Opal fuel & Petrol sniffing - is Opal the answer?

The question of Opal fuel came up this morning. Specifically, the octane levels and possible problems with using Opal in one’s vehicle.

For those of you who are unaware, petrol-sniffing is a big problem amongst the indigenous communities.

Sniff petrol and you get high on the aromatics in normal petrol (or gasoline if you’re American). Sniffing can lead to brain damage and death.

So, in response our government and fuel companies did some experimenting and Opal fuel is the result.

The federal government is trying to get Opal fuel into all parts of the Territory. However, in the Alice, whilst we can buy Opal fuel, regular unleaded and premium unleaded fuels are still available.

At The Rock (Uluru or Ayers Rock Resort), only Opal fuel is available to visitors. This is an effort by the small village to reduce the petrol sniffing problems in the nearby Aboriginal community of Mutijulu.

As a person who only uses Premium or Ultimate Unleaded fuels with their octane levels of 95 and 98 respectively, the prospect of having to suddenly fill up with Opal’s 91 octane fuel did not impress me.

My fuel range was greatly reduced on the tank full of Opal. So much so that I will not be using Opal again unless I have no choice.

It is difficult to find specific or technical or even hearsay data on the potential problems of using Opal fuel. Given that 2 of the major roadhouses on the Stuart Highway are refusing to become "Opal only", there are obviously problems.

 May I recommend making the Pigs Will Fly website regular reading? I discovered this gem of a blog when researching Opal fuel this morning.