Mexican Diesel Fuel - Sulfur Levels Update
Update Regarding Diesel Fuel in Mexico - September 27, 2017 The Mexico Snowbird Season for 2017/18 is fast approaching, so here is an update regarding sulfur levels in Mexican diesel fuel and the p...
Forum Discussion
I worked for Fernando and EriK Duran straightening out the cross border mess around 20 years ago. Duran Trucking, which used to be on Emery Road in Tecate, CA. So the words I got were from US Customs and the California Highway Patrol. At the COMMERCIAL ENTRANCE which none of you see, on USA land a Highway Patrolman used to dip tanks. If they found any truck in Secondary with non ULSD the ENTIRE FLEET was banned from crossing. The test the CHP used detected something like >75 - 100 PPM, and from the looks of the Halliburton encased instrument it did not look at all cheap. The officer drove a Dodge RAM SUV pickup with camper shell that the sides opened up. These guys were anything but talkative.
Here's the way the operation worked.
Cargo like processed foodstuffs were hauled to the Duran yard in Tecate. A cross border shuttle then brought the stuff to the Duran yard on Emery Road. The trailer content was transferred to a USA rig - trailer and tractor. They hauled as far as to the San Francisco Bay Area and to El Paso Texas.
Fernando was worried about two things - drugs hidden in the tractors, and non ULSD in the shuttle tanks. Zero gasolineras in Tecate had anything other than ULSD. I have no idea of what stations outside of town had - that was not my turf. Duran used a gasolinera on the East side of Tecate on Mex 2. When the cap was screwed onto the tank a pressure crimp seal was applied. If the CHP cut it off the driver brought the cut "cable tie" to the yard and reported it. The seals were metal and numbered.
If drugs had been found here is what would happen. Tractor, trailer and contents seized. Driver arrested. Fleet banned from crossing (I do not know for how long). The number one hundred thousand was mentioned as a fine. The DOT would revoke Duran's license, The California Dept of Transportation would revoke commercial carrier license. And finally the carrier insurance would be revoked.
I can see why Fernando was paranoid. Some of the driver's, young punks, resented me keeping an eye on things. They were absolutely marijuanos. I smelled it on them, and when I wiped my finger in the tractor ashtry I could smell it. So could Fernando and Erik. Those drivers were let go.
Why was I even there? Duran hauled and made arrangements to haul two 53' van loads to Mazatlan where the vans were hauled to Tepic, then changed tractors then hauled to Morelia Michoacan. This is how I got some of my stuff home. The rest came by cargo container by sea. I built home, generator shed, 14 tons of 2 volt cell batteries, three thousand high strength concrete blocks, insulation, wiring, a three tons of tools. If I had hired a broker and commercial haul service it would have cost me a king's ransom.
I wired the Duran CA lot, and a 12 bay truck repair shop in Tecate Baja for Fernando. I set up a communications link so that thirty or so Mexican telephones of theirs had direct dial USA connection. And USA phones, direct dial Telnor access. I lost track after crossing that border 400+ times.
With regard to this area I speak with some experience. But it must be remembered this was a long time ago. ULSD is much more common now. I have my sources inside Petroleos Mexicanos but it isn't for pinpointing which gasolinera has UBA. It's for general interest. Process unit updating, renovating or creation. This is how I learned of the battle over five percent ethanol sales of comistible to Mexico.
I rejoice when others have initiative to pursue quests of who has what. But I dislike disinformation. It causes people headaches. Arguing if Salina Cruz UBA Premium process units are producing when surveyor's tape is all that has happened. Things are changing now more rapidly in one month than they did in five years. So I gladly hand the baton off. When Ernesto tells me Mexico has completed it's first Alkylation Plant, that is what interests me.
But I accomplished my goal. Moving in excess of thirty tons of material 1,445 miles south of the Nogales POE. Over 2 tons of it is Space Shuttle Discovery and Endeavor surplus wire from Lockheed auction in Palmdale. Fifty Cents Per Pound.
Hope this clarifies rather than confuses.
Here's the way the operation worked.
Cargo like processed foodstuffs were hauled to the Duran yard in Tecate. A cross border shuttle then brought the stuff to the Duran yard on Emery Road. The trailer content was transferred to a USA rig - trailer and tractor. They hauled as far as to the San Francisco Bay Area and to El Paso Texas.
Fernando was worried about two things - drugs hidden in the tractors, and non ULSD in the shuttle tanks. Zero gasolineras in Tecate had anything other than ULSD. I have no idea of what stations outside of town had - that was not my turf. Duran used a gasolinera on the East side of Tecate on Mex 2. When the cap was screwed onto the tank a pressure crimp seal was applied. If the CHP cut it off the driver brought the cut "cable tie" to the yard and reported it. The seals were metal and numbered.
If drugs had been found here is what would happen. Tractor, trailer and contents seized. Driver arrested. Fleet banned from crossing (I do not know for how long). The number one hundred thousand was mentioned as a fine. The DOT would revoke Duran's license, The California Dept of Transportation would revoke commercial carrier license. And finally the carrier insurance would be revoked.
I can see why Fernando was paranoid. Some of the driver's, young punks, resented me keeping an eye on things. They were absolutely marijuanos. I smelled it on them, and when I wiped my finger in the tractor ashtry I could smell it. So could Fernando and Erik. Those drivers were let go.
Why was I even there? Duran hauled and made arrangements to haul two 53' van loads to Mazatlan where the vans were hauled to Tepic, then changed tractors then hauled to Morelia Michoacan. This is how I got some of my stuff home. The rest came by cargo container by sea. I built home, generator shed, 14 tons of 2 volt cell batteries, three thousand high strength concrete blocks, insulation, wiring, a three tons of tools. If I had hired a broker and commercial haul service it would have cost me a king's ransom.
I wired the Duran CA lot, and a 12 bay truck repair shop in Tecate Baja for Fernando. I set up a communications link so that thirty or so Mexican telephones of theirs had direct dial USA connection. And USA phones, direct dial Telnor access. I lost track after crossing that border 400+ times.
With regard to this area I speak with some experience. But it must be remembered this was a long time ago. ULSD is much more common now. I have my sources inside Petroleos Mexicanos but it isn't for pinpointing which gasolinera has UBA. It's for general interest. Process unit updating, renovating or creation. This is how I learned of the battle over five percent ethanol sales of comistible to Mexico.
I rejoice when others have initiative to pursue quests of who has what. But I dislike disinformation. It causes people headaches. Arguing if Salina Cruz UBA Premium process units are producing when surveyor's tape is all that has happened. Things are changing now more rapidly in one month than they did in five years. So I gladly hand the baton off. When Ernesto tells me Mexico has completed it's first Alkylation Plant, that is what interests me.
But I accomplished my goal. Moving in excess of thirty tons of material 1,445 miles south of the Nogales POE. Over 2 tons of it is Space Shuttle Discovery and Endeavor surplus wire from Lockheed auction in Palmdale. Fifty Cents Per Pound.
Hope this clarifies rather than confuses.
