ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan State Oil (PSO) is the only Oil Marketing Company (OMC) which has upgraded Pakistan’s diesel standard from Euro 2 to Euro 5 from January 1, 2021, in compliance with the directives of the Petroleum Division.

The Petroleum Division set January 2021 deadline for the OMCs to upgrade diesel according to international standards specifications. The company has recently launched its Euro 5 standard high speed diesel under the brand name, “PSO Hi-Cetane Diesel Euro 5”.

The government mandated the import of Euro 5 standard compliant high-speed diesel from January 1, 2021. The PSO imported the first shipment of Euro 5 standard diesel on December 23, 2020 making PSO Hi-Cetane Diesel Euro 5 available at the PSO retail outlets in Karachi well ahead of the timeline specified by the GoP.

The PSO’s new Euro 5 diesel is a high performing, cleaner fuel in which sulfur content has been reduced by a staggering 98 percent – from 500ppm to 10ppm. The cetane rating of diesel is similar to the octane number of motor gasoline.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021