12 Apr 2008: Yemie Adeoye
FOLLOWING the decision of the federal government through the standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to okay five percent ethanol content for all petroleum products coming into the country Oando Plc, a major player in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry has announced the placement of orders for two state-of-the-art ethanol testing equipment known as the ‘Varian CP-3800 GC’ which is to be donated to the federal government.
This is coming amidst several claims by operators in the industry that the Department of Petroleum Resources does not have the necessary facilities to test for the exact ethanol content in a vessel..
In a chat with newsmen in Lagos Wednesday, the Group Managing Director of the company, Mr. Wale Tinubu stated that the action was taken in a bid to ensure that only gasoline with the right level of ethanol is sold in the country. According to him the two units, which are due for delivery in May, will be presented to the Federal Government, who may then assign them to any of its appointed testing agency.
“Now that Nigeria has joined the league of ethanol users globally, there is the need to ensure the availability of adequate testing facilities that meets the Nigerian specifications. This is our contribution to guaranteeing that high standards are maintained in the industry.” he said.
Also speaking on the development Meka Olowola, Head Corporate communications of thOando stated that the 3800 GC’ testing machines meet the 21st century analytical requirements with practical solutions for simple and complex applications.
“It conforms to the American Society for Testing and Materials standards. ASTM is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services globally.
In addition, the CP-3800 is easily configured to perform on-line analyses for monitoring critical gas and liquid process streams.” he enthused.
Ethanol is primarily a supplement to gasoline which is used to boost the octane level and it meets the environmentally friendly requirements for oxygenated fuels.
However, while ethanol is a positive discovery for both cars and the environment, the concern has been the level that is tolerable for vehicles. The tolerable level of ethanol differs from country to country.
The acceptable limits in Europe is 5%, 10% in North America most of South America and Asia. Brazil and parts of Canada, Sweden, Thailand Columbia, Japan, Australia and the Phillipines tilise E20 which is petrol with ethanol content of 20%, Nigeria has commenced with a tolerance level of 5%.
It would however be recalled that high ethanol content in imported gasoline has had very adverse effects on the economy of the nation damaging scores of vehicles and also contributing to the present scarcity of petroleum products.
The SON only yesterday announced the approval of a five percent ethanol content for all gasoline being imported into the country.