Refineries given deadline to switch to Euro II diesel
ARIF RANA
ISLAMABAD (September 29 2006): The government has set the deadline of January 2008 for refineries for switch over from Euro 1 (low quality diesel) containing high sulphur content to Euro II, premium product to minimise the risk of pollution in major cities.
The Euro II contains 2500 pm (0.25 percent) sulphur against 10000 pm of Euro 1. Refineries currently import Euro 1, which is posing serious threat to the environment due to high sulphur content. At present, four refineries are functioning in Pakistan to refine imported crude oil.
The petroleum ministry has issued a circular to the refineries asking them to make necessary arrangements for the switch over within the stipulated period.
Sources said refineries import low quality diesel for refining and sell it to the consumers on premium rates. Diesel, having high level of sulphur, is a serious problem as smoke emitted as a result of its combustion pollute the environment in the major cities. Karachi, Lahore and other cities where long vehicles operate on diesel are its typical example.
Import of diesel containing high level of sulphur provides an ideal opportunity to the importers to buy low quality diesel from the international market and sell it to the consumers at higher prices. This is a cheating of technical nature.
Sources said the government had issued the circular to the refineries for switch over in July 2006. However, the industry considers that the deadline does not allow it sufficient lead time to carry out the necessary feasibility studies.
They said that the government was actively pursuing the case to ensure that the refineries do not get any excuse to delay in switching over to Euro II diesel.