SteveG Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I know there is more tax and that modern diesels costs slightly more than petrol to refine, but why is difference now about 14p/l when it was 3-4p/l when petrol was last around 89/90p a litre? Anyone know? Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveturnbull Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I heard it was because most of our diesel is imported, where as we produce most / all of our petrol. Might have read that on BBC news come to think of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 on average diesels get more to the gallon ergo more people buy diesels. Government feel left out as they are loosing out on yummy tax, government come up with BS polution carp to justify re-raping our wallets based on particulate that is removed from the atmosphere by rainfall The moral majority are dumb enough to belive it hence we are the only country in Europe with such a disparity, in fact......from memory the only country where diesel is more expensive than petrol.. yay. Im jaded and cynical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabell Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Diesel on this side of the pond is currently $1.35 more per gallon than petrol. Here they say the high European demand is causing the rift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cipx2 Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 It's a matter of demand and offer at a global level. Briefly said (source): The price structure in UK (maybe except the current VAT rate): http://www.petrolprices.com/price-of-petrol.html dollythelw, your memory needs an update: http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/eupetrolprices/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bull Bar Cowboy Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 A barrel of oil is about 42 US gallons ( 35 imperial).................... that will distill to about 20 US galls of gasoline (87 RON petrol) and only about 10 US gallons of derv (LS Derv). The main reason being that the crude is too high in sulphur and therefore the refining of low sulphur fuels is much less efficient. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q-rover Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 It´s another good reason to have a V8. The extra tax is the governments way of trying to force people to see the light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Im old cpx2 - forgive me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callum Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 i think...although i could be wrong...that diesel used to be cheaper (long before i can rememebr unfortunately) because it was a waste product from the petrol refining process. as the popularity of diesel increased, presumably it reached the point where the demand for waste exceeded the supply from the manufacture of petroleum. hence it would then have to become a product rather than biproduct, which costs more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchgit Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Diesel is about 91 € cents per litre here. the way my V8 sounded was worth the extra though I better change my avatar and signature seeing I've turned to the dark side... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRK Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Up until 2004 diesel was noticeably cheaper than petrol and thats a fact. The government introduced a hefty benefit taxation from April 2002 on company cars based on emissions that escalated up to 2004 timescales. This resulted in a mass migration of company car drivers to diesel, myself included so in 2004 when i purchased a diesel within a few months it became more expensive than petrol by around 1 to 2 pence per litre. Since then the oil companies (cartel) have milked it along with the government. diesel historically has always been cheaper to produce and sell and still should be all things being equal. This is about 'interested bodies' making maximum profit and they will produce evidence to support there position. It is now almost a level playing field for the average car driver whether to go petrol or diesel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted December 5, 2008 Author Share Posted December 5, 2008 A barrel of oil is about 42 US gallons ( 35 imperial).................... that will distill to about 20 US galls of gasoline (87 RON petrol) and only about 10 US gallons of derv (LS Derv). The main reason being that the crude is too high in sulphur and therefore the refining of low sulphur fuels is much less efficient. HTH Not really , because I assume that was also true some 15 months ago when petrol price was about the same and diesel was only 3-4p more. Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Currently I am paying about 63p a litre for diesel which is expensive when you consider petrol is about 45p a litre! Difference is down to government ripping off the poor old motorist. Different country same story Regards Leeds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I heard ...... The government was going to put a heafty tax on heavu oils used for heating because one of the 1% groups had beeen lobbying heavily because the fumes contained heavy particles.. Then another 1% group said that would not be fair on pensioners that used oil for heating. So the government of the day slapped all that extra tax on heavy oil used for transport. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 It's the same thing with LPG (as the above diesel taxation thing). The gov't say "we'll not be taxing LPG because it's so clean etc etc" result: lots of petrol cars get converted end result: I've heard shisperings of a tax being levvied on LPG.... Anyone who believes anything this government says needs their benefits/big screen TV's/etc etc sticking up where the sun doesn't shine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murray l Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 My understanding of the situation is that when the explosive demand for diesel vehicles took off , the oil companies in this country did not expand their refining plant too keep pace with demand . This combined with a government who lets them do what they like , has led to a fuel which is easier to produce than petrol and gives you more bang for your pound , costing more than petrol . So its only another rip off , what else is new . