Projection

The latest diesel specification, UAE.S 477:2021, which was implemented in September 2021, sets a maximum limit for sulfur at 10 mg/kg, a maximum limit for fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) at 7% v/v, and reduces the maximum limit for polycyclic aromatics hydrocarbons to 8% m/m. Thus, up to the present day, this has been the most stringent specification for diesel in the UAE.

As such, SGS INSPIRE does not see any further improvement in the diesel specification in the near term.

However, the use of diesel with FAME content of more than 7% v/v in municipal vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles may increase, partially triggered by the need to reduce CO2 emissions to meet the country’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

At present, the Emirates Standardization and Metrology Authority (ESMA)