Refiners commit to producing clean fuels

15th March 2017

By: Kim Cloete

Creamer Media Correspondent

     

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Although Africa’s oil refining industry will need significant investments to adapt to the move by industry and the automotive sector to cleaner fuels, companies say they are committed to the change.

“The impact will touch all sides of the industry, starting with refining and marketing. It will require significant investment. It will also impact on the price. But we see this as an opportunity,” said Angola parastatal Sonangol EP director Edson dos Santos.

He was speaking at the African Refiners Association’s (ARA’s) twelfth yearly conference in Cape Town, which has attracted more than 500 delegates representing the African downstream industry.

The ARA this week agreed to a move to adopt the AFRI-4 fuel standards specification, which aims to lower the limits of sulphur allowed in diesel and gasoline by 2020.

Dos Santos said Angola was in a more favourable position than many other oil-producing countries to meet the new specification, as its crude oil tended to be low sulphur. 

“We plan to turn this into an opportunity for Angola and West Africa. We expect demand to increase from 2020 onwards.”

Pressure has been growing to improve the quality of gasoline and diesel for African markets. Changes are also afoot for fuel oil specifications for ships.

Hyacinthe Nare, from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), said diesel engine exhaust emissions were proven to cause lung cancer, with many thousands of people dying every year due to the effects of air pollution.  

Nare said the ICCT’s Global Sulphur Strategy, backed by the United Nations Environment Programme, aimed to reduce the small particulate and black carbon emissions from the global on-road diesel fleet through the introduction of low-sulphur fuels and cleaner diesel vehicle standards.

Nare conceded that barriers to clean fuel were substantial, but that the benefits greatly exceeded the costs.

“Apart from the obvious health benefits, it will also ensure a longer life span for vehicles. We shouldn’t wait. This is a pure opportunity to move to clean fuels and clean vehicles.”

He said there had been some progress in Africa, with eight countries already at the 50 parts per million (ppm) maximum. These were Morocco, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

“Achieving 50 ppm fuels by 2020 is doable, cost effective and will have massive health benefits. Most countries should achieve 50 ppm by 2020, with all countries reaching this milestone by 2025. Most countries should be able to reach 10 ppm sulphur fuels by 2030.”

He suggested that the ARA should provide a timeline for developing African standards towards a goal of 10 ppm diesel fuel, to align with the Global Sulphur Strategy. He also called on companies in the downstream oil industries to harmonise implementation through leveraging regional bodies like the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

“Efforts must be increased so that all fuels produced in and imported into Africa meet the specs by 2020,” Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation MD Maikanti Baru said in a speech read on his behalf.

“Nigeria will be adopting national fuel standards in line with international specs this year. Refineries will be given a three- to four-year window period to comply.

“Licences should only be renewed on exhaust emissions tests. It’s imperative to act in a coordinated way to so that Africa does not become the dumping ground for low-quality oil products.”

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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