"We are still consulting the oil industry on the lead time needed to supply higher quality gasoline. No time frame has been set at this moment on the adoption of a higher emission standard or the Euro IV emission standard for petrol vehicles," the NEA said in an e-mail reply.
The NEA was in talks with industry players -- notably refiners --regarding the possibility of supplying Euro IV-equivalent gasoline, with a maximum sulfur content of 50 parts per million, possibly by 2012, industry sources said.
There were no further details as talks were still in the early stages considering that not all Singapore refineries are able to fully supply Euro IV-equivalent gasoline for the domestic market as yet. Gasoline demand in Singapore is about 17,100 b/d, according to US-based energy consultants APEC Consulting.
At present, the minimum emission standard for gasoline in Singapore meets Euro II specifications, where the maximum allowable sulfur content is 500 ppm.
But sources noted that higher octane gasoline grades such as 98 RON or Shell's V-power sold at domestic petrol pumps have a much lower sulfur content of less than 100 ppm -- close to Euro-IV requirements.
For diesel, Singapore will next move to Euro V emission standards for diesel-powered vehicles, after last initiating the switch to Euro IV standards from Euro II, on October 1, 2006.
"For diesel vehicles, we have, in the Singapore Sustainable Development Blueprint which was launched in April 2009, indicated that we are targeting to move to Euro V vehicle emission standards by 2014/5," a NEA spokesman said.
Since October 2006, all new diesel vehicles have had to meet Euro IV standards. The blueprint stated that the government "expects all taxis to achieve Euro IV emission standards by 2014, and the Land Transport Authority will work with public bus operators to attain this standard for all their
buses by 2020."
Further forward, "the government will also consider tighter emission standards, such as the Euro V emission standard, for new diesel vehicles when it is cost effective to do so," the blueprint stated.
Meanwhile, refineries in Singapore will need to upgrade their gasoline units to make the leap to Euro IV-equivalent gasoline standards, and at least one refiner was said to have initiated this.
SRC for one, is carrying out a front-end design package to upgrade an existing gasoline unit, with a capacity of about 20,000 b/d, to produce ultra low sulfur gasoline. The design package is expected to be ready in end 2010.
SRC -- a 50:50 joint venture between Singapore Petroleum Company and Chevron -- owns and operates a 290,000 b/d refinery at Jurong Island.
Even though Singapore has, since June, boosted exports of Euro III- and Euro IV-equivalent gasoline to India - most of these have come from blending terminals rather than from refineries.
Singapore exported an average 41,071 b/d of gasoline in July to India, up from the average 29,566 b/d in June, according to weekly trade data from government agency International Enterprises Singapore compiled by Platts. And as of August 25, gasoline exports to India this month averaged 48,224 b/d.
But for diesel, industry sources noted that refiners such as SRC and Shell are currently able to produce maximum 10 ppm sulfur diesel -- equivalent to Euro V specifications -- since their last upgrades to meet Euro IV diesel standards.
China Chemical Weekly: http://news.chemnet.com/en/detail-1411716.html
