08/01/2010

ENAP launches new world-class diesel from Concepción

 

**The new product will contribute to improving the air quality throughout the country and is among the cleanest fuels in the world.

The launch of the new diesel, of just 50 parts per million of sulfur, announced by the chief executive officer of ENAP, Rodrigo Azócar, in Concepción is, without doubt, excellent news for the country and all its regions. Because although this achievement was produced in the Eighth Region, all the other regions are already benefiting, as from January 1, from a cleaner fuel that contributes directly to improving the quality of life and the environment.

The launch of this latest-generation diesel was made in the Regional Government Office of Bio Bio by ENAP’s chief executive officer, Rodrigo Azócar, the regional governor, Jaime Tohá, the national director of Conama (national environmental agency), Alvaro Sapag, the manager of the Refining Division, Carlos Cabeza and the regional director of Conama, Bolívar Ruiz.

“I congratulate ENAP for the outstanding contribution it is making to the country with a diesel of 50 parts per million, which represents a significant advance in the quality of life of our compatriots”, said Governor Jaime Tohá.

“If Chile did not have this state company, we would not have had the opportunity to have projects of this superior importance, like LNG in Quintero, and neither could we announce public policies like that of today which have been inspired over the last four “Concertación” governments, concerned with substantially improving the country’s environmental conditions”, he said.

“ENAP is managing to balance the carrying out of enormous progress in its development as a company and is achieving it in its economic recovery, but without ignoring its concern for the quality of its fuels, which finally translates into an improvement in the quality of the lives of Chileans”, stated Mr Tohá.

The senior authority in the Eighth Region said that “today when the Eighth Region is showing indications of saturation in three of its centers: San Pedro, Coronel and Talcahuano, this new diesel specification cannot but be assumed and celebrated as the best news for our region because our citizens today are going to be thankful and businesses seeking to invest in the zone are going to recognize that the Chilean state is making a tremendous contribution with cleaner and world-class fuels”.

The chief executive, Rodrigo Azócar, said he was proud because ENAP, over the past four governments, has invested around US$600 million in the adaptation and modernization of its Bio Bio and Aconcagua refineries to meet the normative that today permits Santiago and the regions to have diesel with just 50 parts per million of sulfur.

The executive recalled that in 2003, diesel had 3 thousand parts per million of sulfur; in 2004 this became 2 thousand parts per million; in 2005 it was reduced to 500 parts per million; in 2006 to 350 parts per million and from January 1, 2010 to just 50 parts per million.

“The improvement in the quality of our fuels and in this in particular has not been a fact that occurred just in 2009 because ENAP has been deeply and systematically concerned for more than a decade, building hydro-cracking and hydro-treatment units for this purpose”, stated Rodrigo Azócar.

“The new grade B diesel will permit reducing sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions by 85% in industry and vehicles; make possible the incorporation in the country of a new stock of vehicles that meet the Euro IV and similar standards; help reduce vehicle particle matter MP10 emissions by more than 90% and emissions of particle matter MP2.5 by over 99%, and contribute to the application of atmospheric decontamination plans in the regions”.

ENAP Fuels:  the cleanest in Latin America

The national director of CONAMA, Alvaro Sapag, with evident pride, said that with the launch of the new Grade B diesel and other improvements in fuel quality introduced by ENAP, Chile has become the country with the highest-quality fuels in Latin America, with a standard similar to that demanded in Europe and the more demanding states of the USA.

“This would not have been possible without public policies like those we have in our country”, he added.

The top official of CONAMA said that “the launch of the new diesel closes a virtuous circle because it will also contribute to improving the country’s environmental conditions, in connection with Chile’s entry into the OECD”.

Alvaro Sapag added that with the prevention and decontamination plan applied over the past 20 years in the Metropolitan Region and the rest of the country, “monitoring stations have been improved and substantial progress has been made in the generation of instruments for measuring and promoting improvements in the quality of life throughout the country, and one of the important tools in this context is the supply of the fuels that Chile needs”. 

Concepción, January 2010.