Petrol station owners planned legal action against Enemed.

All fuel stations wanting to sell super unleaded petrol are to start being supplied with the product as soon as they completed the necessary preparations, GRTU, the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises said today.

The statement followed a story in the Times of Malta today saying that petrol station owners were planning legal action against Enemed, the State-owned fuel importation company, claiming it abused its monopoly position when it chose only 10 of them to sell a new “super unleaded” type of petrol.

There are some 80 fuel stations scattered around Malta and Gozo. Those that have not been selected say Enemed’s move amounts to discrimination and lack of a level playing field.

The stations were ready to ask the courts to issue an injunction against the company to stop it from distributing the new fuel to the 10 other stations from Monday.

In a statement this evening, the GRTU said that Following a meeting earlier this week with Enemed chairman Kevin Chircop, it presented its arguments as to why the super fuel should be distributed widely among stations.

"GRTU is pleased to announce that following this meeting an agreement was reached whereby all fuel stations that express their interest in selling the Super Unleaded Petrol will be supplied as soon as the necessary preparations are completed from the fuel stations’ end.

"A list of the fuel stations that would like to be supplied with the Super Unleaded Petrol has already been passed on to Enemed," it said.

Carlo Cini, who heads the petrol station owners’ section within the GRTU, had told the Times of Malta:

“We have this dispute with Enemed because we cannot accept how the company chose the stations to supply this new fuel.

“They are saying they chose the ones that have already been refurbished but we cannot accept this."

He explained that fuel stations had been given until 2020 by the government to refurbish and change their pumps.

Super Unleaded Petrol RON98 is a high octane fuel which, it is claimed, improves a car’s performance and helps protect the engine while cutting fuel consumption.

The higher octane rating of super unleaded should make it burn more efficiently, thus delivering more power for less fuel.

It suits high-performance engines where pressures and temperatures are great, but carries less benefit for ordinary cars.

The new fuel is expected to cost some 15c more than the standard unleaded petrol.