fuel prices

[classicsl]

95p/litre at my local petrol station this morning..... i understand that this is due in part to the disaster in the states, that the oil companies have held back the full price raise and that the full impact might take it up to 98p. so can we expect a fall in the price again long term??

 

[blassberg]

Oxford Services - Premium Unleaded - 105.9p/litre.........

 

[pascal]

Euro 1.11 yesterday.

And I thought that was crazy.

But a quid+ :cry: . Thats nearly 1.50 Euro.

 

[Slaphead]

We had the old TE in France for a couple of weeks and it's about ?1.30 over there in the cheaper (hypermarché) places. I wonder could we run it on wine?

 

[davidsl500]

Well it always amazes me how petrol prices go up at the slight sniff of a crisis but never seem to go down to the old level again...

Yes, I know that Opec are carrying the smallest reserves than ever so that the smallest problem causes a price hike but thats the way they like to do it these days-the old supply and demand situation. We also know that the emerging nations like China and India are putting a strain on things as well as they gear up their industries - so we have the double whammy, higher oil prices as china increases its industrial output and consumes 20% more oil than ever leading to British and European companies having to either bear the increasing costs of production or put up prices to the consumer whilst China exports even more product putting jobs at risk over here.

Then you have the oil speculators fueling the oil increases by talking up the prices by spreading doom and gloom while cashing in...

Add to that the recent storms in the Gulf of Mexico which has had some impact on production as rigs have shut down ( though they are now reopening again), the instability in the middle east, The largest Russian Oil producer looking like it might shut down its 8.5million barrel a day production as it poises on bankruptcy due to the Russian Government demanding back taxes and the threat of terrorism disrupting oil production/distribution - its a wonder we are not dispensing petrol through an eye dropper..

Of course BP still managed to scrape an 8 Billion Dollar PROFIT for the 2nd quarter of the year, how do they manage on the breadline like that?

The knock on effect of the fuel hikes are already beginning to bite in my view, inflation will increase, less spare cash to buy goods, increased costs for businesses.......... welcome to the recession !!

I also note that the government are quite happy to take the increased revenue from the VAT receipts - they should cut duty short term to counteract the increases and maybe spend a little more time investigating the price fixing that goes on in the uk on fuel. How can service stations uniformly and immediately put up fuel prices on a delivery that they have already received and paid for - is that profiteering or what?

And lastly, if our American cousins would kindly consider dumping all their gas guzzling SUV's that they dont actually need and maybe walk somewhere once in a while then there would be plenty of fuel for us all.

Rant over, unless I think of something else....Might have to take the SL into work tomorrow and do some serious damage to the ozone layer to make me feel better......

 

[blassberg]

Yes, I know that Opec are carrying the smallest reserves than ever so that the smallest problem causes a price hike but thats the way they like to do it these days-the old supply and demand situation.

Demand may have gone up (cf China etc.) but on the Supply side, the reserves are the reserves which include the refined oils PLUS the dead trees and stuff still in the ground. They will dwindle over time but unless someone forgets about an oilfield or two (or maybe a country or two) then the stockholding is irrelevant isn't it?

(Engineer not Economist.....)

 

[The Editor]

But... but..... don't the Chinese all go round on bikes ???

 

[blassberg]

'ccording to teletext on bbc2 (is that ceefax??),

average fuel prices are
94.6 U/L
97.6 Diesel
100.36 S U/L

 

[Mister Millions]

i like the driving on wine idea.....it helps me forget....

 

[Mister Millions]

L.P.G........its cleaner burning and apparently extends the life of your engine..i think you can even get a grant if your cars less than 5 years old.. if you do a lot of driving its well worth it. In Australia all the cabs run on lpg. It is about £1200- £1500 to get your car converted (without the grant). .Lpg is (i think) less than 40p a litre.. ...

 

[996jimbo]

No grants any more I'm afraid (see Powershift.something.something else). Even when there were grants I couldn't work out if anyone could actually qualify for one - I think they were aimed at corporate bodies rather than Joe Public.

Typical cost of conversion £2,000+

 

[robbi-wan]

I read an article 'tother day regarding fuel prices which was deeply disturbing.
Apparently Shell & BP (or 2 other major suppliers) are preparing to spend £££££££millions upgrading the pumps and forecourt signs because the majority of them cannot display prices higher than 99.99p......
This means, of course, that £1+ prices are likely to be here to stay :sad:

China's booming economy is supposedly putting over 1000 new (Rover??) cars a week on the road also, which is v.strange as most of the country has no roads - where are they all going?

