Five African countries introduce regulations against dirty diesel
Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Nigeria and Benin will reject shipments of high-sulfur diesel  from Europe and will introduce stricter fuel standards in line with European nations, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. Earlier this year, Swiss advocacy group Public Eye published a report on Swiss trading firms dumping the dirtiest fuels on African nations. However, a source in the oil and gas industry questioned whether there is enough cleaner diesel produced in Europe to meet the demand, or whether the countries could afford cleaner diesel.
African nations have a very specific problem when it comes to dealing with emissions from diesel vehicles.

Because of lax emissions standards, traders import fuel to these countries that is too dirty for sale elsewhere.

But now a handful of African nations are taking a stand against this.

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Last week, five African countries—Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Nigeria, and Benin—announced they would reject shipments of high sulfur diesel fuel from Europe, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

These countries are introducing stricter standards requiring low-sulfur fuels, and demanding that they receive the same quality of fuel offered to European nations.

Nigeria, for one, is cutting the legally-acceptable amount of sulfur in fuels from 3,000 parts per million to 50 parts per million.

Gas pump

The report (pdf) was based on three years of research into the African fuel trade that included sampling fuel directly from pumps in eight countries.

Researchers found that samples contained up to 378 times the sulfur permitted under European regulations.

MORE: Diesels Still Needed For Truck Fuel Economy Despite VW Scandal: Advocate



Swiss trading firms often produce dirtier grades of fuel—known as "African Quality"—themselves, and then distribute it through fuel stations they control, according to the report.

While these fuels are intended for sale in Africa, they are produced in the "ARA (Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp) Zone" in Europe, where many of the trading firms have refineries.

This means West African nations that export high-quality crude oil often receive low-quality fuels with high levels of pollutants in return.

Chrome exhaust pipe

The U.S.-based Diesel Technology Forum advocacy group applauded the move, noting that the U.S. diesel industry still thrives under the strict standards currently in place here.

"The five African nations that recognize the opportunity for bringing in cleaner technology and the need for ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, will move forward," said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum.

But actually implementing the ban on high-sulfur diesel fuel could prove difficult.

"It’s not clear their populations can afford the cleaner diesel, or that is there enough cleaner diesel [produced in Europe] to meet that demand," a source in the oil and gas industry with experience in Africa said.

African nations may also lack the infrastructure to enforce a ban, as many cannot locally test fuels for compliance.

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