Somaliland Plans to Move to Cleaner Fuel, Low Sulfur Diesel

SOMALILAND.COM 28-04-2019:- Somaliland will begin cutting the sulfur levels allowed in imported diesel fuels with immediate effect, as confirmed yesterday by the Somaliland Minister of Trade, Industries, and Tourism.

Mr. Mohamoud Hassan Sa’ad, Minister of Trade, Industries, and Tourism, had announced that Somaliland is moving to a cleaner fuel by cutting the Sulfur (also written Sulphur) content in imported diesel.

Mr. Sa’ad told, in a press conference in his office, that Somaliland has got a new laboratory for examining the Sulfur contents in fuel. He said the first tests showed horrifying levels of Sulfur, which is ranging from 5000 ppm to 7000+ ppm.

Somaliland is targeting a cut to below 500 parts-per-million (ppm), from now on, the minister said.

But questions arise as the legality of this move is in dark, due to the absence of regulation in place.” there is no fuel act/bylaw passed by the Parliament, which is setting the standard for the Sulfur contents in fuel” says Prof. Mustafa Osman, Professor of Law in New Generation university, Hargeisa Campus.

Price of diesel to soar

Several factors could impact just how much fuel prices rise, with apparent examples are the need both specialized oil refinery and shipping for low Sulfur fuels which will push the fuel prices to soar.

“Transportation and Petroleum industries should plan for increasing volatility in the market as this new standard to apply”, said Prof. Abdishakur Mohamed, Professor at the Alpha University College.

Reuters reported that there are upcoming three new oil refineries in the region, specialized for the production of the low Sulfur fuels. Two refineries are in the United Arab Emirates, ADNOC and Aramco-Sinopec, and the third one in Saudi Arabia, SATORP.

Currently, these refineries are supplying to Europe as the majority of Asian countries outside of Japan and South Korea are still using higher sulfur fuels.

Diesel Fuel Sulfur Levels: Global Status

Sulfur contents in fuel vary dramatically across the world. While many developed countries such as USA, EU, Japan, South Korea, and Russia have already set standards for sulfur levels in diesel as low as 10 parts per million (ppm), sulfur levels in some developing countries can be as high as 10,000 ppm.

United Nations Environment Program, UNEP, has been pushing African nations to ban fuels that have been illegal in Europe and the United States for years due to what they say are significant health problems associated with sulfur emissions – particularly in dense urban areas.