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Starting in March, Brazilian state oil company Petrobras plans to extend sales of Diesel 500, a less polluting fuel than what is used at present, to all of Brazil's metropolitan areas.
This information was provided by the company's executive manager of Refining and Supply, Alan Kardec. Diesel 500 was launched by the State enterprise last May in some of the major metropolitan areas in the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais, which have high concentrations of pollutant gases. When the product is available in all the country's metropolitan areas, it will account for 25% of domestic diesel fuel consumption. Kardec informed that Diesel 500 required investments of around US$ 750 million and has a lead content 75% lower than what is now consumed in these areas, that is, 500 lead particles in each million liters (ppm), as against the present content of 2000 ppm. He went on to say that Petrobras intends to reduce this percentage even further, to 50 ppm in 2009. "To do so, we plan to invest US$ 1.77 billion over this period," he affirmed. According to Kardec, the decision to improve the quality of the product was reached by consensus at a meeting with technical personnel from the National Petroleum Agency (ANP). "We are not the only ones working to improve the quality of diesel oil. Companies are also developing engines that require reduced-lead fuel," he informed, adding that Diesel 500 is consistent with Petrobras' policy of assigning priority to social responsibility, environmental excellence, and the country's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. Agência Brasil
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