Saudi Aramco refineries and bulk plants ready for unleaded gasoline transition
The company's domestic refineries at Ras Tanura, Riyadh, Jiddah and Yanbu' have been gearing up for the change for some time, and by the first day of 2001 all four facilities will be producing only unleaded gasoline. The move comes a year in advance of a target date set for member countries by the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Newly produced unleaded fuel will initially mix with the old leaded gasoline already in storage tanks and pipelines as existing fuel stocks are used up. The blending of unleaded with leaded gasoline will not cause problems either for the storage and distribution system or for current vehicle engines, Saudi Aramco executives said.
During the course of 2001, all remaining leaded fuel will effectively be flushed from the nation's storage facilities and pipelines and replaced with unleaded.
Saudi Aramco is replacing the lead compounds in its gasoline with safer octane-enhancing additives that will keep the fuel's octane rating at its traditional level of 95 RON, the company said.
"We have been preparing for the switch to unleaded for over a year now and are ready to begin full-scale production by the target date," said Sa'ad R. Al-Shaifan, senior vice president of Refining and Distribution.
Khalid A. Al-Nafisee, vice president of Distribution Operations, said that facilities downstream of the refineries are also prepared. "Some of the company's facilities are already handling unleaded gasoline. All of them—from our refineries through the pipeline network to our bulk (storage) plants—are on schedule for the Jan. 1 startup date."
Edited by David Nakamura
Managing Editor, Hydrocarbon Online
dnakamura@hydrocarbononline.com