Ecuador announces higher-quality Premium Diesel with lower sulfur content

Ecuador’s government says its Premium Diesel has reached a sulfur concentration below 35 parts per million, improving on the 50 ppm limit set by President Daniel Noboa in Executive Decree No. 126 in September 2025.

Petroecuador confirmed the result after conducting a test run at the state-owned Esmeraldas refinery. The trial used the catalyst currently operating in the refinery’s hydrodesulfurization unit, known as HDS, and demonstrated that the facility can produce fuel below the target set by the decree.

The state oil company has drawn up a technical schedule for the final quarter of 2026 to maintain continuous supplies. It includes purchasing a new catalyst for the HDS unit and carrying out comprehensive maintenance, with technical support from Axens, the company that licenses the system.

Technicians are also cleaning the fuel-storage tanks. Petroecuador is arranging supplies of nitrogen, a chemical needed to load and unload the catalyst within the refinery complex.

Monitoring will continue across Ecuador’s three processing sites: the Esmeraldas refinery, the La Libertad refinery and the Shushufindi industrial complex. The company said it has specialized equipment to measure sulfur levels and monitor the fuel’s physicochemical specifications at each facility.