Sinopec to spend 30 billion yuan a year to improve gasoline quality

China’s state-owned oil giant Sinopec said that it will spend as much as 30 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion) a year to improve its gasoline quality, amidst public criticism that it is largely responsible for the recent heavy pollution that hit several Chinese cities.
 
Sinopec however, blames the national gasoline sulfur standard. “Without better standard, improved equipments are impossible,” Sinopec Chairman Fu Yucheng said. He added that the company is taking its gasoline standard a notch higher and welcomes supervision from media.
 
Beijing and several cities in north China’s provinces were enveloped in fog and haze in January as measures of PM2.5, fine particles believed to pose the largest health risks, classified air quality as “hazardous”, sometimes “beyond index”.
 
The government has required an upgrade of oil sulfur standards starting 2013. However, higher oil standards will increase refining cost and therefore, higher oil prices, which would add financial pressure on customers. Some analysts say that this may hinder the government’s stepped up improvement and implementation of policies. (February 1, 2013)