ASTM/ARSO Webinar Workshop on Petroleum

Tuesday, October 25th, 20227:30 AM – 9:00 AM EST (14:30 – 16:00 EAT)

Concept Note

ASTM International: “ASTM International’s Standards Alliance Project on the Harmonization of Petroleum Standards in West Africa and, ARSO’s Development of African Standards (ARS) for fuels: The importance of testing standards in line with available testing equipment”

  1. Introduction:

ASTM International Committee D02 on Petroleum Products and Lubricants was formed in 1904. With a current membership of approximately 2500 industry professionals and experts and, jurisdiction over 814 standards, published in six volumes of the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, D02 meets twice a year, June and December. During the Committee Week (CW), approximately 1000 members attend 5 days of technical meetings focusing on the latest standards developments in the more than one hundred subcommittees that it serves. This year, the December 4-8 D02 CW to be held in Orlando, Florida, will host eight representatives (two from each of the four ECOWAS countries) that are participating in the ASTM/API (The American Petroleum Institute) Standards Alliance program, aimed at harmonizing petroleum standards in West Africa. To date, two ASTM workshops have been held in Nigeria and Ghana:  #petroleum #standardsdevelopment #Ghana

  • Background:

In November 2019, The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), through its public-private partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – the Standards Alliance – organized a five-day training on international petroleum standards and management systems in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. This event was organized in coordination with the Ivoirian Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energy and the national standards bodies of Côte d’Ivoire (CODINORM), Ghana (GSA), Nigeria (SON), and Senegal (ASN). The training provided an opportunity for 25 participants to discuss international best practices for petroleum, environmental and economic challenges and, the need for regional harmonization of petroleum standards to maximize economies of scale and ensure high quality petroleum products across the ECOWAS.

ARSO/TC 37, Petroleum and petrochemical products – Technical Committee dealing with Standards Development under the Category.

  • Proposed Objectives/Results:

This workshop, the fourth in a series of five ARSO/ASTM’s webinars scheduled for 2022, is in response to the selection of the topic (one of the five priority topics) through a survey conducted with the members of the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO). The webinar seeks to share the success of the current ASTM/API harmonization of petroleum standards in West Africa while also looking at ARSO’s Development of African Standards (ARS) for fuels and the importance of testing standards in line with available testing equipment in the continent. Public and private sector Industry experts, regulators, ARSO members and consumers are expected to attend.

  • Panellists & Bios:

This webinar will feature two speakers – one from ASTM and another from an African country to be proposed by ARSO. The ASTM Speaker will highlight the success of the ASTM Standards Alliance Program in West Africa to date and identify existing gaps in test methods in member countries while ARSO Speaker will discuss the Development of African Standards (ARS) for fuels and the importance of testing standards in line with available testing equipment.  

ASTMARSO-WEBINAR-WORKSHOP-ON-PETROLEUM-poster

Speaker 1: Mr. August Wiredu, ASTM Petroleum Standards Consultant, U.S./Ghana.

Speaker 2: Mr. Stuart Raye, Motor industry fuel and emission technical expert, South Africa.