Sinopec investigates gasoline complaints
By Echo Wang |
April 22, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S largest oil refiner is investigating whether there are problems in its gasoline products which car users in central China claim are causing vehicles to stall and corroding engines.
In three Henan Province cities, Xinxiang, Anyang and Jiaozuo, owners have been lining up at offices of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, since late March seeking compensation for damaged cars.
They said the fuel systems in their cars had corroded after using Sinopec's 93-octane alcohol gasoline, China Radio International reported yesterday.
A manager with a Hyundai 4S outlet, Li Hongyu, said 1,200 such cases were reported in just 10 days. Tests on the oil they were using showed 9.8 percent manganese additive in it, 97 times higher than the national standard.
Li said this additive was used as an anti-spattering agent in gasoline but too much could corrode cars' engine components, such as piston rings.
Victim Li Qi has kept a sample of the fuel he got from a Sinopec station. The fuel was red, different from normal gas. Li said his engine started to run strangely while spouting red and black fluid after using that gans.
In early April when complaints emerged, the Anyang office of Sinopec said in a statement that the stalling was a normal reaction because the stations were shifting to use gasoline with a new kind of environmental protection additive.
The statement revealed nothing more detailed but the Anyang unit started to offer free repairs and fuel system cleans for affected cars.
An official with Sinopec at its Beijing base said yesterday the firm would not presume anything until the investigation was over.
The unnamed official said Sinopec's gasoline products in other provinces were safe.
In Hong Kong in January, more than 6,000 taxis and minibuses suffered stalling after using Sinopec's new and environmentally friendly gasoline.
In three Henan Province cities, Xinxiang, Anyang and Jiaozuo, owners have been lining up at offices of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, since late March seeking compensation for damaged cars.
They said the fuel systems in their cars had corroded after using Sinopec's 93-octane alcohol gasoline, China Radio International reported yesterday.
A manager with a Hyundai 4S outlet, Li Hongyu, said 1,200 such cases were reported in just 10 days. Tests on the oil they were using showed 9.8 percent manganese additive in it, 97 times higher than the national standard.
Li said this additive was used as an anti-spattering agent in gasoline but too much could corrode cars' engine components, such as piston rings.
Victim Li Qi has kept a sample of the fuel he got from a Sinopec station. The fuel was red, different from normal gas. Li said his engine started to run strangely while spouting red and black fluid after using that gans.
In early April when complaints emerged, the Anyang office of Sinopec said in a statement that the stalling was a normal reaction because the stations were shifting to use gasoline with a new kind of environmental protection additive.
The statement revealed nothing more detailed but the Anyang unit started to offer free repairs and fuel system cleans for affected cars.
An official with Sinopec at its Beijing base said yesterday the firm would not presume anything until the investigation was over.
The unnamed official said Sinopec's gasoline products in other provinces were safe.
In Hong Kong in January, more than 6,000 taxis and minibuses suffered stalling after using Sinopec's new and environmentally friendly gasoline.
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