Adding 5% of bioethanol to fuel from May 1 won't significantly affect its price at gas stations – Parallel owner Dubinin

The mandatory addition of 5% of bioethanol to gasoline with an octane number of less than 98, which is required to be done from May 1 according to law No. 3769-IX of June 4, 2024, will not significantly affect its price at gas stations, said the owner and CEO of the Parallel group of companies, Oleksandr Dubinin (the Parallel gas station network).

"Gasoline with 5% bioethanol will have a slightly higher cost, which may slightly affect the retail price. However, the increase is expected to be minimal and, most likely, will not be significantly noticeable to the consumer - especially given the decline in world oil prices," Dubinin said in a blitz interview with the Interfax-Ukraine energy agency project Energy Reform.

At the same time, he noted that the initiative to add bioethanol, although it declares support for the national agricultural producer, would be difficult to implement in practice.

"A large part of the marketable gasoline with bioethanol will be supplied with ready-made products from European refineries. Ukrainian infrastructure is not yet sufficiently developed. Neighboring countries, in particular Poland, have been building it for years. We still have to go this way," the owner of Parallel explained.

He added that the risks of shelling fuel infrastructure also complicate the implementation of blending on the territory of Ukraine. However, in his opinion, the logic of this decision is quite clear, and in general, this is the right trend that Europe has been following for over ten years.

"Ukraine should also move in this direction. At the same time, in our conditions there are many nuances - from technical to security, which create additional challenges," Dubinin emphasized.

According to him, for the gas station network itself, the transition to biofuel involves additional investments, mostly in infrastructure preparation.

"We are not disclosing the figures at the moment, but these are significant funds of tens of millions of hryvnias, which we have already started to invest," Dubinin noted.

He also denied the negative impact on the operation of gasoline engines with bioethanol.

"Biogasoline has been used in Europe for a long time, and no serious problems with engines have been recorded. The best advice is to always refuel at proven gas stations that you trust. This is the main rule, regardless of the bioethanol content," Dubinin pointed out.