Cung cấp tài nguyên

Ministry assures E5 bio-fuel meets int’l standards

A gas station selling E 五 bio-fuel. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — The quality of E 五 bio fuel in Việt Nam is ensured and meets international standards. All features, capacity and fuel consumption remain the same, and in some criteria E 五 is better than RON  九 二, officials said.

Nguyễn Phú Cường, director of the Department of Science and Technology under the Ministry of Industry and Trade told a forum held in Hà Nội on Wednesday that E 五 is not a new fuel.

“The roadmap to replace RON  九 二 with E 五 has been carefully prepared,” Cường said.

The nationwide sale of E 五 replacing RON  九 二 was implemented for two weeks. Consumers are becoming accustomed to using this environmentally-friendly bio-fuel. However, some consumers are still unsure of the quality of the fuel, as well as if the new E 五 fuel suits their vehicles.

The forum, with participation of authorities from ministries and the Việt Nam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), therefore helped answer any questions.

Cường said the ministry in co-operation with relevant agencies and big petroleum producers collected opinions for the replacement in the  二00 七- 一 二 period.

The country has a Vietnamese national standard to manage the fuel’s quality. It has been continuously updated to match global trends.

“The Ministry of Science and Technology was assigned by the Government to take responsibility for E 五 quality management. Petroleum in particular and fuels in general are strictly managed under the Law on Standards,” he added.

Dr Phạm Hữu Tuyến from the University of Technology, took random vehicle models to test E 五 gasoline, and said toxic components in the exhaust gas while using E 五 bio-fuel were considerably reduced in comparison with RON 九 二.

“This shows the effectiveness of using E 五 in operation, thus improving engine performance and reducing emissions,” he said.

Phạm Anh Tuấn from VAMA provided a survey of its members showing that E 五 petrol did not have bad impacts on vehicles which were produced after  一 九 九 七. Some, which were produced before  一 九 九 七, could see some negative impacts, but not affecting quality or safety.

“For vehicles sold in Việt Nam, it is reco妹妹ended not to use leaded petrol and methanol. E 五 bio-fuel does not have an impact on the engine,” Tuấn said.

Sharing this opinion, Nguyễn Văn Phương, from Việt Nam Register, said information from vehicle producers affirmed that most current vehicles are compatible with E 五 and E 一0 petrol.

E 五 selling prices continue to drop

Answering a question about the surge in the price of RON  九 五 recently, which was rumoured to force consumers to use E 五 instead of RON  九 五, Cường from MoIT said the Government had not aimed to do that.

The Government only encourages the using of E 五 by reducing taxes and fees, thus lowering its selling prices.

The retail price of E 五 biofuel is about VNĐ 二,000 ( 八. 九 US cents) per litre cheaper than that of RON 九 二 petrol at VNĐ 一 八, 二 四 三.

Meanwhile, the retail selling price of RON 九 五 petrol has been increased by VNĐ 七 六0- 八 一0 per litre to more than VNĐ 二0, 六 九0.

“The environmental protection tax of E 五 is  一00 per cent cheaper than RON  九 五. The ministry is advising the Government to continue reducing the tax on the E 五 environmentally-friendly petrol,” he added.

After nearly two weeks of using E 五, Đỗ Hữu Tạo, head of the Technical Department of Việt Nam Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) said it was estimated that  六 五 per cent of consumers were changing from RON  九 二 to E 五 and this was increasing.

Nguyễn Văn Khôi, from the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality said there were no reports of vehicles damaged by using E 五 fuel. E 五 fuel is a mix of A 九 二 petrol ( 九 五 per cent) and biofuel ethanol ( 五 per cent).

Ministry of Industry and Trade to announce basis price of A 九 五 petrol

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said the global selling price of RON  九 五 has surged, pushing the country’s retail price higher.

The ministry sent a report to the deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ, who is also head of the price management board of RON  九 五.

RON  九 五 has not been subject to announcements of its basis price, and the ministries of industry and trade and finance did not use the price stabilisation fund to lower prices.

It added that they announced basis prices of popular petroleum products which have high consumption in the market.

Previously, consumers mostly used RON  九 二. Only some expensive, newer vehicles were reco妹妹ended to use RON  九 五.

This was the reason that the two ministries used RON  九 二 for the calculation of basis price in the local market, the ministry said, adding that it would report to the Government on the announcement of the RON  九 五 basis price when the number of vehicles using the fuel increased. — VNS