Diesel Fuel from the Mexican Baja Lab Tested in USA
An important update regarding the availability of ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) fuel on the Mexican Baja.
On April 4th of this year, 2015, while traveling north on the Baja, I collected a sample of the diesel fuel on sale at the Pemex station in El Rosario. This station is used by most, if not all, drivers heading south as it is just BEFORE the long desert haul down to Guerrero Negro. It is also commonly used for refueling on the way north again, as it is conveniently located AFTER the long desert haul.
Going south, the station is located at the bottom of a long, steep hill following a military inspection, and just prior to the 90 degrees left turn in Mex 1. The coordinates, for Google Earth or your GPS, are:
N 30 03.600, W 115 43.533.
On the basis of some credible information posted in a Mexican travel forum about the way diesel is distributed on the Baja, I sent the diesel fuel sample from El Rosario to a testing laboratory in the USA on April 6, 2015.
Yesterday, April 23, 2015, I received the results from the lab. The fuel sample is Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD, or UBA in Mexico) with 10 ppm sulfur content. In other words, it is most likely from the USA, or from Japan, where some of Mexico's diesel is apparently sourced, and was distributed either from Mexicali, or from the Pemex Tank Farm at Ensenada.
Clearly, the results from a single sample taken on April 4, 2015 do not prove that the diesel at the Pemex in El Rosario is always ULSD, but the results do add credibility to the information posted by a person who seemed to know a lot about the workings of Pemex.
In addition, I have personally received an email from Pemex confirming that the Northern Baja gets its diesel distributed from Mexicali (which implies USA origin) and from Ensenada (which implies USA and/or Japanese origin), further supporting the third party claim that all of the diesel in the Northern Baja is ULSD.
Pemex has also confirmed to me in an email that all of the diesel in the Southern Baja (BCS) originates at refineries in Mexico and is distributed from La Paz. The diesel fuel in the Southern Baja can therefore be considered to be Low Sulfur Diesel (LSD) with sulfur content up to 500ppm. In other words, there is NO ULSD in the Southern Baja.
All of this gives good reason to believe that owners buying diesel at the El Rosario Pemex are most likely buying ULSD, and it also gives good reason to believe that diesel at all of the stations in the Northern Baja, including the one just before the border with the Southern Baja, are carrying ULSD.
Again, there are no guarantees, without regular sampling, but the test kit and lab analysis costs more than $100, so I'm not about to take up the testing of diesel fuel as a hobby. It is, however, my opinion at this time, that owners could assume with some confidence that the diesel fuel in the Northern Baja is ULSD, and could plan their refueling on this basis, so as to avoid temporary sulfur poisoning of the emissions system, and inconvenient fault codes, in 2011 and later vehicles.
By the way, there isn't much point in asking the attendants at Pemex stations whether they have ULSD, because they don't have the faintest idea. They could say yes, or no, for no particular reason, but it means nothing without something in writing on official Pemex documentation.
On April 4th of this year, 2015, while traveling north on the Baja, I collected a sample of the diesel fuel on sale at the Pemex station in El Rosario. This station is used by most, if not all, drivers heading south as it is just BEFORE the long desert haul down to Guerrero Negro. It is also commonly used for refueling on the way north again, as it is conveniently located AFTER the long desert haul.
Going south, the station is located at the bottom of a long, steep hill following a military inspection, and just prior to the 90 degrees left turn in Mex 1. The coordinates, for Google Earth or your GPS, are:
N 30 03.600, W 115 43.533.
On the basis of some credible information posted in a Mexican travel forum about the way diesel is distributed on the Baja, I sent the diesel fuel sample from El Rosario to a testing laboratory in the USA on April 6, 2015.
Yesterday, April 23, 2015, I received the results from the lab. The fuel sample is Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD, or UBA in Mexico) with 10 ppm sulfur content. In other words, it is most likely from the USA, or from Japan, where some of Mexico's diesel is apparently sourced, and was distributed either from Mexicali, or from the Pemex Tank Farm at Ensenada.
Clearly, the results from a single sample taken on April 4, 2015 do not prove that the diesel at the Pemex in El Rosario is always ULSD, but the results do add credibility to the information posted by a person who seemed to know a lot about the workings of Pemex.
In addition, I have personally received an email from Pemex confirming that the Northern Baja gets its diesel distributed from Mexicali (which implies USA origin) and from Ensenada (which implies USA and/or Japanese origin), further supporting the third party claim that all of the diesel in the Northern Baja is ULSD.
Pemex has also confirmed to me in an email that all of the diesel in the Southern Baja (BCS) originates at refineries in Mexico and is distributed from La Paz. The diesel fuel in the Southern Baja can therefore be considered to be Low Sulfur Diesel (LSD) with sulfur content up to 500ppm. In other words, there is NO ULSD in the Southern Baja.
All of this gives good reason to believe that owners buying diesel at the El Rosario Pemex are most likely buying ULSD, and it also gives good reason to believe that diesel at all of the stations in the Northern Baja, including the one just before the border with the Southern Baja, are carrying ULSD.
Again, there are no guarantees, without regular sampling, but the test kit and lab analysis costs more than $100, so I'm not about to take up the testing of diesel fuel as a hobby. It is, however, my opinion at this time, that owners could assume with some confidence that the diesel fuel in the Northern Baja is ULSD, and could plan their refueling on this basis, so as to avoid temporary sulfur poisoning of the emissions system, and inconvenient fault codes, in 2011 and later vehicles.
By the way, there isn't much point in asking the attendants at Pemex stations whether they have ULSD, because they don't have the faintest idea. They could say yes, or no, for no particular reason, but it means nothing without something in writing on official Pemex documentation.
