Vietnam cancels pilot sale of E5

Vietnam has suspended indefinitely the sale of gasohol E5, a 5% ethanol-blended gasoline, less than a week after it allowed two filling stations in Hanoi to test the fuel in its drive to cut fuel cost, state media reported. Deputy Trade Minister Nguyen Cam Tu said sale of the fuel would only resume after the government has established official standards for ethanol-blended products. The report said the three-month test on 50 taxis in Hanoi would help authorities determine the quality of ethanol-blended gasoline. PV Oil, the state-owned Petrovietnam’s oil-trading arm, started retailing gasohol E5 on September 15 at about 16,500 dong (US$1) per liter, 500 dong (US$0.03) cheaper than the popular 92-octane gasoline. Gasohol E5 was produced at an US$80 million plant in northern Phu Tho province using ethanol imported from Brazil and homegrown sugarcane and cassava. PV Oil planned to send the new product to other major cities including Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho in the south after the pilot sales in Hanoi. The company is also planning to build another plant with a capacity of 100,000 kiloliters in central Binh Dinh province. (August 25/September 15/21, 2008)