The full roll-out of E-10 gasolene is now under way islandwide, with most petrol stations being stocked with only this blended petrol.

Effective November 1, the island's sole refinery, Petrojam, started producing all its 87 and 90 octane gasolene with the E-10 blend.

This comes one year after the E-10 blend was first introduced in 87-octane gasolene.

Yesterday, some concerned motorists called The Gleaner after driving into service stations and being told that all the gasolene was E-10 blended.

The motorists, who have resisted the E-10 gasolene for the past year, expressed disappointment in now having no other choices, claiming they were not aware of the switch.

However, more than three weeks ago Energy Minister James Robertson had reminded the country that the islandwide roll-out of E-10 gasolene was scheduled for November 1.

"You can't have a country that is using harmful additives in its gasolene and continues to do so," Robertson told journalists during a tour of the Petrojam refinery in Montego Bay, St James. "The rest of the world is on this step and we are in step with them in the protection of our environment."

A step to modernise

According to Robertson, the switch to E-10 was a modernisation of the offerings of petroleum products in Jamaica, bringing it into the 21st century "where we need to be as a nation".

He argued that, apart from being environmentally friendly, E-10 was a more efficient type of fuel, "as it burns cleaner than the fuel with the traditional additives".

Robertson further claimed that all motor vehicles manufactured around the world after 1986 can efficiently use the E-10 fuel, while vehicles manufactured before that date can be made to use it with minor adjustments.

The full roll-out of the E-10 blended gasolene was initially scheduled for April but was delayed mainly because the ethanol storage tanks in Montego Bay were not yet constructed.