Positive Meeting Between Energy Minister and Stakeholders on E10 Fuel

Minister of Energy, Clive Mullings, and industry stakeholders have described as productive, a special meeting hosted on October 24, at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, to address concerns and to fine tune plans for the introduction of the E10 ethanol blended fuel at service stations, on November 1, 2008.
“It was a very productive meeting. I think that the concerns were aired and they were responded to. We have all undertaken that in this transition phase, the marketing companies will be at the particular locations where the E10 is being introduced, so that if there are any problems, they will be ironed out,” the Minister told JIS News.
“It has been an issue of getting the proper communication going, and they are doing that now,” he continued.
Echoing the Minister’s views was First Vice President of the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA), Trevor Heaven, who said that, “having gone through the discussions here, I am satisfied that we are in a good position to go forward with ethanol.”
“The JGRA has, from day one, endorsed the inclusion of the ethanol blend into our fuel. The clear benefit to the environment, the economy and to our motoring public is something to be very proud of, and we definitely endorse the whole question of the ethanol blend,” he told JIS News.
The meeting included representatives from the Ministry of Energy, the E10 Project, the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, Marketing Companies and the JGRA.
New Initiatives Project Manager at Chevron (Texaco), Dr. Earl Green, told JIS News that the meeting was productive. “The industry is getting its act together, which is very important. I think there were some cases of miscommunication, but we are at an advanced stage of preparedness, and certainly for Chevron, we are ready for the turn out,” he said.
The E10 fuel, which is a blend of a maximum of 10 per cent ethanol and 90 per cent gasoline, will be introduced on a phased basis starting on November 1, at service stations in the Eastern and Central parishes.
“Things are very much on schedule. We have been working at this since June of this year, doing all the technical specifications, getting the legal requirements, and getting the cleaning equipment in. So, we have done a lot of work to get to this point and I’m confident that we will do well. If there are one or two hitches, they should not be major,” Minister Mullings told JIS News.
“We are currently putting everything in place for the first of November for the launch. We will be utilising the Petcom station in Portmore as the official launch area, and other stations that will have the product, we will be posting their names and locations,” he added.
At the function, the Minister will do the ceremonial turning on of the E10 pump, and motorists will be treated to a customer appreciation day.