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Why does Petron Blaze 100 says 'only' 97 octane at the pump?

The number ‘100’ in Blaze 100, which is a fuel sold by Petron, stands for its octane rating. To keep it simple, the higher the number means the faster our sports, track, or race cars will go. And right now, Petron offers the highest in the Philippines. Although the added performance does comes at a cost, it’s something we petrol heads are more than willing to pay for to get the extra oomph.

But have you every noticed, Petron Blaze 100 is ‘only’ labelled as 97 RON (short for Research Octane Number) at the pump?

Yup, we’ve checked.

Does this mean Petron Corporation has been cheating us all along? Were they trying to fool everyone, selling 97 octane fuel advertised as 100? Well, the answer to that is a big N-O and they gladly explained to us why. Whew!

Petron Blaze 100

You see, the Department of Energy (DOE) only has three (3) approved gasoline fuel specs in the country. Those are Regular (91 RON), Premium (95 RON), and Premium Plus (97 RON), where the specified octane rating indicates the bare minimum requirement to pass the grade.

Oil companies are then mandated to label their pumps accordingly, with bright yellow stickers, regardless of the fuel’s actual octane rating. Following these instructions, where Blaze 100 is classified as a Premium Plus gasoline, Petron is forced to put a ’97 RON’ label on what really is a 100 octane fuel.

All these are stipulated in “Department Circular No. DC2013-09-0021: Implementing New Standard Specifications for Gasoline” which you can read in full here.

To be fair to the DOE, the little RON labels does say ‘MINIMUM’ in all caps. But you have to admit, these yellow stickers are as confusing AF. This is also not unique to Petron as other oil companies, who have fuels higher than 97 octane, share the same problem.

So the next time you fuel up at Petron remember this. The only reason why Blaze 100 is tagged as 97 octane at the pump is simply because the government doesn’t have a ‘100 RON’ sticker. But rest assured, Blaze 100 is a 100 octane fuel regardless of what the little yellow decal says.

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Christopher Kho

Christopher Kho

A true supporter not only of Philippine motorsports, but also of all Filipinos in motorsports whether they are competing locally or abroad. Chris has loved motorsports since the very beginning. This has led him to find Time Attack Manila.
View All Posts
Christopher Kho

Christopher Kho

A true supporter not only of Philippine motorsports, but also of all Filipinos in motorsports whether they are competing locally or abroad. Chris has loved motorsports since the very beginning. This has led him to find Time Attack Manila.
View All Posts