Petroleum enterprises propose to resell RON 92

The proposal to resell RON 92 gasoline has just been made by Ho Chi Minh City Petroleum Company Limited (Saigon Petro) in a document sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade - Ministry of Finance regarding the policy of developing bio-fuel. According to Saigon Petro, E5 RON 92 gasoline in the first 2 months of 2018 only accounted for less than 30% of total gasoline consumption, the remaining 70% was RON 95 gasoline, while RON 92 gasoline was previously over 65%. This rate is even lower atThe company does not have an E5 gasoline blending system.

"In case the measures are applied but the E5 gasoline output is still low and does not meet the requirements, then the goal of environmental protection is not achieved, then RON 92 gasoline should be reused to avoid social waste," Saigon Petro proposed. This company believes that,The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance need to synthesize official data on biofuel consumption after mass sales nationwide.

This company's calculations show that in 2017, the average monthly consumption of RON 92 gasoline was 500,000 m3.If the E5 gasoline consumption is only 50% of RON 92 gasoline, the remaining 50% of RON 92 gasoline is converted to RON 95 gasoline and the price difference between E5 gasoline and RON 95 gasoline is 1,600 VND per liter, in the first two months of 2018, the social waste caused by vehicles using unnecessary RON 95 gasoline is up to 400 billion VND per month.

Many consumers are willing to pay extra to use RON 95 gasoline, causing great social waste and failing to achieve environmental protection goals because motorbikes with engine equipment need to use RON 92 or E5 gasoline, and do not need to use RON 95.

Talk toVnExpressDeputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said that the Ministry has not yet received a petition from Saigon Petro. However, the Ministry will respond and discuss specifically with the enterprise as soon as it receives this petition.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tiu - Director of Tu Luc Petroleum Joint Stock Company did not agree with this proposal although heAdmittedly, the sales rate of E5 RON 92 gasoline at the company is not high, around 40-50%.

Mr. Tiu said that this proposal is not comprehensive when only considering the economic benefits. The process of converting mineral gasoline to biofuel always takes time and cannot meet expectations right from the beginning. Moreover, mThe Government's goal in deciding to convert RON 92 mineral gasoline to E5 RON 92 is to encourage the use of biofuel and protect the environment. "Therefore, the proposal to return to selling RON 92 gasoline lacks convincing basis," he said.

* What is the difference between E5 and RON 95 gasoline?

A member of the Joint Petroleum Price Management Team of the Ministry of Industry and Trade - Ministry of Finance commented that this proposal of Saigon Petro is unlikely to be approved because the policy of selling E5 RON 92 bio-fuel is a decision made by the Government to protect the environment.

"People may be hesitant at first, like when switching from A83 gasoline to RON 92, but if we consider the long-term environmental benefits and the gap between E5 RON 92 gasoline and RON 95 is gradually narrowing, the rate of biofuel will gradually increase," he said.

The management agency is compiling biofuel consumption data from petroleum trading centers in the first 3 months of the year to find solutions to "stimulate" people to use more of this product in the coming time.