The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has said that excise clearances of marked gas oil, also known as 'green diesel', in December 2024 were 3% lower when compared to the same month in the previous year.

The latest data published today (Thursday, February 13) shows that excise clearances of green diesel stood at 71 million litres in the month of December 2024, down from 73 million litres in December 2023.

According to the CSO, clearances reflect the duty paid on oil removed from bonded warehouses. The data provides “a proxy for sales", but do not reflect actual consumption.

The CSO also noted that marked gas oil is primarily used for off-road purposes such as agriculture and the heating of larger buildings.

The figures released by the CSO shows that excise clearances of unleaded petrol in December 2024 stood at 91 million litres, which was 9% higher than in December 2023 which had a total of 83 million litres.

The CSO also said that this was the highest volume of unleaded petrol clearances recorded for the month of December, since December 2017.

Clearances of auto diesel in December 2024 were recorded at 281 million litres, 2% lower than the December 2023 figure of 286 million litres.

The wholesale prices of auto diesel in December 2024 were the same as they were in December 2023. Meanwhile, the wholesale prices of unleaded petrol in December 2024 were higher than they were in December 2023.

Excise clearances of kerosene, mainly used as a home heating fuel, were 110 million litres in December 2024, a 14% decrease from the December 2023 figure of 128 million litres.

Commenting on the data, statistician in the Climate and Energy Division of the CSO, Deirdre Moran said: "There was a 1.5% decrease in auto diesel excise clearances when comparing the year 2024 with 2023.

"This was the lowest annual excise clearances for auto diesel since 2021," she concluded.