From 1 August Statoil will add 5% of the renewable fuel rape methyl ester (rapeseed oil) to all diesel sold at the group's service stations in Sweden. Rapeseed oil gives fewer carbon dioxide emissions.
In total, the addition of rapeseed oil will replace 46 million litres of diesel per year. Carbon emissions will therefore be reduced by 115,000 tonnes, equivalent to the emissions of 40,000 cars.
"The low rapeseed oil fuel mixture is the most effective way of increasing the use of renewable fuels while at the same time reducing carbon emissions, says Bjarne Lindberg, product quality manager in Statoil Sweden.
The environmentally friendly diesel is marketed under the name of Biodiesel 5 and will replace standard diesel sold at Statoil's service stations and truck diesel facilities during the autumn.
"Statoil's goal is to offer fuel with less of an environmental impact to reduce the greenhouse effect," says Mr Lindberg. "We expect to add an increasingly larger amount of renewable content to our diesel in the future."
Rape methyl ester is derived from rape oil which is a renewable. All diesel-powered vehicles can run on Biodiesel 5 without any required engine adjustments.
In Norway, Statoil currently sells rapeseed oil-enhanced diesel at four of its service stations.