After the notification of price by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), Pakistan State Oil (PSO) will start marketing of E-10 ethanol-blended gasoline from Sunday in Karachi. The Managing Director (MD) of PSO, Irfan Qureshi, told Business Recorder that PSO would start marketing of E-10 gasoline from Sunday in Karachi.
He said that the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has allowed its marketing for two years. The Ogra has notified the price of E-10 gasoline at Rs 62.61 per litre, which is less by Rs 2.5 per litre than the price of petrol, being sold at Rs 65.11 per litre.
The Ogra-notified price will be effective from January 1, 2010. The ECC in its meeting on December 15 had directed Ogra to notify the price of E-10 gasoline so that PSO could start its marketing. According to the notification, the government will charge Rs 10.88 per litre as petroleum levy (PL) on direct sale to consumers by oil marketing companies (OMCs).
The ECC in its meeting on October 27, 2009, had considered the summary submitted by Petroleum Ministry on "Blending of Ethanol into Motor Gasoline (E-10) and Pricing thereof" and approved its marketing on trial basis for a period of two years only, and delivery outlets for E-10 to display merits and cautions regarding fuel efficiency and possible effects on vehicle engines.
ECC allowed marketing of E-10-blended motor gasoline fuel on trial basis with a view to devising a mechanism for fixing price of molasses to ensure that the cost of ethanol production remains competitive. It was emphasised in ECC meeting that regulatory duty of 15 percent on molasses had been imposed to check other uses. It was also suggested to conduct a detailed study to assess the harmful effects of E-10 for engines.
The ECC was informed that introduction of E-10 fuel in transport sector was a pilot move, initially for a period of two years. It was also said that value-addition of molasses into Ethanol fuel was highly desirable. ECC members proposed that a public awareness campaign on the use of E-10 should be launched and information on salient features of Ethanol be displayed on all Ethanol sale points.
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