b5 bio

Starting from July 1, all petrol stations in the country will be selling B5 biodiesel, when the Government mandate for the fuel comes into effect, according to reports.

The announcement was made earlier in the week by Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas, who said that all 3,877 stations in the country will sell the fuel from then.

The palm oil-based B5 biodiesel – a blend of 95% petroleum diesel and 5% palm oil biodiesel – programme began on June 1, 2011, when six stations in Putrajaya began selling the fuel. It was then introduced in Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Kuala Lumpur the same year, with Johor following suit in July last year.

Coverage was extended to the Eastern Region comprising Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan in February, and now the programme has arrived in the Northern Region - the sector's 789 stations in Perak, Kedah, Perlis and Penang will implement the mandate this month. The final phase of the B5 programme will be take place in July, when it is implemented in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, according to Embas.

Following the nationwide introduction of B5 biodiesel, the government is set to mandate the use of B7 biodiesel – which increases the percentage of palm oil biodiesel in the blend to 7% - by January 2015.