HANOI, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- All cities and provinces in Vietnam will stop selling RON 92 gasoline (advertised as A92), and start selling 5-percent bio-ethanol (E5) nationwide from Jan. 1, 2018, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said on Tuesday.
Now, there are two kinds of gasoline available in the Vietnamese market, including A92 and RON 95 (advertised as A95). Next year, only A95 and E5 will be sold, in a move to help ensure energy security and environmental protection.
E5 has been sold in seven Vietnamese provinces since late 2014, and the biofuel has proved to be safe to vehicles' engines, said officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Three ethanol plants, in central Quang Nam province and the two southern provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc, will produce a total of 20,000-30,000 cubic meters of bio-ethanol each month, a sufficient amount for making biofuels, according to the Vietnam Biofuels Association.
Vietnam plans to resume operation of Dung Quat Ethanol Plant in central Quang Ngai province in the near future. It will produce 6,000-7,000 cubic meters of ethanol each month.
Now, retail prices of one liter of E5 are 900 Vietnamese dong (nearly 4 U.S. cents) lower than those of A95. If the price difference increases to some 1,500 Vietnamese dong (nearly 7 U.S. cents), around 80 percent of A92 users will opt for E5, according to calculation of a major Vietnamese oil and gas trader.
Over 50 countries in the world have used biofuels to replace fossil fuels, Vietnamese experts said, noting that biofuels are less expensive, produce less greenhouse gases, and help ensure energy security.