LPG may well be cheap at the moment, but so was diesel a few years ago, until the bean counters got involved.......

And finally: $8bn dollars of profit is probably after they have paid all of the south american mercenaries to terrorise people off thier land in order to drill there in the first place.....Imagine what it would have been in the first place!

 

[turnipsock]

I had a company LPG car with all the grants going. It was actually pretty good even though the company were paying for the fuel and I had to drive miles to find a filling station. When I was on my way out of the door, I couldn't find an LPG station anywhere and could never get the car above third gear.

I'm now working in a refinery and we are still exporting fuel, so why have UK prices gone up?

The guy with the old S500 looked ill today.

 

[Mister Millions]

because we are all getting stitched up... maybe we shouild all get those gimpy electric thingies....

 

[3146bj]

The fuel price rise is on here too. From a discount low of AUD1.245/litre to AUD1.399 in one day (for 91-93 RON Unleaded Petrol - add AUD0.05 for 95RON and AUD0.10 for Optimax)! With a crude price of USD30 the Unleaded price was between AUD0.80 to 0.90 depending on the discount cycle. Now with crude over USD70, the price has not yet doubled. The Federal govt tax take is fixed, but the GST (or VAT to you) is 10% at retail level so it goes up.

On the LPG option, all Australian city taxis are on it as are a lot of larger engined light commercials and 4WD's. The only advantages are slightly less pollution and the price (AUD0.39/litre in Melbourne but rising to AUD0.80 in some remote areas). Conversion to dual fuel is AUD1500-2500 depending on the vehicle, so break even is around 50,000km/yr and falling as the petrol price rises. Disadvantages are that not all engines are suited to it, it is not always readily available in the country, the cylinder takes up boot space and on some 4WD's seriously compromises ground clearance, and the installation does require more specialised maintenance. Leaks are not easily detected and the consequences with the 80kg cylinder in the boot can be dramatic to say the least.

One fact to ponder on: Shell Australia's profit for 2004 calendar year was AUD2million. Not much return for a AUD8BILLION investment (or ****** good accountants)!

 

[SLinKyjoe]

Rant over, unless I think of something else....Might have to take the SL into work tomorrow and do some serious damage to the ozone layer to make me feel better......

I have found out how economical my 5439cc V8 is. it managed 25mpg down hill yesterday. and 21mpg overall in the 112 miles i went in it. i had a 4 ltr jeep that only managed 23 as its best ever.


think i will follow you into work one day just to help make a statement. dont knwo what statement tho but we shall make it anyway! come on all you................. fill in with what ever cause you wish to have supported. I shall be much to busy scaring animals in the dales witht he car.

 

[classicsl]

with the impending risk of another fuel protest as of the 14th there is the risk of panic buying prior to this and a more immediate shortage..be prepared for carnage on the forecourt!!

 

[jberks]

I had a look at LPG.
2k for the conversion and 40p per litre - but only 80% of the MPG.
It is cheaper but not by as much as you would think. I calculated that it would take over 2 years to recoup the installation cost, and that's assuming I do over 20k per year solely on LPG. With the size of the tanks, andthe fact that they don't fill up beyond 90% ish, I would have to go out of my way at least twice a week to fill up so it would be a real pain. If my local station had LPG it might be a goer but as it stands I don't think so. I could get a bigger tank, but then have no boot space.
Given that most of us keep the car for 3-5 years, you really have to get it done when you buy the car to make it remotely viable. Apparently Volvo have stopped selling duel fuel cars though I did see a new vectra with a factory dualfuel badge this week so who knows.

I got 37.8 out of the E240 this week!!
Another time, I reset the computer on the way home and it was cruising at an average of 85 and returning well over 43mpg. As soon as I got onto A roads, the average fell to 30 - meaning that I was probably returning around 18. So the answer to the worlds fuel problems (well mine anyway) are easy - All roads should be motorways, and we should all travel at 85mph! Anyone going slower at any time should be shot! (except my friends and family - obviously).

 

[davidsl500]

You can of course get LPG much cheaper than 40p a litre though if you know where to go.

 

[turnipsock]

You can of course get LPG much cheaper than 40p a litre though if you know where to go.

You're not thinking about syphoning out of somebody elses tank because I can see a flaw in this?

I filled up both my cars over the last two days and have collected enough air miles to fly to work, two days a week.

There are protests planned at Grangemouth next week. The flares were turned up high today. They could have just put the excess fuel into my car.