China’s Shanxi province will launch E10 in selected cities this year before introducing the ethanol blend across the province from the start of 2020, local media report.

The first cities to get E10 are Taiyuan, Yangquan, Changzhi and Jincheng.

The demand for gasoline in Shanxi next year is estimated to stand at 3.75 million tonnes. At a 10% share, this translate into 375,000 tonnes of ethanol.

Thousands of gas stations are being prepared for the introduction of the ethanol blend, while China Petrochemical Co and China National Petroleum Co have been tasked with building distribution centres. These are to be completed by end-2019, according to local media.

In the autumn of 2017, the Chinese government announced a nationwide E10 mandate by 2020. Demand for ethanol as a result of this move is seen to reach up to 15 million tonnes per year. A portion of that is expected to come from imports as Chinese capacity will not be enough.

 

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