36 Petrolimex stores in Ho Chi Minh City start selling E10 gasoline

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Buying and selling gasoline and oil at Petrolimex gasoline business point. Photo: Tran Viet/VNA

A representative of Petrolimex Saigon (Petrolimex Saigon) said that, up to this point, all Petrolimex stores in Ho Chi Minh City (old) have stopped selling E5 bio-fuel and switched to selling E10 bio-fuel.
According to Petrolimex Saigon, on the first day of the pilot sale of E10 gasoline, some customers such as taxis, technology cars, and blue license plate cars of administrative and public service units signed contracts positively received this biofuel product line that helps reduce emissions. However, some individual customers, when consulted, requested to switch to buying RON95 mineral gasoline because they wanted to consult more opinions from colleagues who had used it.
According to Mr. Tran Ngoc Nam - Member of the Board of Directors, Deputy General Director of Petrolimex, Petrolimex will pilot the sale of E10 bio-fuel from August 1 at petrol stations in the Petrolimex system in Ho Chi Minh City (old) to assess market response, consumer behavior and the technical response level of the distribution system, thereby helping Petrolimex successfully deploy it throughout the system.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Nam also said that the E10 gasoline business requires serious preparation of infrastructure, technology, specialized tanks for fuel alcohol and close coordination from oil refineries. Therefore, Petrolimex proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade soon issue instructions on the implementation progress, so that key traders can proactively invest and convert technical systems, and at the same time propose to adjust some current technical standards to suit the mineral gasoline sources on the international market and similar to the technical standard requirements in the region.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bui Ngoc Bao, Chairman of the Vietnam Petroleum Association, said that there needs to be a specific roadmap with a minimum preparation time of 6 months for businesses to deploy the sale of E10 biofuel gasoline nationwide. In addition, the Government needs to soon announce the draft decision to replace Decision No. 53/2012/QD-TTg dated November 22, 2012 of the Prime Minister "on promulgating the roadmap for applying the blending ratio of biofuels with traditional fuels" to solicit public opinions, focusing on amending a number of inappropriate regulations related to the petroleum market and product quality, on petroleum business management, standards for E10 gasoline, etc.
With the state-owned enterprise holding the second largest market share of petroleum in Vietnam after Petrolimex, Chairman of the Vietnam Oil Corporation (PVOIL) Cao Hoai Duong said that in September, PVOIL will pilot the sale of E10 bio-fuel in some areas. PVOIL's Board of Directors has also approved the investment plan to upgrade and repair all bio-fuel blending systems at PVOIL's main warehouses, transit warehouses, and production facilities to meet PVOIL's E10 gasoline business needs. In addition, PVOIL is also ready to blend for small wholesalers who do not want to invest in bio-fuel blending systems. PVOIL will also buy from some domestic Ethanol factories and import from abroad to ensure the source of Ethanol for blending E10 bio-fuel.
According to the Chairman of PVOIL, in the coming time, the management agency will also issue E10 bio-fuel standards and E10 gasoline blending enterprises such as PVOIL will produce products based on these standards. In addition, PVOIL is carrying out procedures for certification of conformity with E10 bio-fuel blending facilities to prepare for selling E10 bio-fuel on the market. By January 1, 2026, PVOIL is ready to switch to producing and trading E10 gasoline throughout the system in accordance with the direction of the Prime Minister.
In order to effectively implement the roadmap for blending and using E10 gasoline as planned, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has also requested relevant units to develop synchronous groups of solutions such as: Supporting domestic Ethanol prices to stabilize supply and reduce the cost of E5/E10 gasoline; perfecting the system of standards and technical regulations for E10 gasoline; strengthening community communication; encouraging businesses to expand the biofuel distribution system, especially in rural, mountainous and island areas.