KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 17): Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag) has added Sabah and Sarawak into the list of states that offer its Euro 5-compliant diesel, ahead of its full roll-out in 2020.

The extended availability of the product — now at 58 stations nationwide — was announced in conjunction with the launch of its latest diesel product, the Petronas Dynamic Diesel Euro 5 with Pro-Drive, here in Bukit Jalil today.

"In 2018, it will be available in 115 stations," PetDag chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Ibrahimnuddin Mohd Yunus told reporters at the launch. "By 2020, all of our diesel will be Euro 5 compliant as gazetted by the government."

The European emission standards regulate fuel sulphur content, as well as emissions of certain gases and particulate matters. The year 2020 gazetted deadline for fuel retailers to offer only Euro 5-compliant diesel was announced by the Malaysian government back in December 2015.

Meanwhile, petrol products must be Euro-5 compliant by 2025.

However, the diesel version is already offered by retailers across the board under their own initiatives, albeit in select stations only. As of today, Euro 5-compliant diesel costs 10 sen more than the non-compliant version.

PetDag's official website showed that its earlier Euro 5-compliant diesel was available in 49 stations across Peninsular Malaysia only. Key markets included Klang Valley, Selangor, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Pulau Pinang, and Terengganu.

The Pro-Drive edition, said Ibrahimnuddin, applied Petronas' learnings from its participation with Industrial Vehicles Corp (Iveco) in the off-road endurance rally 'Dakar Rally' as the technical partner for 2016 champion 'Petronas De Rooy IVECO' racing team.

Unlike other races such as Formula 1, participants of Dakar Rally are restricted to using the same fuel category that are available at petrol stations, which provides a real test to Petronas' Dynamic Fuel range.

The team is also supported by Petronas 'Urania' commercial vehicle engine oil and other functional fluids.

"Petronas' involvement in the Dakar Rally has provided us a platform to study the requirements of the latest high-performance common-rail direct injection diesel powered vehicles, and continuously improve our products to meet the most extreme driving conditions," said Ibrahimnuddin.

"Today's launch reflects our commitment to this continuous improvement, so that we can translate these learnings to the road to benefit our customers," he added.

PetDag claims that based on laboratory tests, the new offering cleans deposits in the engine and produces higher cetane number — for smoother combustion — against its peers.

"Petronas Dynamic Diesel Euro 5 with Pro-Drive also has higher heating value, indicating more energy per kilogram fuel to deliver better fuel economy," it added.

On a related matter, Ibrahimnuddin did not provide a timeline for the launch of Euro 5-compliant petrol under its Primax brand, but said that will happen "soon".

On its retail network, the PetDag chief said he is not discounting more stations to be opened in the future, but that the expansion plan will not be as "aggressive" as before.

"We already have the biggest retail network in Malaysia," he said. PetDag has indicated in earlier reports that its key strategy with the network would revolve around relocation of non-performing stations to locations with higher consumer traffic.

At noon market break, shares of PetDag lost 10 sen or 0.43% at RM23.26, giving it a market capitalisation of RM23.21 billion.