AN ongoing war of words between one of the country’s leading auto makers, Honda, and the oil companies has yielded up an important piece of information that both the government and automobile owners should note.

Honda has alleged that oil companies are adding large quantities of manganese to petrol to boost its octane count.

The government required all local petrol to be of 92 Ron recently, an upgrade from the 87 Ron that was sold before this decision.

Now we’re being told that in order to fulfil this requirement, oil companies may have taken the cheaper option of adding manganese instead of procuring superior fuel in the case of imports, or investing in refinery upgrades in the case of locally produced fuel.

Manganese is used as an octane booster across the world, but because of its severely harmful effects on the environment and auto engines, its use is strictly regulated, with caps on how much can be added.

In its own tests, Honda alleges that local petrol contains almost double the quantity of manganese that is recommended for a cap by global authorities.

Meanwhile, the Oil Companies Advisory Council says simply that local petrol is fully compliant with government specifications.

The trick is in the wording: apparently government specifications contain no cap on how much manganese is allowed to be added to petrol.

The oil companies argue that the problem is not their fuel since no auto company has come forward with complaints other than Honda whose cars are the only ones to run on Euro IV engines amongst local assemblers.

But the auto maker’s complaints are now beside the point. Manganese as a fuel additive is extremely harmful for the environment and human health, and if the oil companies are using it to boost their octane count, the public has a right know.

The oil companies must be made to reveal how much manganese they add to petrol, a fact they are keeping under wraps.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2017