Maltese fuel pumps were twice found to be selling ‘irregular’ diesel last year according to a new study published yesterday by the European Environmental Agency.

Out of some 100 samples of diesel taken from Maltese fuel pumps across the island and analysed by the Regulator for Energy and Water Services in accordance with an EU directive, two samples were found to have higher sulphur content than those permitted by the Fuel Quality Directive.

While, according to the directive, diesel should have a sulphur content of lower than 10 milligrams per kilo, in the two cases flagged in Malta, the parameters were surpassed by three times to reach 34 mg/kilogramme.

In 2015 some 120 million litres of diesel were sold in the local market, compared to 95 million litres of petrol

No details were given on which fuel pumps were found to be selling this ‘irregular’ diesel.

On the other hand, the quality of petrol sold in Malta was found to be fully complaint with EU parameters in all of the 100 samples analysed.

The report shows that like in the rest of the EU, diesel was the most sold fuel in 2015. According to the EEA, in 2015 some 120 million litres of diesel were sold in the local market, compared to 95 million litres of petrol.

On an EU level, the report shows that fuel sales in just eight member states accounted for more than 80 per cent of total EU fuel sales in 2015.

The 15 member states with the lowest fuel sales accounted for less than 10 per cent of total EU sales.

Last year, EU fuel sales continued to be dominated by diesel which amounted to 71 per cent of all fuels sold. Petrol amounted to just 29 per cent of all the fuel sales in the 28 member states.

The fraction of diesel fuel sales has increased over the years, from 55.6 per cent of total sales in 2001 to 71 per cent in 2015.

This reflects to a large degree the increasing dieselisation of Europe’s vehicle fleet during that period.

Diesel fuel consumption is significant in most of the 28 EU member states – over 60 per cent – with the exception of Malta, Cyprus, Greece and the Netherlands.

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