June 6, 2013
Translated by Zhu Na

Starting from next month the minimum quality of diesel sold across China will be lifted to "National Standard III" (國三標準), the equivalent of Euro III standards, according to a report in yesterday's Beijing News.

The paper reported that most refineries owned by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Sinopec have the capacity to produce diesel that's in keeping with the new standard and that the companies are prepared to meet the July 1 switch over.

Privately-owned refineries, however, might find it difficult to overcome the technological and funding challenges they face in meeting the new standards.

Diesel sold by the two state-owned oil giants to most provinces in the country already meet the new national standard, but some regions in the northwest and southwest of the country are still supplied with lower quality diesel. Much of this diesel is used in industry, infrastructure, mining and thermal power generation.

Diesel sold in Beijing and Shanghai already meets "National Standard VI" and "National Standard V" respectively.  

One of the main differences between "National Standard III" diesel and the current standard is the level of sulphur in the fuel.

"National Standard II" diesel has a sulphur content of over 2,000 parts per million (ppm), but the sulphur content in "National Standard III" diesel cannot exceed 350 ppm.

Reducing the sulphur content of fuel will help to lower emissions and improve air quality.

The Beijing News also reported that the price of diesel did not go up in places like Fujian province which have already adopted the new standard.

Links and Sources
Beijing News: 國三柴油標準7月起全面啟用