Excises clearances of marked gas oil or ‘green diesel’ stood at 115 million litres in May, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
According to the latest data published today (Friday, July 7), that is 15% higher than the same month in 2022.
“This was the highest volume of marked gas oil recorded for the month of May since 2008
Marked gas oil is primarily used for off-road purposes such as agriculture and the heating of larger buildings,” Paul McElvaney, statistician in the Environment and Climate Division of the CSO, said.
Up to the end of May, excise clearances for green diesel amounted to 473 million litres.
In 2022, clearances for green diesel came in at over 1.1 billion litres.
CSO
The data also shows that clearances of autodiesel stood at 342 million litres in May, 9% higher than a year beforehand.
The CSO said that this was the highest volume of autodiesel recorded for the month of May since records began in 2000.
Clearances of petrol in May 2023 were 98 million litres, which was 18% higher than in May 2022.
The report notes that clearances of kerosene, which is mainly used as a home heating fuel, in May 2023 were 27% higher than in May 2022, but were 37% lower than in May 2021.
The data used for the statistics release mainly relates to Revenue Commissioners monthly excise clearance volumes.
Price changes, exceptionally cold weather, and storage capacity (home heating oil tanks) can all combine to create marked variations in the monthly clearances.
Levels of activity in the economy and changes in the vehicle fleet composition can affect the volume of clearances of road fuels.