I spotted the above device while paying for a bottle of mineral water at the BHPetrol station in Kayu Ara last week. The logo was immediately recognisable to me. I had saw it before at the WCIT 2008 where this particular company ePetrol had displayed a petrol subsidy management system at the IT conference.

At the WCIT 2008 conference, ePetrol was demonstrating a way that fuel subsidies could be controlled and given to Malaysians only. In their implementation at that time, the petrol kiosk displays and charges the unsubsidised market price for petrol by default.

When an ePetrol-enabled MyKad is inserted, the subsidised price will be available. The petrol receipt (which I saw back at the event but for some reasons did not take pix of) shows both the unsubsidised price and the subsidy given.

When I asked the person at the petrol station’s cashier what this ePetrol thingy was for, she said it had been there for over a year and was used to accept MyKad petrol purchases.

Apparently ePetrol and EON Bank launched a pilot project in September last year for 250 EON Bank customers to use their MyKad to pay for fuel purchases at certain selected BHPetrol and Caltex stations. During the pilot trial, ePetrol gave the trial users a discount of 15 sen per litre up to 150 litres a month. You can probably consider the 15 sen discount effectively a test of a potential subsidy system.

ePetrol revealed at the WCIT 2008 that its system had a subsidy management system module. The module is able to identify MyKad holders entitled to fuel subsidies, manage the amount of subsidies allocated to each consumer, controlling the frequency of the subsidy provided (weekly limits, monthly limits, etc), and managing how the subsidy is provided (lump sum each month or a percentage of each purchase).

This would mean that a technical system for a MyKad-based subsidy system to be implemented has already been undergoing testing for over a year. Now one big question mark is for the government to finalise the nitty gritty details on how to determine who gets subsidies and how much subsidies they should get. The ePetrol system will be reprogrammed, implemented in all stations (this could possibly be a costly thing), and wala! You have a subsidy system set in place.

As an example, a single Shell card terminal at the pump is able to accept credit cards, Bonuslink cards, and also their Shell fleet cards. I’m not too sure on the technicalities but existing chip-based MyKad readers at the kiosks could be probably be reprogrammed to accept MyKad in addition to the credit cards, prepaid fleet cards and loyalty cards that they currently accept.

Right now, a MyKad is activated in the ePetrol system by registering the MyKad at an ePetrol registration kiosk. This will open an ePetrol account for the MyKad holder. There will be an option for the MyKad holder to link his ePetrol account with his bank account (tested with EON Bank in the trial period). This means ePetrol bank-linked MyKads can be used as an electronic cash payment at the petrol pumps if you do not have a credit card. No more walking from your car and queuing at the cashier before getting back to your car to pump your fuel in.

I think the system is by theory technically sound, with the weak points potentially being the quality of our MyKad (always cannot be read), and the communication link between the petrol station and the ePetrol system. The subsidy management module seems flexible enough and all that needs to be done is for the government to develop a fair system that has as little loop holes as possible.

Last we heard, the system was scheduled to be implemented in May 2010.

The new Euro2M specification Caltex Diesel with Techron D has been available at Caltex stations nationwide since the 1st of September 2009. In addition to complying with the new Euro2M specifications, the Techron D additive is a new formulation which has a few benefits according to lab tests:

• Produce cleaner fuel injectors with 47% more flow resulting in 6% more power.  In a diesel engine, keeping the fuel injectors clean is critical as diesel fuel injectors are prone to deposits clogging.  Deposits can upset the injector spray pattern and hinder the fuel-air mixing process and this can result in decreased fuel economy, increased emissions and compromise engine performance. In the very latest engines, each hole in a fuel injector may be as small as the width of two human hairs. The potential for negative impact from injector deposits is increasing as diesel engines become more sophisticated.
• Protect metal surfaces against corrosion.
• Produce 83% less foam, making it easier for the diesel to be filled.

The above benefits were measured in a lab test compared to a “reference diesel” without the Techron D additive. Has anyone with a diesel vehicle tried Caltex Diesel yet, or any of the new Euro 2M diesels? How do you find it compared to the old MS123 diesel on sale before the 1st of September?

Click for enlarged image

It’s just been a month since Shell was supposed to have officially rolled out their new RON95 fuel, but now they’ve decided to introduce an updated formula.

Their fuel is now called Shell FuelSave Unleaded 95 and Shell FuelSave Unleaded 97, and Shell claims it can help motorists save up to 1 litre from every full tank – with a full tank calculated as 50 litres of course.

Savings of 1 litre out of 50 litres can be said a few ways to better help understand it. It can either be a 5% fuel saving, or an extra 10 to 12km depending on how much fuel your engine normally drinks, or RM1.80 per tank.

Shell claims the new formula contains an ingredient that is active in your engine from the moment you start using it, not just after one full tank. It’s called and Efficiency Improver and it’s designed to help lubricate engine parts where normal engine oils cannot easily reach, as the fuel comes in from the top and naturally engine oil has to fight against gravity.

I personally have not tried the fuel yet but if you decide to give it a shot please share your experiences here. I’ve actually seen the promo posters for this before the launch today so you could already have this new formula in your fuel tank if you’ve pumped a full tank in the past 2 or 3 days.

BHPetrol has launched its new BHPetrol infiniti Diesel fuel and it is now available at all service stations, which amount to over 300 currently. infiniti Diesel complies with the new Euro 2M standards, which means a maximum of 500ppm of sulphur compared to last month’s MS123 standard diesel fuel which called for a maximum of 3,000ppm of sulphur.

