CARIBBEAN PETROLEUM UPDATE is a monthly Bulletin which highlights petroleum issues affecting or

relevant to the Caribbean, international developments that may affect the region’s way of life and movements in oil prices and retail prices for fuel regionally.

Diesel vehicles manufactured after 2006 use a Particulate Filter which traps the particles of soot

in the exhaust coming from the engine.

STEP 1: the filter traps the tiny particles of soot in the ex-haust fumes.

STEP 2: The filter uses a sensor that measures back pres-sure, or the force required to push the exhaust gases out of the engine and through to the tailpipes.

STEP 3: As the soot particles in the particulate filter accumu-late, the back pressure in the exhaust system increases. When the pressure builds to a certain point, the sensor tells the engine management computer to inject more fuel into the engine. This causes heat to build up in the front of the filter, which burns up the accumulated soot particles. The entire cycle occurs within a few minutes and is undetectable by the vehicle's driver.

Source: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/how-clean-diesel-fuel-works1.htm

CONTACT US

Caribbean Energy Information System Scientific Research Council

Hope Gardens, Kingston 6, Jamaica

1-876-927-1779 (Telephone)

1-876-977-1840 (Fax)

ceis@src-jamaica.org www.ceis-caribenergy.org continued on page 2/

D iesel is the most widely used petroleum based fuel in the

Caribbean. Although not the most environmentally friendly

fuel, it keeps the Caribbean economies moving. From

movement of goods, to the generation of electric power, to

transportation of people, to increased efficiency on farms, diesel fuel

plays a vital role in improving the standard of living within the region.

Over the years technological advancement focused on reducing emis-

sions has aided the development of a new grade or standard of diesel.

This new grade of diesel referred to as Ultra-low-sulphur diesel

(USLD) is a new standard proposed by United States Environmental

Protection Agency - EPA for the sulphur content in on road diesel fuel.

Although this type of diesel fuel is not an alternative fuel,

it provides important environmental and fuel saving bene-

fits especially when produced from non-petroleum and

renewable resources. USLD enables the use of advanced

emission control technologies (catalytic converters and

particulate traps) to reduce or eliminate pollutants to the

environment such as Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Particu-

late Matter (PM).

All diesel vehicles can use Ultra-low-sulphur diesel. However, diesel

vehicles manufactured after 2006 are specifically designed to use

ULSD. Caribbean countries do not currently import and use USLD.

Caribbean Energy Information System (CEIS)

May 2011

page 2 Call: 1-876-927-1779 | Caribbean Petroleum Update : May 2011

C A R I B B E A N E N E R G Y I N F O R M A T I O N S Y S T E M ( C E I S )

IMPLICATIONS OF USING REGULAR DIESEL IN VEHICLES MANUFACTURED AFTER 2006

continued from page 1/

However, these countries have seen an increase in imports of

diesel vehicles manufactured after 2006. What does this mean

for consumers?

Using regular diesel in these vehicles can affect their perform-

ance and the emission control technologies with which they are

built. This can cause serious damage to the engines thereby

voiding the Manufacturer’s warranty or preventing the vehicle

from operating.

The efficiency and durability of these vehicles can be affected

if regular diesel is used.

Continued use of high sulfur diesel fuel increases the risk of

health problems in the Caribbean, some of which include brain

damage, asthma or other lung related problems.

Diesel emissions such as SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide) are contribut-

ing to Global warming, and are therefore of concern.

The accompanying table shows the comparison in terms of

parts per million mass (PPM) and retail pump prices for the

different Diesel standards.

What do you think about this Issue? Share your thoughts with us at

ceis@src-jamaica.org

Petroleum

News & Happenings

Sagres Energy seeking joint-venture partner to explore for Ja-

maican oil >> 27/4/2011

Fuel prices rise for second week.>> 27/4/2011

Bahamas oil exploration company confident it will start drilling

in 2012.>> 21/4/2011

PetroCaribe surplus growth slows .>> 20/4/2011

Cuba, partners to drill 5 Gulf wells this summer.>> 6/4/2011

Chavez wants Barbados to sign PetroCaribe .>> 5/4/2011

Chevron completes sale of Caribbean business .>> 5/4/2011

No Total takeover.>> 3/4/2011

Note: - The Cetane rating for diesel used in the Caribbean ranges

between 38 and 50.

- On average within the Caribbean, diesel fuel at the

pumps is at 5000 PPM as compared to USLD which is at

15 PPM.

As seen above, the retail price for USLD is even lower than for

regular diesel. This means that imports of USLD to the Caribbean

should not result in any additional cost for the fuel itself and no

special storage is required. Should the Caribbean make the switch?

