USGC Answers Ethanol Questions from Mexico Service Station Owners

(U.S. Grains Council/Ethanol Producer Magazine) As Mexico’s energy sector continues to evolve, the U.S. Grains Council is running a series of technical workshops there to answer questions from local service station owners about how to utilize and profit from using ethanol.

The Council is conducting the workshops throughout Mexico in conjunction with AMPES, the Mexican association of service station equipment providers. The first workshop was held earlier in April in Tijuana with four additional workshops planned for other major cities in Mexico.

The sessions focus on questions that have emerged about using ethanol following changes in Mexican law that took effect in June 2017 that allow up to an E10 blend outside of three major cities (Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara).

“We have made great progress, but we are still in the market access stage of seeing ethanol in Mexico,” said Ryan LeGrand, USGC director in Mexico.

“The gains we have made allow many service stations in the country to use E10, and they need to be ready for it. These workshops move from access to the practical use of ethanol and making sure that it is done right.”

Despite the new regulation, ethanol is still a new product in Mexico. Workshops like these help increase knowledge of the benefits and usage of ethanol. In Tijuana, the audience asked speakers about the laws regulating ethanol use, the costs associated with adapting stations to use ethanol (which are minimal except a few filter changes) as well as general pricing and supplier questions. LeGrand said the owners were particularly interested in how they could use ethanol to both save money and differentiate themselves from their competitors. READ MORE