MOTORISTS will have to dig deeper in their pockets for low-sulphur diesel.
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart made this clear yesterday when he officially opened the “green” maintenance facility
of the Barbados National Oil Company Limited (BNOCL) at Woodbourne in St Philip.
Stuart indicated that initial commodity costs, as well as freight charges, would put the price of low-sulphur diesel
at the pump a lot higher than what motorists now pay for diesel with a high sulphur content.
The Prime Minister was reacting to charges from vehicle importers, as well as motorists, that diesel quality was below grade and unsuitable for some luxury vehicles.
He said Government had “instructed the BNOCL to examine the feasibility of importing the low-sulphur diesel” and the company had started the exercise.
However, he pointed out that “there are myriad challenges that must be overcome in order for BNOCL” to make the change.
Neither the company nor the gas stations have the infrastructure to carry both high- and low-sulphur diesel, so they would have to build new infrastructure, he explained. (TY)
