Case study - Pakistan

In the Asia Oceania region, manganese based octane enhancers are not widely used and less regulated compared with other metallic based octane enhancers, such as lead based and iron based.

Prior to 2018, Pakistan was one of many countries where manganese was not regulated. It means that Pakistan’s gasoline specifications did not set any maximum limits on manganese. In fact, the current gasoline specifications, which were released by the Directorate General of Oil, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in April 2016, do not set a maximum limit of manganese in gasoline.

Pakistani refineries generally produce low octane gasoline with an octane number of less than 90 (around 87). In November 2016, the government decided to increase the minimum RON in regular gasoline from 87