Why hasn’t that happen you may ask? Well the answer is simple,

only a few refineries currently produce USLD and therefore

accessing the fuel in the volumes required can be problematic for

Caribbean importers.

Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica are the only two CARICOM

countries that currently produce diesel. However the Cetane rating

(38 – 45) for the diesel produced by Trinidad ranges between 800

PPM and 1000 PPM while in Jamaica regular diesel produced with

Cetane rating (45 - 50) has 3000 PPM. Both refineries are not

currently equipped to produce USLD and facilitating this would

require large investments. Trinidad and Tobago is currently up-

grading the Petrotrin Refinery for production of USLD. This is

expected to be completed by June 2012 with a production target of

40,000 barrels per day. If this gets off the ground it can only be of

benefit to the region as the demand for diesel has been increasing.

Ultra-Low-Sulphur

Diesel

15 maximum Europe, USA,

Canada, USVI

$1.04 (Source: EIA, USA)

Low-Sulphur

Diesel

500 less Canada,

Australia et. al

$1.19 (Source: Gas Buddy,

Canada)

Regular Diesel 500 higher Caribbean et. al $1.20 (Source: CEIS,

Caribbean)

Diesel Type PPM

Where Used? Avg Retail Price per litre

May 30, 2011 (US$)

Caribbean Petroleum Update : May 2011 | Call: 1-876-927-1779 page 3

C A R I B B E A N E N E R G Y I N F O R M A T I O N S Y S T E M ( C E I S )

REGULAR UNLEADED GASOLINE AVERAGE PRICES AT THE PUMP

January - May 2011

Despite efforts by some Caribbean Governments to cushion the impact of increases in International Crude Oil prices, Carib-

bean Consumers continue to see challenging increases in retail fuel prices at the pumps.

Table 1 and Chart 1 below provide a synopsis of the average prices seen for Regular Unleaded Gasoline.

.

NOTE:

*US Gallon = 3.785 L

*Imperial Gallon = 4.546 L

*As at November 1, 2009

MTBE was phased out from

all gasoline blends in Ja-

maica and replaced with

10% Ethanol.

CHART 1

See prices for other products at See prices for other products at See prices for other products at www.ceiswww.ceiswww.ceis---caribenergy.orgcaribenergy.orgcaribenergy.org ...

Table 1: Unleaded Gasoline: Regular : Average Retail Price – January - May (US$/Litre)

2011

COUNTRIES JAN FEB MAR APR MAY AVG

ANTIGUA/ BARBUDA 1.00 1.00 1.07 1.15 1.25 1.09

BAHAMAS [91 OCT] 1.24 1.25 1.30 1.46 1.47 1.35

BARBADOS 1.47 1.48 1.49 1.59 1.59 1.53

BELIZE [87 OCT] 1.33 1.34 1.48 1.50 1.54 1.44

B.V.I. [87 OCT] 1.12 1.13 1.20 1.26 1.26 1.20

DOMINICA 1.01 1.05 1.06 1.11 1.21 1.09

GRENADA (95 OCT) 1.05 1.06 1.17 1.23 1.29 1.16

GUYANA 0.99 0.99 1.06 1.08 1.08 1.04

JAMAICA (87 OCT[E10]) 1.17 1.18 1.25 1.28 1.29 1.23

MONTSERRAT 1.13 1.14 1.18 1.27 1.38 1.22

ST. KITTS/ NEVIS 1.04 1.07 1.20 1.13 1.14 1.11

ST. LUCIA 1.14 1.14 1.16 1.22 1.27 1.18

ST. VINCENT/GRENADINES 0.99 0.98 1.00 1.06 1.10 1.02

SURINAME [95 OCT] 1.21 1.32 1.34 1.47 1.55 1.38

TRINIDAD/TOBAGO [92 OCT] 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42

TURKS/CAICOS 1.36 1.36 1.42 1.42 1.45 1.40

page 4 Call: 1-876-927-1779 | Caribbean Petroleum Update : May 2011

C A R I B B E A N E N E R G Y I N F O R M A T I O N S Y S T E M ( C E I S )

Over the four-month period (February - May)

International Crude Oil prices for the most part,

remained above the US$100/BBL mark for the

last two months. The highest price (US$119.42/

BBL) seen over the period was in the third week

of April. This resulted in uncertainties in retail

prices for refined petroleum products in most

Caribbean Countries where prices were already

on the increase. As compared to the record oil

price year of 2008, the highest price seen over

this period was approximately 19% lower than

the highest price of approximately US$147/BBL

seen during that year.

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US$/B

BL

103.54

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