American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty was in Mexico this week to help Mexican petroleum equipment installers and retailers with the technical details of switching stations to E10 for the first time. It’s the second time this month that Lamberty headed south of the border to conduct seminars as part of a U.S. Grains Council series of technical workshops to address questions from local station owners as Mexico’s transportation fuel sector continues to evolve.

“Some of the station owners in Mexico have the same entrepreneurial spirit the splash blenders had back when ethanol was first being introduced in the U.S.,” Lamberty said. “For the first time in their lives, these marketers are free to buy fuel from someone other than the state-owned oil company. Now, on top of that, we’re introducing them to opportunities ethanol can provide to them. Everything from offering lower cost, higher quality fuels, to becoming a splash blender and actually competing with the oil company that ran their lives for so long. It’s pretty exciting to play a role in the transition to E10 in Mexico.”

The USGC is conducting the workshops throughout Mexico in conjunction with AMPES, the Mexican association of service station equipment providers, to focus on questions that have emerged about using ethanol following changes in Mexican law that took effect in June 2017 that allow up to an E10 blend outside of three major cities of Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara.

ACE will continue to work with USGC to provide information to retailers and others who want to sell more ethanol.