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May 24 2012 17:31
The Reserve Bank will maintain current interest rates, and a considerable reduction in the local petrol price is anticipated, says governor Gill Marcus.
May 24 2012 15:29
The Reserve Bank will maintain current interest rates, says governor Gill Marcus.
May 24 2012 12:00
Britain fell deeper into recession than initially thought in the first quarter of 2012, upping chances that the central bank could inject more stimulus into the economy.
Johannesburg - The government wants South Africans to soon start using more environmentally friendly fuel.
Sandile Nogxina, director-general in the Department of Minerals & Energy (DME), says this will be phased in over the next five years.
Anton Moldan, an environmental consultant associated with the South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia) explains that the new petrol will simply have a lower sulphur content.
"Our petrol now has a sulphur content of about 500 parts per million (ppm). The department wants us to reduce this to 50ppm."
In order to effect the reduced content, SA refineries will need to make major infrastructural adjustments to produce the cleaner petrol.
These adjustments could cost as much as R40bn.
Petrol with a lower sulphur content, claims Moldan, holds various benefits.
"In the first place it will dramatically improve the air quality in sensitive areas. Secondly, there will be a significant reduction of the carbon dioxide released, and this new octane will also enable vehicles that are more fuel-efficient and which release fewer exhaust gases to be used in South Africa."
South Africa's existing octane level was introduced in 2005, and was followed by severe domestic fuel shortages.
Maurice Radebe of the Africa Mineral & Energy Forum (AMEF) says the octane conversion caused the fuel shortage.
"This was primarily due to inadequate advance planning. Refineries failed to communicate with each other and in 2005 a couple of refineries simultaneously shut down to effect the changes. This time we hope that refineries will make the necessary adjustments in time to avoid a repeat of the situation."
The standard against which SA's petrol quality is measured is known as EU2, or European Union Standard level 2.
If the sulphur content of South Africa's petrol is reduced to 50ppm, the country will move up to the EU4 level. Countries in the European Union are already at this level and are busy aiming for a new standard, EU5, which will have a sulphur content of only 10 ppm.
- Sake24.com
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