PORTLAND, Ore. -- BP has announced the availability of a new lower-sulfur premium gasoline at its Oregon Arco-branded outlets that will help improve the region’s air quality. It introduced the product at 145 Arco-branded stations in Washington State’s Puget Sound region in early November.
The newly formulated fuel is expected to reduce nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions from motor vehicles by about four percent. That reduction will help prevent the release of about .037 tons of NOx--equivalent to removing 850 cars off area roadways every day, said the oil company.
“This announcement is a big step forward in the effort to improve our air quality,” said Andy Ginsberg, administrator of the Air Quality Division of Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality. “We welcome this initiative.”
BP is introducing Lower-Sulfur Premium at 58 Arco stations in Oregon. As BP refineries convert their operations to produce additional lower-sulfur fuel, the company expects to have lower-sulfur gas available in all grades. Current production is focused on serving major cities with air pollution concerns.
“Vehicle emissions have a negative impact on the quality of the air we breathe,” said Warden Minor, president and CEO of the American Lung Association of Oregon. “A program like this helps curb the problem at its source--cleaner vehicle exhaust means better air for all of us. BP should be congratulated for taking this first step and I challenge the other fuel suppliers to follow their lead.”
BP’s new fuel features a sulfur level that is 80 percent below the estimated national average, significantly lowering the level of harmful NOx emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established federal limits aimed at reducing gasoline sulfur levels by 2006. BP’s Lower- Sulfur Premium, with a sulfur content of 30 parts per million (ppm), meets EPA requirements four years early, claimed the company.
“BP is committed to providing energy sources that help reduce NOx emissions while continuing to provide the fuels that will ensure future mobility for everyone,” said Don Strenk, Arco’s retail regional vice president. “This lower-sulfur fuel is evidence that cleaner energy business needs can be met economically while also helping to reduce environmental impact.”
The reduction in sulfur does not impact the quality of the gasoline, BP said. Motorists who use the lower-sulfur premium will notice no change in vehicle performance from the previous Arco premium. Despite the added expense of converting refineries to produce the lower-sulfur fuel, the price of the new premium gas will remain the same as before the lower-sulfur initiative.
BP operates approximately 1,800 Arco-branded gasoline stations and ampm convenience stores in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. BP, through its Arco brand, is the No. 1 marketer of gasoline on the West Coast and is one of the largest retailers of gasoline in the U.S., it says.
