Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Belgium bans toxic fuel exports from Antwerp to West Africa, targeting oil firms shipping fuels with high sulfur and benzene content, aligning with European standards to protect health and the environment.
The Port of Antwerp will no longer be operated by oil companies and traders to ship so-called dirty fuels to West Africa. The Belgium government prohibited the export of toxic motor fuels that are highly dangerous to public health and the environment.
Belgium’s Minister of Environment Zakia Khattabi reported the country has banned the exports of toxic fuels that are domestically banned but continue to be shipped to West African nations including Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon. This comes following the Royal approval of a new legislation that aims to tighten the quality of exported fuels.
What Are the Health Risks of Toxic Fuels?
The ban targets oil firms that export motor fuels, primarily from the port of Antwerp, with excessively heightened sulfur or benzene content that has long been restricted in Europe due to their harmful effects. Data show that oil companies have been shipping dirty fuels with a sulfur content as high as 1,500 ppm (parts per million), far surpassing European standards that are capped at 10 ppm.
In imposing the embargo that will take effect after three months, Belgium emphasises that the standards it applies at home to safeguard the environment and citizens from the harmful effects of toxic fuels should also involve exported products.Â
How Does Antwerp Play a Role in Fuel Exports?
The country now joins the Netherlands which in April 2023 also prohibited the export of low-quality gasoline and diesel to West Africa via the ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
Netherlands’ decision to block the exports meant that Antwerp, Belgium’s leading sea terminal for oil trade (both crude and oil products), became Europe’s central hub for exporting the toxic fuels. Antwerp is centrally placed and as such a major port for liquid bulk cargoes. The port has appeared as a leading European oil and chemical hub. About 30 businesses operating in the oil and chemical sector, including at least 10 top world players, are uncovered in Antwerp’s port area which also has two leading refineries.
S&P Global Commodities at Sea data indicate that West Africa imported about 137,000 barrels per day of gasoline from Brussels in April, an 18 per cent growth compared to the same period last year.
Why Is Belgium Targeting High Sulfur and Benzene Fuels?
Khattabi stressed that the Netherlands’ decision to restrict the exports of dirty fuels has noticed the trade shift to Belgium, which is now being operated by oil producers and traders to export gasoline with overly high levels of benzene and sulfur.Â
“For far too long, toxic fuels have been departing from Belgium to destinations including Africa. They cause extremely poor air quality in countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon and are even carcinogenic,” stated Khattabi. The move to restrict the exports of dirty fuels was taken in partnership with the Ministries of Energy and Public Health.
