EP Petroecuador begins marketing the new 89-octane Ecoplus gasoline in the provinces of Guayas, Esmeraldas and Los Ríos

This Petroecuador release was published using machine translation.

This August 25, 2022, the National Government, through the Petroecuador Public Company, began the implementation of the Pilot Plan for the commercialization of the new 89-octane Ecoplus gasoline, in the provinces of Guayas, Esmeraldas and Los Ríos, with a reference price retail price of USD 3.89 per gallon.

This act was attended by the Governor of Guayas, Lorenzo Calvas; the Vice Minister of Hydrocarbons (E), Roberto Semanate; the representative of EP Petroecuador, Stalin Salgado; the Hydrocarbons Coordinator, Gabriel Díaz; the Executive Director of the Ecuadorian Biofuels Association (Apale), Gustavo Heinert, and representatives of the country's trading companies.

The dispatch of this new gasoline to the different service stations was carried out on Monday, August 22, from the Pascuales Clean Products Terminal, in Guayas and at the Esmeraldas Refinery, facilities where the gasoline and ethanol mixture process is carried out for the production of the 89 octane Ecoplus. This fuel will be made with 92% 85.5 octane gasoline and 8% ethanol, a high-octane biofuel, zero sulfur and non-polluting.

The public oil company has scheduled an estimated dispatch of 7,000 barrels per week from the Pascuales Clean Products Terminal and 4,500 barrels per week from the Esmeraldas Refinery.

The representative of the General Manager of EP Petroecuador, Stalin Salgado, highlighted: "This is a historic event in the hydrocarbon sector, today we launch this new Ecoplus gasoline with 89 octane, which has 200 parts per million (pmm) of sulfur, is friendly to environment and better quality. The National Government has sought to offer better quality fuels for the benefit of consumers” .

80 gas stations from different marketing brands in the country participate in this Pilot Plan, which are located in the provinces of Guayas, Esmeraldas and Los Ríos.

To calculate the price of the new gasoline, the reference price of WTI is considered plus the supplier's margin of USD 0.07/gallon and the marketing margin (reference) 30% additional to Extra and Ecopaís gasoline. The retail price of this fuel is released and will vary monthly on the 11th of each month, in accordance with the provisions of the Hydrocarbon Derivatives Pricing Regulation.

For his part, the Executive Director of the Association of Biofuels of Ecuador (Apale), Gustavo Heinert, said: "We are proud to be present at this important event that benefits the country, today it is confirmed that gasoline is planted in Ecuador, the new fuel has 8% ethanol, which allows generating jobs in the agricultural, craft and industrial sectors. We applaud the decision of the National Government and EP Petroecuador to bring this gasoline to market” .

Ecoplus 89 octane gasoline has around 200 parts per million (ppm) of sulfur, while the INEN standard requires a maximum of 650 ppm, this means a reduction in acid gas emissions into the atmosphere. In addition, this fuel offers the customer the opportunity to have a better gasoline than the extra one with ethanol.

The Governor of Guayas, Lorenzo Calvas, pointed out: “Today the Pilot Plan for the commercialization of the new Ecoplus 89 gasoline begins, the price of fuels will not increase and Extra and Ecopaís gasolines will continue to be commercialized throughout the country. This gasoline is friendly to the environment, it is agricultural and natural, it has more octane than other fuels and allows imports to be reduced, thus promoting the country's economy” .

At the moment, EP Petroecuador carries out the dispatch and commercialization of Extra and Ecopaís gasoline on a national scale, with a fixed price of USD 2.40 per gallon.