In a move to reduce expensive imports of oil derivatives, Mozambique will replace the consumption of diesel with 500 to 50ppm (part per million) of sulphur by 2020, Club of Mozambique reported.

The National Director of Hydrocarbons and Fuels, Moises Paulino, said that the governments of Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries intend to implement a program to reduce the level of sulphur in fuel. Accordingly, producers and refineries will stop producing 500ppm diesel or eliminate it completely, making only diesel with 50 to 10ppm, in recognition of the growing need to take public health into consideration and preserve the environment at the global level, informed All Africa.

Due to its geo-strategic positioning, Mozambique has the infrastructure which supplies fuels to the countries of the region (Malawi, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe and a part of South Africa), as it receives fuel via ocean ports and then distributes it to SADC member countries. Therefore, the Mozambican Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME) and the United Nations Environment Organization (UNEP) organized a meeting in Maputo early November to discuss the harmonization of fuel specifications and reducing high sulphur content fuel in SADC countries, sulphur being one of the main environmental pollutants and a cause of lung cancer and respiratory diseases. At the seminar, countries plan to ensure that in the next two to five years the existing infrastructure is ready to receive the fuel with 50 to 10ppm, with a view to protecting the environment and ensuring longer vehicle life.