Imagine my surprise - Rip-Off Britain continues.................

[BroxburnHibee]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14508213

[Beefster]

The fact that petrol and energy retailers still think that consumers will believe this [implicated] bull**** about wholesale prices only being relevant when prices are rising is unbelievable. Thieving gits.

[Removed]

And there are two further tax rises scheduled for next year that will add another 8p per litre. Shafted by the oil companies and the government :bitchy:

[Jack]

You'd better not have a look at wholesale gas prices over the last 10 years then.

10 years ago it was around $4 a cubic meter, it went up to a high of $17 but has been falling for a few years now and is currently just over $4. In that time the price to the consumer has tripled, with more hefty increases in the pipeline.

[Woody1985]

Oh, the exchange rate. Silly me, I didn't realise that's why the country is getting completely ****ed.

How come countries where the economy is completely **** still charge less?

There should be a cap like a tracker ceiling in place.

[Lucius Apuleius]

You'd better not have a look at wholesale gas prices over the last 10 years then.

10 years ago it was around $4 a cubic meter, it went up to a high of $17 but has been falling for a few years now and is currently just over $4. In that time the price to the consumer has tripled, with more hefty increases in the pipeline.

And I know one place, that I shall not mention, that flares 130 million cubic meters per day:agree: Criminal in my opinion.

[Jack]

And I know one place, that I shall not mention, that flares 130 million cubic meters per day:agree: Criminal in my opinion.

I’m not doubting you but do you realise that is enough gas to supply the whole population of Leith for a year, with a tad left over?

[BEEJ]

And I know one place, that I shall not mention, that flares 130 million cubic meters per day:agree: Criminal in my opinion.
Grangemouth? Mossmorran? :confused:

[Lucius Apuleius]

I’m not doubting you but do you realise that is enough gas to supply the whole population of Leith for a year, with a tad left over?

I do indeed which is why we are building a GTL plant :wink:

[Lucius Apuleius]

Grangemouth? Mossmorran? :confused:


Wee bitty further field. But you actually touch on a point. I wonder what the daily flaring rate is for the north sea.

[easty]

The fact that petrol and energy retailers still think that consumers will believe this [implicated] bull**** about wholesale prices only being relevant when prices are rising is unbelievable. Thieving gits.

I was thinking about this the other day.....what can we do about it though? Seriously, is there anything we can do? I can't think of anything.

[RyeSloan]

Reading the article is quite revealing though…taking some of the figures as accurate it states crude process make up about 30% of the pump price. So if crude has dropped 18% we would expect an 18% drop of 30% of the price…a net 5.5% drop.

Yet we have seen next to no reduction so there is either larger margins being taken throughout the distribution network…refiners not passing on the crude price reduction or the petrol stations themselves keeping a larger cut of the pump price or as the article states the movement in the £/$ exchange rate means that in sterling terms crude is no cheaper than it was anyway so there is little or no reduction in the basic crude price to pass on in the first place.

As ever the truth is probably in the middle…taking 5.5% off a 135p pump price would give you a 7.5p a litre saving…assuming the middle ground that means we are being ‘ripped’ off for about 3.5p a litre. Considering that ‘rip off’ actually goes to the people refining, delivering and selling the stuff I can’t get too upset….the reality is that tax and VAT are by far the biggest proportion of the cost of fuel and despite Osbournes smoke and mirrors that’s where the blame lies for high fuel prices.

To be honest though it’s still pretty amazing that a litre of petrol still only costs about the same as an equivalent volume of evian water so maybe perspective (and much more fuel efficient cars) is required when considering fuel prices….although paying £60 to fill up the car does make me greet as much as the next man I can assure you!!

Edit: Oh and one other thing...compared to the rest of Europe etc Britain is hardly over the top in terms of fuel prices and again most differences seem to be down to taxation regimes.

[Jonnyboy]

What really brings it home to me is that we are now conditioned to litre prices. The fact is that a gallon of unleaded is now something like £6.30 - scandalous

[Phil D. Rolls]

You'd better not have a look at wholesale gas prices over the last 10 years then.

10 years ago it was around $4 a cubic meter, it went up to a high of $17 but has been falling for a few years now and is currently just over $4. In that time the price to the consumer has tripled, with more hefty increases in the pipeline.


I was thinking about this the other day.....what can we do about it though? Seriously, is there anything we can do? I can't think of anything.

At one time the government controlled the supply of essential commodities like gas and electricity. However there was this mad theory that by opening it up to competition it would be better for the consumer. Because private companies always consider customers before profit, unlike the government whose job is to, er....

[down-the-slope]

maybe a bit off topic but related..

The standard of living has been rising steadily for years (with the odd speed bump) but this has been fuelled by unsustainable personal and goverment debt....

we are going to need to get used to dramatic increases in the cost of everyday stuff that we have come to see as necessities...

UNLESS we change the way we live (eithre as individuals or a nation) and consider what we spend and how to reduce that rather than having the focus on what we earn...

[Phil D. Rolls]

maybe a bit off topic but related..

The standard of living has been rising steadily for years (with the odd speed bump) but this has been fuelled by unsustainable personal and goverment debt....

we are going to need to get used to dramatic increases in the cost of everyday stuff that we have come to see as necessities...

UNLESS we change the way we live (eithre as individuals or a nation) and consider what we spend and how to reduce that rather than having the focus on what we earn...

I certainly think we could spend less on our foreign policy.

[Jack]

And I know one place, that I shall not mention, that flares 130 million cubic meters per day:agree: Criminal in my opinion.

Here's another 100,000,000+ cubic feet not helping 'climate change'.

I’ll bet there's others, as bad if not worse, around the rest of the planet.

Still the connedsumer happily pays the extra taxes in our valiant fight against emissions and climate change that achieves no more than a piss in the ocean when set against the likes of this. :rolleyes:


Every day across the western half of North Dakota 100 million cubic feet of natural gas is deliberately burned by oil companies rushing to extract oil from the Bakken shale field and take advantage of the high price of crude. The gas bubbles up alongside the oil, and with less economic incentive to capture it, the drillers treat the gas as waste and simply burn it.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/09/14/business/energy-environment/flare-ss.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=thab1

[Sylar]

When I was in the USA over the past 2 weeks, petrol prices dropped by 12 cents over the period, due to a drop in the crude oil price.

I'm willing to bet these same reductions weren't experienced over here?

[RyeSloan]

When I was in the USA over the past 2 weeks, petrol prices dropped by 12 cents over the period, due to a drop in the crude oil price.

I'm willing to bet these same reductions weren't experienced over here?

No probably not but maybe some of the reason is as fuel in the US is taxed much lower then crude prices will make up a much larger element of the price paid by the driver at the pump than it will in the UK?

Asasda cutting 2p off a litre today I see....not much but to use their rivals slogan every little helps..although with prices about 20p a litre higher than they were a year ago there is a bit to go yet!!