Oil giant BP has announced plans to invest over $75 million on new clean diesel facilities at its Cherry Point Refinery in the State of Washington, America.

The expansion of the refinery will see the production of ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel increase dramatically.

The roll out of this type of fuel has been described by the Environmental Protection Agency as crucial in extending the life of catalytic convertors, which are now a pre-requisite in new diesel-fuelled vehicles in order to lower harmful emissions.

Rick Porter, BP manager at the Cherry Point Refinery, explained that the investment underlined the company's commitment to bringing cleaner burning fuels to market.

"BP remains committed to leading the industry in the production of cleaner fuels and remaining the leader in making our products safer for the environment," he commented.

A recent study by the U-M Transportation Research Institute's Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation (OSAT) predicted that gas-electric hybrids and advanced diesel cars would account for 11 per cent of the US light vehicle market by 2009.