Pilipinas Shell balks at Euro 2 revival, offers discount on diesel for PUJs

PILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corp. is offering an additional discount on diesel fuel for public utility jeepneys. — BW FILE PHOTO

PILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corp. has offered an additional discount on diesel fuel for public utility jeepneys (PUJs) in lieu of the re-introduction of the Euro 2 diesel, making the company the first of the three big oil firms to offer an alternative to the Energy department’s directive.
In a statement, Pilipinas Shell said bringing Euro 2 back in retail fuel stations “may take 3-6 months to implement due to necessary added infrastructure and facilities needed to adapt to the proposed fuel option.”
The move may have “minimal to zero net benefit” given the additional cost mentioned, the company added.
Pilipinas Shell also said Euro 2 “may pose potential health and environmental risks because of the higher sulfur content.”
In place of Euro 2, Pilipinas Shell said it would be offering an additional discount of P0.25 per liter on diesel fuels to PUJs in more than 50% of its retail stations where there is high density of the PUJs.
The discount started on Saturday, Aug. 25, the company said, adding that it supports the government and the Department of Energy’s (DoE) concern regarding rising inflation.
Earlier this month, the DoE issued a directive to oil companies to start selling Euro 2 diesel to address rising commodity prices.
Under the past administration, the DoE set Jan. 1, 2016 as the deadline for oil companies to upgrade to cleaner emission standards of fuel from Euro 2 to Euro 4, a globally accepted European emission standard for vehicles.
Euro 4 requires the use of fuel with a significantly low sulfur of 0.005% or 50 parts per million, and benzene content at a maximum of 1%. Euro 2 fuels have up to 0.05% sulfur or 500 parts per million and up to 5% benzene.
Independent oil companies earlier questioned the DoE’s order to bring back Euro 2, saying they should not be forced to make significant investments nor a temporary stop-gap measure for a problem that the government created by imposing higher excise taxes across all fuel products. — Victor V. Saulon