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Fuel oils

In the past, fuel oils were among the most used oil products. With the increased use of natural gas, however, their importance gradually diminished and fuel oil production only represents a small fraction of refinery products today. The domestic market share of fuel oil (FO) currently is roughly 10% of the volume of motor fuel.

To avoid any possible misuse of fuel oil as motor fuel and thus to prevent potential tax evasion (because of the substantially lower or even zero excise tax rate on fuel oil as compared to diesel fuel), light and extra light FOs must be dyed and marked. In the past, fuel oils were not marked in a consistent way across Europe. Complex organic compounds based on various chemical substances were used as markers – most often these were azo compounds or compounds based on furfural. The situation was resolved by EU Decision No. 2001/574/EC which came into effect on 1 August 2002. It designated a unified marker based on an azo compound with the trade name Solvent Yellow 124. The use of dyes and markers in fuel oil in the Czech Republic is required by Act No. 136/1994 and relevant regulations. According to current legislation, fuel oils subject to dyeing and marking must contain 20 ± 5 mg/kg of a mixture of red dye and marker. The ratio of the two components, i.e., of the dye and marker in the applied additive, is approximately 1:1. The marker used in the Czech Republic is chemically identical to the type agreed upon by the EU. Extra light fuel oil is a mid-boiling mixture of hydrocarbons with a boiling point between 150 and 370°C and which is obtained from petroleum by mixing both primary and secondary desulphurised petroleum fractions. Due to its low sulphur content, extra light fuel oil is intended for use as a fuel in particularly environmentally stressed areas and nature reserves and to heat households.

Extra light fuel oil is a mid-boiling mixture of hydrocarbons with a boiling point between 150 and 370°C and which is obtained from petroleum by mixing both primary and secondary desulphurised petroleum fractions. Due to its low sulphur content, extra light fuel oil is intended for use as a fuel in particularly environmentally stressed areas and nature reserves and to heat households.

Extra light fuel oil is produced in refineries by mixing suitable middle petroleum fractions – both desulphurised fractions from the primary processes and secondary fractions from the follow-up processes, particularly from cracking. The quality of extra light fuel oil in the Czech Republic is governed by the work standards of the individual producers. A new Czech national standard is not relevant since negotiations are currently underway within the EU that will result in a joint agreement on what the European quality of extra light fuel oil should look like. We know already that there will be a stronger emphasis on the purity and low-temperature operability of extra light fuel oil.

The quality of other fuel oils is determined mainly by the requirements of the individual users and the origin of the oil. Due to the diversity of both production and processing, there is no single standard in Europe that addresses the quality of fuel oil, and the individual countries have their own national standards designed to suit their specific requirements.