Australia proposes to require cleaner gasoline by 2025, with aid to refiners (updated)

Waypoint REIT

18/11/2022 08:27

(Adds Ampol comment; paragraph 11)
    By Sonali Paul
       MELBOURNE, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Australia proposed on
Friday to tighten gasoline quality requirements by 2025 in line
with most rich countries, while offering more aid to its two
refiners, Ampol Ltd  ALD.AX  and Viva Energy  VEA.AX , to meet
the new standards.
    The move advances by two years the preliminary, undefined
plan of the previous government, which left office in May.
    In the proposal seeking to meet emissions standards called
Euro 6d, the government said its preferred option would be to
cut aromatics in premium-grade 95 RON gasoline to a maximum of
35%, with no change to 91 RON and 98 RON gasoline.
    The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) has long
said Australia needs higher quality fuels in order to prompt car
makers to send the country their latest models.
    "Currently, we have some of the worst-quality petrol in the
advanced world," FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said in a
statement.
    He welcomed the step on 95 RON gasoline but said the other
grades needed to be tackled as well.
    If the government goes ahead with its preferred option, it
said it would provide A$26 million ($17 million) each to Ampol
and Viva to upgrade their refineries at Lytton and Geelong,
respectively, to meet the new standard.
    That assistance would come on top of the A$125 million the
government is providing each of the refiners to upgrade their
plants to produce ultra-low sulfur gasoline by the end of 2024.
    Responses to the proposal are due by Dec. 16.
    A Viva spokesperson said the refiner would need time to
review the government's options.
    An Ampol spokesperson said the company looked forward to
finalising aromatics plans in coming months.
 ($1=1.4916 Australian dollars)
 (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Bradley Perrett and
Clarence Fernandez)
 ((Sonali.Paul@thomsonreuters.com; +61 407 119 523;))