Dear Editor,

I read in SN of 10-22-09 that SOL has branded a gas station at Ramsburg and I thought I would share an experience with the company, and the public, and ask the petroleum dealer to say what quality control measures are in place at its outlets. I use nitrogen enriched Shell V Power 93 octane gas in NY and it is an excellent fuel. So I would be delighted to be able to obtain the same specified gas in Guyana. Here is my bad experience with the newly branded SOL Shell station.

In May of this year I saw Shell V Power sponsored Mark Vieira fuelling up at the said station which then had the logo Esso. He later told me that SOL had bought out Esso and that the station sold Shell gasoline. I took his word and I later fuelled up there. About six gallons of the gas was left in the recently cleaned tank for five weeks and that gas gummed up my new fuel injectors, clogged up my new fuel filter, and left much residue in the tank which had only been shop cleaned in Jan 2009. Since 1986 I had always bought gas from Shell on Vlissengen Road and never had such a problem.

I have left vehicles parked for three months at a time and never experienced gumming of injectors, old ones at that. The Ramsburg location is closer to my home and it is much easier for me to buy gas there.

So my question for SOL is what quality control measure is in place to ensure that the public is sold fuel that meets the specification of Shell V Power and that a substandard product is not passed on to consumers. I would also like to know what is the octane rating of the gasoline.

Yours faithfully,
Malcolm Harripaul