Excise clearances of marked gas oil, also known as green diesel, in the month of September, were down 13% compared to September of 2022.
According to statistics from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), clearance volumes of marked gas oil were 85 million litres in September 2023, compared to 97 million litres in the same month of 2022.
The figure for marked gas oil clearances this September is the lowest for that month since 2017.
The September clearances for marked gas oil was also a decrease on the figure for August 2023, which was 107 million litres. The September 2023 figure is the joint-lowest monthly figure this year (January also saw 85 million litres cleared).
For the period January to September 2023, clearances of green diesel were down 4.4% compared to the same period of 2022.
Excise clearances refer to amounts of oil on which duty has been paid that are removed from tax warehouses.
Clearance data provide a proxy for sales and the associated level of consumption, but do not necessarily reflect actual consumption.
In terms of other fuels, clearances of autodiesel in September 2023, at 281 million litres, were down 9% compared to September 2022.
Autodiesel clearances were 0.7% higher in the first nine months of 2023, compared with the first nine months of 2022.
Clearances of unleaded petrol in September 2023 stood at 80 million litres, which was 0.7% lower than in September 2022.
Unleaded petrol clearances were 9.3% higher in the first nine months of 2023 compared with the first nine months of 2022.
Clearances of kerosene in September 2023 were 23% lower compared to September 2022.
The data used in these statistics relates mainly to Revenue Commissioners’ monthly excise clearance volumes.
The use of transport fuels such as autodiesel and unleaded petrol are less seasonal than the use of home heating fuels. Price changes, exceptionally cold weather, and storage capacity (such as 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.