DHAHRAN, 12 February — A program initiated by Saudi Aramco to test the performance of gasoline engines has proved that fuel consumption is almost the same for leaded and unleaded gasoline.
The testing program was undertaken with Ricardo Consultant Engineering, an independent consultancy firm from England, in an effort to test and, if required, improve the quality of Saudi Aramco's unleaded fuel, a company white paper said.
The Kingdom successfully introduced unleaded gasoline in the market from Jan. 1 and since then Saudi Aramco's local refineries have been producing it.
The testing program also aimed at establishing quality bench marks for unleaded gasoline relative to worldwide standards. Another objective was to establish that the levels of engine exhaust emissions met environmental regulations.
With respect to fuel economy, the study revealed that fuel consumption was almost same for both leaded and unleaded gasoline. The test compared leaded gasoline from Jeddah and Riyadh refineries and unleaded gasoline from Riyadh refinery. The test was conducted over a three-day period. (SH)
