Petroineos has announced that it will reduce the volume of biodiesel in its fuel after farmer complaints and union lobbying.

Petroineos, the only crude oil refinery in Scotland, has decided that it will reduce the volume of biofuel blended into its fuel while it continues to investigate the cause of the current fuel problems being experienced by users.

This announcement follows hundreds of complaints from farmers whose tractor engines were failing to start due to poor fuel performance.

It is positive to see Petroineos acting swiftly off the back of the discussions with NFU Scotland and other industry leaders

Farmers were finding their fuel filters clogged and their engines failing to start on cold mornings, with biofuel in the red diesel being blamed. NFU Scotland has received over 380 complaints from farmers about the issue.

After meeting Petroineos on 20 November, the union wants to set up a longer-term solution now that there has been a short-term derogation.

NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick said: “It is positive to see Petroineos acting swiftly off the back of the discussions with NFU Scotland and other industry leaders.

“This issue is not a quick fix though and may not completely resolve this problem. We need government to work with producers and users to find a workable, long-term solution to these issues.

I am aware of the reported issues affecting the agricultural and other sectors which may be linked to the blending of biofuel products

“We need to see an expert working group established and NFU Scotland needs to be involved to represent our members, whose businesses have been heavily affected by these biofuel issues.”

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: “I am aware of the reported issues affecting the agricultural and other sectors which may be linked to the blending of biofuel products. I remain vigilant to the requirement for further investigation to understand the root cause of what is a complex process with multiple variables.

I have written to the UK Government to ensure that this is resolved

“I am therefore pleased that Petroineos (as one of Scotland’s key fuel producers) share this need for action, and have taken a number of steps to try to ensure that end-users do not experience further unnecessary operational issues.

“As fuel standards and the renewable transport fuel obligation are both reserved to the UK Government, I have written to the UK Government to ensure that this is resolved.

“I am clear that a longer-term fix will need to be found that allows for the continued reduction of carbon emissions from fuels that does not pose critical issues with performance.

“We will continue to press for long term solutions to the issues this situation has raised.”