Bermuda's air quality and environment are set to benefit from the latest low sulphur diesel fuel which hit gas station forecourts across the Island this week.

The Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel Fuel, which is currently being introduced to gas stations by Shell and Esso in conjunction with Rubis Energy Bermuda, offers improved air quality through the reduction in greenhouse gas and particulate emissions from road transport, while drivers will see an improvement in engine performance via the oil companies' high level additive packages.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Government could be set to have a overhaul of its waste disposal trucks and public transport buses in a bid to move fully over to vehicles designed specifically to take the new fuel.

The new fuel was officially unveiled at a presentation by David Rose, general manager of Rubis, and Ralph Cherrillo, fuels technical advisor for Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc., who later faced questions from the audience, during the session held at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute on Tuesday evening.

Mr. Rose opened the meeting by explaining that the fuel was actually put into gas stations Island-wide on Friday, but he anticipates it will take two to three weeks before sulphur levels reach the required amount of less than 15 parts per million.

In the main part of the speech, Mr. Cherrillo outlined why the transition from Low Sulphur to Ultra Low Sulphur Fuel had come about, in a bid to meet Government mandates on diesel emissions to address air quality improvements and the negative impacts of harmful toxins, Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), Carbon Monoxide and Particulate Matter (PM).

Also new diesel vehicles made in 2007 and later require the Ultra Low Sulphur Fuel to run, while older vehicles can still use the new fuel to operate and, in fact, will achieve reduced emissions of NOx and PM without the need to retrofit, repower or replace them, he said.

Among some of the benefits it offers, Mr. Cherillo said, were that it would enable post-2007 model year diesel engines to meet the most stringent exhaust emissions regulations, while ensuring good efficiency and durability.

He said that issues over the new fuel were well-known and understood due to a number of worldwide markets such as the EU, Australia, the US and Canada, and Japan having already moved over to using it, helping to address such problems as seal leaks experienced when swithcing between different fuel types and in older vehicles with nitrile seals.

Mr. Cherrillo concluded by saying that no problems were expected based on experience to date from markets that transitioned earlier, supported by advance field trials and post transition monitoring, while any static dissipation and lubricity issues could be easily compensate for with additives.

"We have been dealing with Government over their fleets such as garbage trucks and the bus system and they have money in their budgets to buy new generation vehicles," he said.