Major European oil companies and commodity traders are exploiting weak fuel standards in African countries to export highly polluting fuels that they could never sell at the pumps in Europe, according to a new report.  The Swiss commodity traders Trafigura and Vitol are among a number of companies accused of exporting what campaigners call “African quality” diesel, blending products in European facilities to create fuels with sulphur levels that are sometimes hundreds of times over European limits... 

...[According] to data shared with the Guardian by Public Eye, the British oil company BP also shipped high-sulphur diesel to Ghana.  There is nothing illegal about the practice exposed by the report, and the blending of fuels to achieve particular specifications before export is standard industry practice. The companies involved all deny any wrongdoing and say they comply with the law in the countries in which they operate...

When contacted by the Guardian, Trafigura, Vitol and BP all pointed out that they comply with the fuel standards imposed by the governments they ship to, and that they support efforts, including those by the African Refiners Association, to improve fuel standards.  A BP spokeswoman said: “BP supplies a wide variety of oil products to markets all over the world based on the demands of our customers, and we ensure that we meet or exceed all legal obligations. BP does not set the requirements for the markets in which we operate, it is up to each country to determine the specification, including levels of sulphur and other parameters that are suitable in their local market.”