Cleaner diesel available to Moroccans

05/01/2009

A new type of diesel with lower sulphur content will gradually replace the more polluting kinds on the market in Morocco. Some consumers, however, are worried about the higher retail price announced by the government.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 05/01/09

[Getty Images] A new type of diesel with a sulphur content of no more than 50 ppm has just been released on the Moroccan market.

A new type of diesel with a sulphur content of no more than 50 parts-per-million was released on the Moroccan market on Thursday (January 1st). According to the Ministry of Energy, 50 ppm diesel will be phased in gradually and will be widely available in April 2009. The cleaner fuel is replacing 350 diesel and will gradually replace standard diesel, as new facilities are able to accommodate the new type.

The gradual introduction of 50 ppm diesel should enable oil companies to use up their current stocks of standard 10,000 ppm diesel. Sales of 10,000 ppm sulphur diesel will be maintained over the first quarter of 2009.

Consumers were impatient to discover the price of the new product. "The new 50 ppm diesel went on sale on January 1st, 2009, replacing 350 diesel at its base price, which is 10.13 dirhams a litre", announced the Ministry of Energy, Mining, Water and Environment and the Ministry of General and Economic Affairs in a joint statement on Saturday (January 3rd).

However, according to the joint memorandum, the introduction of the cleaner type of diesel coincided with two holidays, Moharram 1st, 1430, and January 1st, 2009.

"Delivery of fuels during these two holidays was suspended, which caused some disruption in the distribution of this new fuel."

As of right now, retailers have been supplied with enough 50 ppm diesel to meet the demand, added the statement.

Users of standard diesel, which currently retails at 7.20 dirhams, are worried. They were expecting the price of 50 ppm diesel to be close to that of the standard fuel.

"People who have bought cars running on standard diesel want to keep their motoring costs down. Three dirhams extra per litre is too much. I hope the price will come down, because even public transport will suffer", said Mohamed Benadir, a state worker.

"Standard diesel will remain on sale for at least the first quarter of 2009", said Karim Ouahibi, who works at a filling station. "After that, the price of 50 ppm diesel will be adjusted".

Ouahibi added that the transitional period will also help in sorting out technical issues involved with such a major logistical operation. New tanks will need to be installed, along with new distribution equipment, the cleaning of existing storage tanks, the provision of new signs, and so on.

Ouahibi explained that once the two other diesels are phased out, the price for the 50 ppm fuel is bound to decrease.

The modernisation of the SAMIR refinery in Mohammedia, which began in 2005, has made possible the introduction of the new 50 ppm fuel.

Replacing 10,000 ppm sulphur diesel with 50 ppm diesel will help reduce sulphur and lead emissions considerably, and help improve air quality in the major conurbations. The new fuel is characteristically less polluting and provides better performance due to the lower sulphur content. It contains 200 times less sulphur than standard diesel, and 7 times less than Eurodiesel 350.

In the meantime, Moroccans are still waiting for fuel prices to come down after the drop in the value of oil on the international markets.

"The price of oil has fallen from more than 140 dollars to 40 dollars on the international market, but for us the prices are still the same", said Hassan Souirti, a worker. "It really is extraordinary".