Studies conducted by Saudi Aramco have shown that if demand for Premium 91 accounted for 85 percent and for Premium 95, 15 percent, this would result in SR2.2 billion in savings to consumers. Saudi Aramco officials said they made clear to gasoline station owners that 85 percent of the vehicles operating in the Kingdom are designed to use Premium 91 and that continued use of Premium 95 by those vehicles represented a waste of money. Motorists in Saudi Arabia have started the new year with two grades of gasoline available at the pump. Starting January 1, 2007, Saudi Aramco began supplying the new second grade of gasoline to domestic gas stations, said Mohammed S. Gusaier, vice president for Distribution and Terminal Operations. The percentage of existing gas stations ready to market the two gasoline grades stands at 78 percent, and 17 percent of the stations will not be able to sell two grades for technical reasons, the most common of which is the lack of area for separate tanks for storing and selling the two grades. Saudi Aramco held meetings with owners of gas stations to acquaint them with the new product and the engineering conditions for selling it at their stations. The owners were also informed about a survey conducted to determine the number of customers who could purchase the new grade, according to a report carried yesterday by Saudi Aramco web-site. Earlier, the company had completed its preparations for producing and distributing the new 91-octane grade, known as Premium 91, and increased the storage and operating capacities of existing bulk plants in the Eastern, Central and Western Province to handle both grades.
