Vietnam's government has decided to fully replace 92 RON gasoline with gasohol from January 2018, according to a statement posted on the government portal on Wednesday.
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said in a meeting on May 11 that only E5 92 RON -- a blend of 5% ethanol and 95% gasoline -- and 95 RON gasoline are allowed to be sold in the country from the start of next year.
Sales of conventional 92 RON gasoline are allowed until December 31 this year.
The ban of 92 RON grade falls under the government's effort to boost sales and consumption of environmentally friendly E5, said the government statement.
Vietnam's gasoline demand is met by both supply from the country's sole 130,000 b/d refinery at Dung Quat, and imports.
The Dung Quat refinery is designed to produce 2 million to 2.5 million mt of gasoline each year, comprising 1.4 million to 1.8 million mt of 92 RON and 600,000 to 700,000 mt of 95 RON, refinery operator Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical said on its website.
Under a scheme approved by the government in January 2016, all retail stations in the provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Ba Ria Vung Tau, and the cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang, Hai Phong and Can Tho, were scheduled to replace 92 RON gasoline with E5 from June 1, 2016.
E5 was also scheduled to be available in at least half the retail stations in each of the remaining provinces and cities, with half of their sales volume of 92 RON gasoline to be replaced with E5 from June 1, 2016.
However, the deadline was missed, after high upstream costs and unstable domestic production of ethanol did little to incentivize retailers and customers to switch from 92 RON gasoline to E5.
The government last year confirmed that plans to start compulsory sales of E5 in eight provinces and cities had been delayed because domestic consumers had shown little interest in making the switch from 92 RON gasoline. - Platts -