Stratas Advisors Ranks Top 100 Countries with Lowest Sulfur in Gasoline
SINGAPORE, July 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A new analysis by Stratas Advisors affirms that the world is continuing to move toward lowering sulfur content in gasoline. Stratas Advisors' annual Top 100 ranking of countries with the lowest sulfur in gasoline reveals that several nations have positioned themselves through policy initiatives to make advances in the near future. However, factors other than sulfur reduction ? among them benzene, aromatics, olefins and volatility ? are important in determining gasoline quality and influencing vehicle emissions.
EU countries continue to dominate the Top 40, as they were required to implement 100% market penetration of sulfur-free (less than 10 ppm) fuels beginning in January 2009. Germany, which led the way with full-market penetration in 2003, continues to be No. 1.
Ten countries moved up or were added to the 2019 ranking. The 10 are: Benin, Fiji, Ghana, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Niger, Oman and Tajikistan.
"None of the 10 countries that moved up in the ranking switched to 10 ppm sulfur gasoline, so we will continue to see movements for them in future rankings," said Huiming Li, director of Stratas Advisors' Global Fuel Specifications Service.
Of the 10 countries, eight were newly added to the Top 100 for the first time, mostly due to the mandatory implementation or voluntary introduction of 10-150 ppm sulfur gasoline from 2012 to 2019. They include Kazakhstan, entering at 60th place; Ghana, entering at 65th place; Fiji and Oman, entering at a tie for 70th place; Niger, entering at 81st place; Benin, entering at 89th place; Kyrgyzstan, entering at 98th place; and Tajikistan, entering at 100th place. Benin jumped the farthest in the rankings, climbing 69 places; followed by Oman, which jumped 61 places; and Ghana with a 58-place increase.
Regarding India and Jordan, which were already in the Top 100, India moved to 59th place by jumping four places; meanwhile, Jordan jumped eight places to move to 68th place. Since none of the 10 countries reduced its national sulfur limit to 10 ppm, no new country entered the top 55 in this year's ranking.
"It is also worthwhile to note that Argentina, Gabon and Paraguay also tightened gasoline sulfur specs or introduced specs for lower sulfur gasoline over 2017-2019, but did not move up the ranking possibly due to other countries implementing sulfur limits lower than 150 ppm, Li said. Even though Argentina has required 10 ppm sulfur gasoline since January 2019, it dropped four places to rank 78th. As for Gabon, Stratas Advisors found that new legislation was introduced for the first time since May 2018 that requires a maximum limit of 150 ppm. Yet, Gabon moved down four places to rank 88th. Paraguay reduced its limit from 300 ppm to 200 ppm beginning in July 2017, but it dropped by five places to rank 91st.
As a result of more countries adopting 50 ppm or below standards, eight nations dropped out of the 2019 ranking: Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Malawi, Vietnam, Congo, Egypt and Bolivia. The United States and Canada, 73(rd) and 74(th), respectively, dropped in the ranking even though both have had a 10 ppm requirement since January 2017.
About Stratas Advisors
Stratas Advisors, a Hart Energy company, is a leading global consulting and analytics provider for upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and related sectors such as automotive, transportation, power, petrochemicals and heavy industries. Stratas Advisors' team of experts provides data and strategic insights to companies seeking to understand key drivers shaping development. Stratas Advisors' consultants and analysts offer forward-looking perspectives to help energy decision-makers leverage opportunities, mitigate risk and implement strategies. Stratas Advisors is headquartered in Houston with offices in Brussels and Singapore. Learn more about its offerings.
Contact:
Huiming Li
tel +65.6353.6126
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