Azerbaijan to consider new standards for diesel fuel

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources is considering new quality standards for manufacturing diesel fuel designed by the Yusif Mammadaliyev Petrochemical Institute. Upon approval by the Ecology Ministry, the standards will be sent to the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), which manages the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery Plant (ORP) in the city of Baku. Thereafter, the new standards will be considered at the country’s State Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Patent. Presently, diesel fuel oil is manufactured in Azerbaijan based on GOST standards, which were established during the Soviet period and is currently maintained by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)-based Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC). The new quality standards will set sulfur content in diesel oil at 0.1%. The Heydar Aliyev refinery already produces fuel with a sulfur content of 0.05 to 0.065%, lower than the proposed standard. (May 15, 2009)