NEW GASOLINE GRADE TO RAISE U.S. REFINING COSTS
A new grade of unleaded gasoline
now being test marketed will increase refining costs when
refiners can least afford it, according to officials attending
the National Petroleum Refiners Association conference here.
    The new grade of unleaded gasoline has an octane level of
89 compared with over 90 for super unleaded and 87 for regular
unleaded gasoline.
     Amoco Corp <AN> has test-marketed the new mid-grade
gasoline and hopes to sell it on a regular basis in the South,
East and Midwest by the beginning of June, according to Paul
Collier, executive vice president of marketing.
    Phillips Petroleum <P> expects to begin marketing the new
89 octane unleaded gasoline in May, sources said.
    Converting current refinery operations to produce the 89
octane unleaded gsoline could cost hundreds of millions of
dollars per refinery but that depends on the present capacity
and intensity of the refinery, said Amoco's Collier.
    But not all oil company's welcome the introduction of
another grade of unleaded gasoline.
    "Three grades are not warranted," said Henry Rosenberg,
chairman of Crown Central Petroleum <CNP>. "Refiners will have
to upgrade again," he added.
    "An investment will have to be made," said Archie Dunham,
executive vice president of petroleum products at Conoco, an
operating subsidiary of DuPont Corp <DD> in order to upgrade
refinery operations.
 Reuter
