A new Mexican gasoline retailer that sells a product described as more environmentally friendly will open its first gas station on June 24 in Morelos.

Wascon Blue will sell Pemex gasoline mixed with ethanol and an additive it calls Blue Power, which was created and tested by engineers at the National Autonomous University and the National Polytechnic Institute.

According to the company’s website, the mixture generates 50% to 70% fewer greenhouse emissions than regular fuel and performs 10% better in terms of mileage,  putting it in compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and many European standards.

In an interview with the newspaper El Financiero, Wascon Blue general manager Enrique Olivera Melo said the gas station in Ayala, Morelos, will be the first of 50 to open in two states before the end of the year.

“We are currently in talks with a gasoline retail group so that we can open gas stations in Morelos and Querétaro, which is where we are permitted to distribute our product according to European standards, which has not yet been approved in Mexico City,” said Olivera, a former director of operations at Exxon Mobil.

He added that Wascon Blue plans to invest 20 million pesos (US $1 million) in the construction of two fuel distribution centers in Querétaro and Morelos within the same period.

“Our [first] customers will receive some promotions; we want them to try our alternative and to compare its power and benefits with those of other products.”

He also highlighted that the retailer’s mixture offered customers a purer fuel for a cheaper price.

“. . . they will be getting regular 90-octane gas for the price of 87-octane, or premium 95-octane gas for the price of 92-octane.”

Wascon Blue’s gas stations will be self-service, where motorists will fill up their own tanks.

“This has been approved by the Secretariat of Energy. We hope to have the country’s first such station up and operating this year.”

Source: El Financiero (sp)