Chinese state-owned oil major Sinopec will begin supplying National Phase 5 (Euro 5 equivalent) diesel fuel to southern Guangdong province. It will supply 14 cities starting 1 April, and expand to the whole province from 1 July, according to the company’s website.

Guangdong province is China’s largest oil-consuming region, accounting for about 10% of the country’s total gasoline and diesel fuel demand. It fully implemented the National Phase 5 standards for motor gasoline last October. The Chinese government has a deadline for full implementation of the National Phase 5 emission standards of 1 January 2018.

China’s national emissions standards have equivalency with Euro emissions standards. National Phase 4 standards have a maximum sulphur content of 50 parts per million (ppm) for both gasoline and diesel fuel, whereas Phase 5 standards cap sulphur content at 10 ppm.

Sinopec said that it had begun switching to National Phase 5 automotive diesel fuel in Guangdong in February, and finished replacing stocks at its oil storage tanks across the 14 cities on 4 March. It plans to supply Phase 5 automotive diesel fuel from more than 1,500 Sinopec oil stations starting from 1 April.

The 14 cities in Guangdong that will receive Phase 5 diesel fuel include Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Huizhou, Zhaoqing and Jiangmen in the Pearl River Delta; Yangjiang, Maoming and Zhanjiang in west Guangdong; as well as Qingyuan and Yunfu in north Guangdong.

Sinopec has already been supplying Phase 5 standard oil products in Beijing, Shanghai and eight cities in Jiangsu province, Shaanxi province, Zhejiang province as well as Tianjin.