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Fuel Regulations

Brazil: Diesel Fuel

Overview

Brazilian diesel fuel specifications are established by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP—Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis). The following were some of the important steps in the evolution of diesel fuels in Brazil:

  • From December 2001, ANP Resolution 310/2001 defined the specifications for two types of on-road diesel fuel: Metropolitan and Interior. Metropolitan diesel fuel was the only diesel fuel permitted for sale in a number of cities in Brazil (first to those cities with poor air quality then to cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants) and limited sulfur to 2000 mg/kg. Interior diesel fuel was intended for the other parts of the country and had a sulfur limit of 3500 mg/kg.
  • In December 2005, ANP Resolution 12/2005 [2925] introduced a third type of diesel fuel, S500, which had a sulfur limit of 500 mg/kg. It replaced Metropolitan diesel fuel in a number of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Campinas, Baixada Santista, Sao Jose dos Campos, Belo Horizonte and Vale do Aço.
  • In July 2006, a new diesel fuel specification was introduced, ANP Resolution 15/2006 [2926], that replaced ANP Resolution 310/2001. The S500 type of diesel fuel was dropped but the sulfur limits of Metropolitan and Interior diesel fuels were lowered to 500 and 2000 mg/kg respectively. It also required the sulfur limits for Metropolitan and Interior Diesel fuel to drop to 50 and 500 mg/kg to coincide with the introduction of exhaust emission standards equivalent to Euro 4 in 2009. The goal of introducing 50 mg/kg sulfur diesel in Metropolitan diesel was not achieved as planned for January 2009 due to technical problems at refineries and with the automotive industry. The delay meant than light-duty diesel L-4 and heavy-duty diesel P-5 emission limits remained in effect until the end of 2012 and 2011 respectively—effectively skipping the L-5 and P-6 stages.
  • In November 2008, CONAMA (National Council on the Environment) issued resolution 403/2008 which required ANP to develop a fuel standard to enable the introduction of diesel fuel with a 10 mg/kg maximum sulfur limit (S10) by January 1, 2012.
  • In October 2009, ANP Resolution 31/2009 [2927] defined fuel quality with a maximum sulfur limit of 10 mg/kg (S10) for use in on-road heavy-duty diesel vehicles certified to PROCONVE P-7 emission standards. The fuel was to be commercially available January 1, 2013.
  • In December 2009, ANP Resolution 42/2009 [2928] replaced the Interior and Metropolitan grades of diesel fuel defined in ANP Resolution 15/2006 with S50 (50 mg/kg sulfur), S500 (500 mg/kg sulfur) and S1800 (1800 mg/kg sulfur). It also required S50 to be sold exclusively in a number of metropolitan areas in the states of Pará, Ceará and Pernambuco; in bus fleets in the municipalities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Curtiba and in urban bus fleets in many cities in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Numerous other Brazilian cities were required to exclusively sell S500. S1800 could be used in other parts of the country but would be phased out by January 1, 2014 and replaced with S500.
  • In September 2010, ANP Resolution 33/2010 [2929] delayed the switch to S500 in some municipalities by up to 15 months.
  • In October 2011, a consultation was held to establish a new national fuel standard that includes an S10 grade. The proposal would (1) require Type B (containing biodiesel) S50 in many municipalities that previously required S50, (2) replace S50 with S10 starting January 1, 2013 and (3) require numerous states and municipalities to switch from S1800 to S500.
  • In December 2011, ANP Resolution 65/2011[2930] established new national requirements for diesel fuel and revoked ANP Resolutions 31/2009 and 42/2009. The new Resolution defined 4 grades of diesel fuel (S10, S50, S500 and S1800) and specified the phase-in requirements for different regions of the country. It also required the municipalities and fleets currently using A and B S50 to switch to A and B S10 starting January 1, 2013. It also required the replacement of B S1800 with B S500 starting January 1, 2014.
  • ANP 65/2011 also addressed nonroad applications: marketing of B S1800 was authorized to some customers with on-site fuel storage and where the application was for electricity generation, rail or open pit mining. Other nonroad applications such as agriculture, construction and industrial users would be required to follow the same fuel requirements as on-road users.
  • ANP 50/2013 [3129] completed the phase-out of S50 and S1800 for on-road applications by limiting the grades of diesel fuel available to S10 (A and B) and S500 (A and B) starting January 1, 2014. S500 is to be marketed nationwide with the exception of a few cities where only S10 will be available. S10 is also required by many urban bus fleets and in PROCONVE L-6 and P-7 diesel vehicles.

Brazil also has aggressive policies to promote the use of renewable fuels.

Specifications