SK: Oil Barons Reject Use of ‘Greener Fuel’

The Korean oil industry is saying “No’’ to raising the eco-friendly content of biodiesel blends to 5 percent, or BD5, from the current BD0.5 approved by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE).

Their move comes after the Cheju provincial government earlier this month asked the nation’s energy companies _ SK Corporation, GS Caltex, S-Oil and Hyundai Oilbank _ whether they could produce and supply BD5 exclusively for Cheju, Korea’s southern honeymoon island, as part of its efforts to make the province environmentally friendly.
The official said that since the automobile industry, one of the nation’s biggest oil consumers, had only approved BD0.5, the problem regarding biodiesel expansion does not only remain with the oil industry.

Other issues are the costs of building separate manufacturing and storage facilities for BD5 as well as logistics.

Generally, the country’s oil companies were reluctant to produce and sell BD5 _ a blend of 5 percent biodiesel with 95 percent of petroleum _ due to their doubts over the additive fuel’s quality, performance and safeness.

Korea Times