The most recent data from the Costa Rican Petroleum Refinery (RECOPE) revealed that, far from decreasing, the fuel consumption in the country grows non-stop. The entity reported an increase in sales of 4.2% during the first semester of the year compared to the same period last year.
During the first half of 2017, citizens bought 1,667 million liters of fuel, whereas for the same period in 2018 purchases increased to 1,737 million liters.
The main growth was registered in super gasoline, which is still consumer’s favorite. This may be due to the entity importing new vehicles for which manufacturers recommend the use of super instead of the regular or the plus 91.
According to RECOPE, this is nonsense, since both types of fuel are of a similar quality. The only difference is in the octane level, in which case the plus 91 has 91 octanes and the super has 95 octanes. Each vehicle requires a minimum octane rating to function properly, which is set by the manufacturer.
In general, Super gasoline is recommended for high-capacity vehicles, so in the country only 25% of vehicles would need it.