An approach that treats fuels and vehicles as one system to achieve cleaner air has seen major projects in fuel improvement and harmonisation bearing fruit across Africa in the past year says Joël Dervain, Executive-Secretary of the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARA).
The ARA, voice of the African continent’s downstream oil sector, holds its annual meeting, ARA WEEK, at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town on March 23-27 2020.
The theme of the conference this year is “Towards Cleaner Fuels for Cleaner Air” and leading oil professionals – speakers and delegates – will be focusing on the petroleum industry’s continued improvement of its fuel quality, in line with modern vehicle technology and regulatory structures to improve air quality, public health and economic development.
The impact of energy transition policies towards a lower carbon environment on the downstream petroleum industry will also be high on the stakeholders’ agenda.
Mr Dervain says: “This last year has seen some exciting projects on fuel improvement and harmonisation coming to fruition across Africa. Governments are increasingly aware that fuels and vehicles must be treated as one system to help move towards cleaner air, and that regional harmonisation is essential to achieve our objectives.
“But, more importantly, downstream players, across the sector and the continent, now have the confidence to make the necessary investments to improve the downstream landscape: to supply clean fuels, reduce product imports, improve the logistic infrastructure, better our environmental performance and to develop our greatest asset – human capital, particularly of women and our young people.”
