Author: Anxela Ruci, Merxhan Daci
The most important oil distribution companies in the country appear to trade in the share overwhelming gasoil mixed with diesel or kerosene, at a time when the refining of the product is not complete.
The quality of Albanian oil is very low, if it is compared to that of neighboring countries. This statement is not an urban legend, but managed to be proven by PSE on laboratory roads.
An investigation, spanning several months, clearly proves that the oil, which is sold at gas stations around Albania and supplies about 430 thousand vehicles, is in its vast majority outside the normal quality standards.
PSE compared the oil, which is sold at Albanian gas stations, with that sold in the neighboring countries of Montenegro, Macedonia and Greece.
A total of eight oil samples were taken, five of which were in Tirana, Elbasan, Shkodër and the border areas of Albania, and three more at gas stations in neighboring countries. In Tirana, the two samples were taken from two gas stations located in New Tirana.
One of the samples was taken near Bradashesh in Elbasan, one sample was taken in the city of Shkodra and the fifth was taken near the customs point of Kapshtica.
The five samples in Albania were taken at randomly selected gas stations, with the aim of analyzing the most important companies operating in the oil distribution market in the country.
The oil samples were taken at the distribution points of the companies Eko Al, Alpine, Gega Oil, Gulf and Kastrati.
In Montenegro, Macedonia and Greece, the samples were taken at border points, under the name of the important distributors of oil in these countries, respectively in Clamper Oil, McPetrol and Elin Oil.
The samples were examined in the scientific laboratory NAIAS in Piraeus, Greece, to then be analyzed by an experienced engineer in the field of hydrocarbons, who used a rating scale of 0 to 5 (stars), where zero was the lowest quality found and five the highest one. The expert was given the elements to interpret, without specifying which company they belonged to or which country the samples came from.
(Click here for full lab data)
All eight samples were analyzed based on six parameters: kinematic viscosity at 40 degrees Celsius, flash point, sulfur content, cetane index, density and distillation at different temperatures.
The analysis showed that of the five oil samples taken in Albania, one of them resulted with quality level 4, one with level 2, another with quality level 1 and two samples resulted with quality level 0.
The oil samples taken in Montenegro and Macedonia were evaluated by the hydrocarbon engineer with quality level 5, while the one taken in Greece was evaluated with level 4.
Despite the fact that in Albania there have been no independent investigations or private institutes and laboratories to analyze the quality of oil, hundreds of thousands of citizens feel every day the consequences of its low quality in their vehicles and millions more its effects on air pollution .
The most "fortunate" are those citizens who live near the border points of the country, who do not hesitate to turn to the neighboring countries to be supplied with oil.
Arditi, a young taxi driver from Shkodra, told PSE that, after bitter experiences with the oil sold at gas stations in his city, he and other colleagues were supplied with oil in Ulcinj, about 40 kilometers from the border.
"We go to Ulcinj because the oil is cheaper and of better quality. The difference is clear, when you are supplied with domestic oil and when with Montenegrin oil. Personally, my "Benz" car broke down due to the bad quality of the fuel. I left the car at home due to engine damage. They mix oil with diesel", he says.
Meanwhile, KL, a waiter in a bar at the border point of Kapshtica, did not hesitate to tell PSE that every Albanian who had the opportunity to easily cross this customs point with Greece, did not hesitate to refuel his car.
"Oil from the Greek side is cheaper and of better quality. We fill it there. Albanian customs officers are also supplied with fuel there", he said.
On the other hand, gas stations near the town of Struga in Macedonia have become a favorite destination for Albanian drivers from the Pogradec or Korca area, who never forget to fill up their cars with fuel or sometimes pass border only for this purpose.
Albanian oil does not pass the grade
The results of all eight samples taken by PSE were analyzed by an experienced hydrocarbon engineer, who found four of the five Albanian oil samples highly problematic in terms of their composition.
Two of the oil samples taken in Albania were unusable in his opinion.
"There are two possibilities for this sample: either we are dealing with paraffinic diesel, or with kerosene...", - it is emphasized in the interpretation of one of the samples, which had low viscosity, high density, cetane index below the norm and high start distillation.