A Diesel Performance Additive Package from a leading chemical company is used to give infiniti Diesel anti-corrosion (for engine protection) and foam inhibitor (for easy fill-up) properties as well as improve mileage. The additive also contains a key detergent ingredient called HR-PIB or Highly Reactive Polyisobutene Succinimide which can clean deposits in the engine.

This additive package has been added to the fuel at the chemical company’s recommended maximum dose rate, which offers double the cleaning power against typical surveyed European branded diesel. This was the findings of tests on the 1.9 litre Peugeot XUD9 diesel engine, which is apparently a standard European test.

infiniti Diesel goes for the standard price of RM1.70 per litre.

Caltex officially launched their Premium 95 fuel with Techron late last month at the Caltex station in Sunway. RON95 is now available at Caltex stations nationwide. The new fuel will replace the Caltex Silver with Techron which is a RON92 fuel, and the Caltex Gold with Techron fuel will be renamed Premium 97 with Techron.

Some of you actually had some questions in the blog comments of the previous story on Caltex Techron, such as whether the local Techron formula is the same as the Techron fuel in the USA sold by Chevron. Here are some answers from Caltex:

1. Is there any difference between Techron in Premium 95 and in your RON97 fuel?

The Techron ingredient in 92, 95 or 97 is the same and gives the same level of performance in each grade.

2. Is the Techron formula for our market the same as the one used overseas in countries like the US, etc?

Yes, it’s the same formula and level of performance that was the first to be recognized as “Top Tier” by Honda, GM, Toyota, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen.

3. What properties does the Techron additive have?

Techron has been designed to provide fast & effective cleanup of the engine intake system (manifold, ports & valves) as well as the fuel metering system (fuel injectors or carburetor) and to keep those critical parts clean. It is able to clean up port fuel injectors in ONE tank.

4. I understand polyetheramine is one of the ingredients in Techron. What is polyetheramine?

Polyetheramine (PEA) is one of the main detergents in Techron. It’s designed to control intake valve deposits, port deposits and fuel metering deposits to maintain smooth engine operation, power & exhaust emissions. It accomplishes this without significantly contributing to combustion chamber deposits (CCD) unlike most other fuel additives. Low CCD helps minimize octane requirement increase which can reduce power in some vehicles equipped with knock sensors. PEA also eliminates any possibility of harm in the crankcase.

5. Any other tips on how to keep your engine clean? Is it true that once in a while you have to drive your car a little harder than usual to clean off those deposits?

Always use gasoline that contains a powerful detergent with high efficacy, like Techron, on a continuous basis. The second statement is a myth.

6. Since RON97 has been repositioned as a premium unsubsidised fuel by the government, is Caltex going to upgrade their RON97 fuel to something performance-based like V-Power?

There’s always this possibility and it greatly depends on customers’ requirements and demands.

Premium 95 with Techron had actually made its debut at the Caltex Bandar Utama station on the 5th of August 2009. It is now available at 40 Caltex stations nationwide.

Well, it’s been a few days now since the government have officially restructured the price and grade structure of our fuel. RON95 now costs RM1.80, the same price as RON97 before anyone attempted to ‘fix’ the system, while RON97 is now RM2.05.

For those of you who still want to continue pumping RON97 if your car requires the higher octane, are you having luck finding the fuel where you stay or work?

In my neighbourhood, there are only Petronas stations and one lone Shell whose fuel pumps are really slow. So to save time, I usually pump Petronas as the station gets the fuel into my tank faster. Unfortunately, RON97 sale at my station seems to have halted for the time being.

This is just speculation at the moment (though there have been some whispers that there is truth to this), but hopefully that the temporary halt of RON97 sales means a new and better fuel is coming on the way for Petronas to take the place of Primax 3. But for now, let’s share our experiences pumping RON95 in our car.

What car are you using, and which RON95 did you pump? Have you noticed any changes to the way your car drives and how your engine bay sounds? And if yes, have the changes you’ve experienced been positive or negative so far? For those who experience better or worse fuel economy, please share what are the differences in terms of km per litre or litre per 100km, whichever you are more comfortable with.

Sometimes if your car does not have high octane requirements, switching from a RON97 fuel with an inferior additive mix to a RON95 fuel with a superior additive mix may have a positive effect. Of course you need not remind that in the first place we were supposed to have a positive effect on our wallet but no longer as the new RON95 is the same price as the old RON97.

If you recall, there was a fuel grade survey posted up a few weeks ago on this blog. Respondents were asked a few questions about RON95 and RON97 as well as what they think the difference between the two fuel octane types are. At the end, you were asked whether you wanted to participate in a product test. The fuel company that commissioned the survey was actually BHPetrol and a number of participants were picked.

Read after the jump to check out the survey results as well as the results of the product test. Of course some of the questions called for an open-ended answer and it’s not feasible to include the thousands of replies here so we only hav the initial multiple-choice questions as well as the results of the product test.
[Read more...]

Those who think that their fuel tank refills will cost less by RM0.05 per litre because they’ve switched to RON95 as their regular fuel have to wipe their smile off their faces – the government has announced that RON95 will be priced at the old RON97 price of RM1.80 per litre from midnight onwards.

As for RON97, we already know that a price hike is imminent – it will be priced at RM2.05 per litre. RON92 has been phased out. No news about Shell V-Power for now, as it is it’s been removed from a significant amount of stations. They are probably still trying to figure out the sweet spot for pricing and planning the logistics for supply to stations.

This is expected really, considering crude oil per barrel closed US$72.75 a barrel on Friday, which is up 20% from around US$60 in July. There are various factors for this but the most quoted reasons are an improving global economy and a declining US dollar – the lower USD’s values are, the more USD you will have to pay per barrel.