points in Binh Dinh and Nghe An; at the same time, upgrading the E5 inline point at filling station region 5. Thus, in the first half of 2018, the capacity of E5 inline points will provide about 1.8 million m3/ year.

Besides, Petrolimex has invested in E5 inline point at tanks. In particular, K130 gasoline and oil storage of B12 Petroleum Company (Quang Ninh Province) with a capacity of 20,000 m3/ blending. Nha Be gasoline and oil storage of Region 2 Ho Chi Minh (HCMC) with a blending of 12,000 m3. “After completing the inline mixing and large batches in the tanks, Petrolinemex will ensure sufficient supply of E5 for its distribution network, including service of mixing or selling E5 to wholesalers without blending station”, said Mr. Pham Duc Thang.

“Raise awareness” on E5 bio-fuel

Speaking to the reporter of Customs News, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, chairman of the Vietnam automotive manufacturers’ Association said: “The process of using E5 nationwide has been slow, missed for many times. Thus, in the coming time, the sooner replacing Ron 92 petrol with E5 bio-fuel is, the better it gets. In the long-term, the use of E5 bio-fuel will bring many practical benefits, especially environmental protection, pollution reduction. Thus, the Government and petrol businesses should be practical to implement the transition successfully”.

Agreed with Mr. Thanh, Mr. Bui Danh Lien, Chairman of Hanoi Transport Association shared that: The Association is very supportive of expanding the use of E5 bio-fuel in the entire country. However, through the exchange information with many transportation enterprises, it is easy to see that enterprises are still concerned about the use of E5 bio-fuel. First of all, this is the real quality of E5 bio-fuel for the operation of engines. So far, many enterprises still have lack of information on this type of fuel. “As the spirit set, by January 1, 2018, RON 92 petrol will no longer sale in the entire country, it will be replaced by E5 bio-fuel. The enterprises' fear is that this application is difficult to ensure uniformity, notably in remote areas, affecting on the transportation activities of enterprises”, said Mr. Lien.

According to him, the long-term benefits of using E5 bio-fuel are quite obvious, but if we want to transform the policy successfully, most important thing is to promote to raise awareness of both businesses and people of the problem. Specifically, how does blending the E5 bio-fuel ensure quality? How does using E5 gasoline benefit the environment? “There are views that the sale of E5 petrol must be the most affordable price, in order to help people, enterprises easily see the competitive price and choose it. However, in practice, the price is not the most important issue because petrol prices are still adjusted regularly. Transportation companies are also familiar with the gasoline adjustment to increase or decrease to a certain extent. The key here is to raise awareness. “When it comes to understanding the issues, there is a lot of preparation in the minds of people who believe that replacing RON 92 with E5 bio-fuel will be easy for the people and enterprises to welcome in the practical”, Mr. Lien stressed.

In order to stop the sale of RON 92 petrol, replaced successfully by E5 bio-fuel, Petrolimex proposed: the Government to direct the entire petrol system to implement; to closely inspect and supervise the implementation of the E5 bio-fuel sale schedule of all principal traders, together with the sanction for violating cases; to promptly supplement, amend and finalize the legal bases for the trading of biofuels to ensure their suitability with reality. For the Ministry of Finance - Industry and Trade, the proposal is to adjust the cost of the imports of petroleum, especially mineral oil which must be close to the reality of the enteprise because petroleum is also the input material of E5 bio-fuel; to timely adjust cost norms of E5 bio-fuel after the traders have the audit report; submit to he State to adjusts the environmental protection tax of E5 in absolute value for simple and convenient tax settlement.