For another sample of oil taken in Albania, the engineer estimated that the laboratory data showed that it had a high content of oil or solar product.
"It consists of two parts separated by a knife, there is no refining consistency. It is not considered a reliable product to use. Usually, this type of product is consumed quickly, does not lubricate the vehicle well and does not produce good calorific power", he argues.
One of the samples of the oil sold in the country was rated with one quality star, as a very weak diesel.
"This sample has an improvement in relation to the two precursors, but it is between a well-refined oil and that refined in an anonymous refinery," explained the engineer.
On the other hand, one of the samples managed to be evaluated with two quality stars, where again the product refinement remained problematic.
"This oil has additions of about 3.5% of fluorine products that can mostly be unrefined, even though there is a large amount of correctly refined product", - it is emphasized in the interpretation.
On the other hand, one of the Albanian oil samples managed to qualify with four quality stars out of five possible.
"This diesel seems to come from a serious refinery that has maxed out at 50% sulfur content. There is a homogeneous relation between density-viscosity-fractions", - is assessed by the expert.
Regarding the oil obtained on the Greek side of the border, the engineer estimates that the good viscosity-density-distillation relationship makes it qualitative and rated with four stars.
The oil sample taken in Montenegro results with all the correct parameters, where the high density and viscosity give it an added value in terms of consumption in combustion and maintenance of the car's engine, evaluating it with five stars.
The same assessment is also made for the oil sample taken in Macedonia, which is considered to be fully compliant with ISO standards and as a completely refined product.
Gasoil outside the standards is penalized only with a fine
Every day, around 536 road transport vehicles move on the roads of Albania, where 80% of them use diesel to circulate. On average, 2.2 million tons of oil and its by-products are "burned" every year on the country's roads.
The low quality of oil in the country is not an unknown problem even for Albanian institutions, which are obliged by law to analyze its quality in the service of the public interest.
PSE managed to secure from the State Technical and Industrial Inspectorate (ISHTI), documents, which showed flagrant violations of some hydrocarbon distribution operators in the country.
From the checks made in the time period September-November 2016, the deviations of the oil standard are very high. Specifically, in Elbasan, Fier and Shkodër, very high rates of sulfur in diesel have been found.
From 10 mg/kg which is the allowed amount of sulphur, in Elbasan this parameter has exceeded the figures of 210 mg/kg, in Fier 295 mg/kg and in Shkodër the biggest violation of 301 mg/kg sulfur has been found (approximately 30 times more than the allowed rate).
In fact, the latest rate of sulfur has been captured in one of the country's largest joint-stock companies that distribute oil. The sulfur violations do not end there.
In July 2016, the highest sulfur rate was recorded at a gas station in Berat of 2330 mg/kg out of 10 allowed. This translates to over 200 times the rate.
Sulfur is not just a chemical element in Mendeleev's table!
According to the World Health Organization, sulfur has direct impacts on health.
"Sulfur dioxide affects the respiratory system and lung functions, causing cancer. Its large amounts lead to increased cases of chronic bronchitis and increase mortality in people with heart disease. When sulfur dioxide combines with water, it forms sulfuric acid, the main component of acid rain," says the WHO report for 2016.
Meanwhile, from the comparison of the data of ISHTI and the Ministry of Energy and Industry, there is an inconsistency of facts. From the joint reports that the two institutions have, the fines by month do not correspond to each other and the figures of violations as well. Meanwhile, ISTI, forced to make public the sanctions for gas stations that do not respect the standards, on the website of the institution there is no updated data earlier than January of this year.
However, for the first quarter of 2017 alone, ISHTI has collected over 15 million ALL from the fines imposed on 44 entities that trade in fuel. For all cases of detected violations, ISHTI does not go beyond fining the operators.
This institution emphasized that in the law on its operation, the violations found by the operators are considered only as administrative misdemeanors and do not constitute a criminal offense.
In the conditions where, not only the analyzes carried out in private laboratories, but also state ones, find that there are many abuses in the gasoil sold in Albania and directly affect the health and wealth of citizens, it is incomprehensible why they do not are considered a criminal offense.
