No more “normal” and “super” gasoline in service stations in Algeria, starting July 1.
This is what the Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, said on Monday (June 21). “From July 2021, unleaded will be the only gasoline on the national market in addition to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and will be available at the same service stations and with the same current cost,” said the minister, specifying that the price of unleaded will be 45 DA per liter.
In a speech delivered on the occasion of a technical day on the generalization of the use of unleaded fuel, organized at the headquarters of his ministerial department, in Algiers, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, affirmed that “the use of unleaded fuel should be generalized from next July with the same costs applied (45 DA/liters)”. According to the same source, the widespread use of this fuel will not affect consumer traditions, knowing that older vehicles can use this fuel.
Generalization of the use of unleaded fuel from July
Therefore, from July 1, motorists will no longer be able to purchase leaded gasoline, namely “normal” and “super” gasoline, at service stations. The latter will be permanently deleted in Algeria from the date indicated. It will be replaced by unleaded fuel, which will thus be the only gasoline on the national market, in addition to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The representative of Abdelaziz Djerad’s government recalled that “the use of unleaded fuel is part of the government program aimed at achieving the energy transition and the consumption of less polluting fuels”. For the minister, “the elimination of lead from the fuel is part of the implementation of international standards in force.” “The use of unleaded fuel will directly clean up the air polluted by this material emitted by vehicle fuel considered to be one of the sources of pollution in the country,” he added.
For his part, the president of the Hydrocarbons Regulatory Authority (ARH), Rachid Nadil, indicated that the operation of definitive elimination of lead from gasoline had been launched for nearly a year, stopping definitively the production of leaded gasoline at the refineries and the cleaning of the tanks of these refineries polluted with lead residues.
The president of the ARH clarified that “several countries have banned since the year 2000 the use of gasoline which contains lead because of its harmful effects on the health of the citizens and the environment”. Rachid Nadil also cited the benefits of this fuel for vehicle longevity, including spark plugs, and increased oil and catalyst change intervals.
Stop the importation of fuels
During his speech, the same official also valued the positive impact of this decision on the national economy, because it will, he explained, “reduce the costs of production and refining”, but also “To stop the importation of fuels”, reporting a production capacity of single gasoline by Sonatrach exceeding 4 million tonnes/year, while the needs of the national gasoline market do not exceed 3.74 million tons.
