When will RON 92 gasoline be 'eliminated' in Vietnam?

“The information that RON 92 gasoline will be completely replaced by biofuel by June 2017 is incorrect, because we still have difficulty producing this type of gasoline on a large scale.”

That is the affirmation of Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong in response to the press's question about the roadmap for mass use of bio-fuel (E5) according to the Government's direction.

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Previously, in a report on the use of bio-fuel, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that it would replace RON 92 mineral gasoline with E5 bio-fuel according to a roadmap, expected to completely replace it by June 2017.

However, speaking at the Government press conference on the evening of November 29, Deputy Minister Hoang Quoc Vuong said that previously, world oil prices were very high, reaching over 100 USD/barrel, and in response to the need to protect the environment, the Government issued Decree 53 with the policy of bringing E5 and E10 bio-fuel into consumption.

However, after that, the price of gasoline dropped sharply and is now only 50 USD/barrel, so consuming biofuel is very difficult.

Therefore, the roadmap to replace RON 92 gasoline with E5 biofuel is being implemented gradually and moving towards the goal of complete replacement at the appropriate time. Enterprises producing and trading E5 are urgently reviewing the implementation of this conversion roadmap.

Therefore, up to now, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has not yet given a final date to completely stop using RON 92 gasoline. The previous information that RON 92 gasoline will be completely replaced by E5 bio-fuel by June 2017 is incorrect.

According to the leader of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, currently only the US and Brazil are two countries with conditions and advantages to produce biofuel because their cassava raw material areas are very large and favorable.

Meanwhile, Vietnam does not have the conditions to develop cassava material areas for large-scale biofuel production, and the productivity of this crop is not as high as in other countries.

“We have 4 biofuel factories, but currently only one factory of Tung Lam Company is still operating. The remaining 3 factories have stopped operating for various reasons, and some have been shelved since they were completed,” said Deputy Minister Vuong.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will then carry out the production and use of biofuel as well as a replacement roadmap, only then can a specific time be "finalized".

The agency also said that according to reports from localities and petroleum business contacts, there have been no complaints from consumers about the quality of E5 gasoline.

Regarding supply, the Ministry said that the supply of fuel ethanol for blending into E5 biofuel mainly comes from two biofuel factories of Tung Lam Company Limited, with a total capacity of 150,000 tons/year, enough to blend over 3 million tons of E5 biofuel/year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade requests that localities, especially Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hai Phong, continue to persistently and seriously implement the Prime Minister's instructions. Continue to assign the Ministry of Finance to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to calculate the base price of E5 and E10 gasoline.

According to a directive from Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai in January 2016, the provinces and cities of Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Can Tho, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, and Ho Chi Minh City strive to have 100% of local retail gasoline stores selling E5 gasoline and 100% of RON 92 gasoline replaced with E5 gasoline by June 1, 2016.

For other provinces and centrally-run cities, by June 1, 2016, at least 50% of local retail gasoline stores must sell E5 gasoline and 50% of RON 92 gasoline must be replaced with E5 gasoline.

According to Bao Quyen/vneconomy