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Is it because it smells and is pants? I agree that it seems to be about level, cost-per-mile, whether you run petrol or diesel these days - every so often I think about converting to a diesel runabout but it never quite stacks up as you'd expect unless you have a good source of old veg oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callum Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Up until 2004 diesel was noticeably cheaper than petrol and thats a fact. i don't think that's quite true. i've had a licencse since 2001 and certainly since then, diesel has always been more expensive. a quick google search puts diesel at 80p a litre in 2000 and 80.8p for diesel. its not a big difference, but that would certainly not make diesel significantly cheaper than diesel. no doubt the gap is getting bigger, but diesel has not been significantly cheaper than petrol for a very long time. firdge i think it's because its gods own fuel still cheaper to run a modern diesel as they tend to get much better economy, but if the disparity in pricing increases as modern petrols improve efficiency, i think it will be 6 and half a dozen. here's another theory http://www.petrolprices.com/why-diesel-cos...han-petrol.html probably as many theories as the kennedy assassination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 still cheaper to run a modern diesel as they tend to get much better economy, but if the disparity in pricing increases as modern petrols improve efficiency, i think it will be 6 and half a dozen. True a modern diesel is cheaper - last time I did the maths using V8 Vs TDi the cost of timing belts, heads & gaskets etc. actually made it almost even I'm going to run away now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Interesting links from CIP, it shows diesel is more expensive before its taxed, and equal dutys come on top. In Holland, the diesel is cheaper (mainly because of the truckers), However, if you drive a car for personal use, you pay double the roadtax compared to petrol, the same for LPG. So The government is having you over either way. Something else the UK is having to contend with is the fact we are stuck on an island; You cant nip over to your neighbours to fill up cheaper. In Holland the petrol in border areas is cheaper for that reason, sponsored by the government, how bent is that? Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRK Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Down here in the South East diesel was definitely cheaper until some time in 2004. My govnor at work went from diesel to petrol for his lease car this time as after doing the maths there wasn't a 'noticeable' difference in running costs over 3 years/70,000 miles. The scenerio being comparative running costs for a new lease car must consider price premium for equivalent diesel model over petrol, reduced service interval mileage of diesel compared to petrol and then the increased cost of fuel. Service costs may be similar but my diesel takes 8 litres of oil, plus a fuel filter every service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
integerspin Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Diesel got more expensive than petrol in 1994. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
110WestCape Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 A lot of speculation mostly ...... of which some is true and a lot is not true. Although goverments around the world do interfere with taxes etc, the main cause for diesel being more expensive is simple economics ...... demand vs supply. There is an international growing trend in diesel demand and a proportional decline in mogas demand. This goes hand in hand with developments in diesel technology. Refineries are required to run on sweeter / lighter crude types in order to produce lower sulphur diesels. The refining processes become more expensive and so do the types of crude required to be extracted. Refineries around the world get updated with new processing units to meet demand of specific product types that are less damaging to the environment. Euro IV & V specs etc. Diesel has in fact not been been an inferior product to mogas since the 70's. The main streams of product that is refined out of a barrel is (from lighter ends to heavier), a) BTX solvents (benzine, toluene, xylene), feedstocks for mogas. B) Higher octane mogas and diesel and kerosenes like DPK (for jet & paraffin) and lastly c) Residuals like Fuel Oil, Marine and bunker fuels and lastly heavy Furnace oil and Bitumen A by-product is LPG which is blended from Butane and Propane gasses. Depending on a countries demand for these gasses. Europe manufacture these on demand to supplement the shortfall in natural gas. Diesel is more expensive than petrol in SA as well. The diesel price overtook that of mogas in the late 90's. Motor fuels is on of the easiest ways for governments to collect taxes but not the main reason for diesel being more expensive. My 2p worth .... Wikus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparg Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Currently I am paying about 63p a litre for diesel which is expensive when you consider petrol is about 45p a litre!Difference is down to government ripping off the poor old motorist. Different country same story Regards Leeds Erm,, how much? This isn't Doctor Who speaking, is it? - can I come and buy mine there, instead of paying 1.04/litre, up here in the future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparg Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 i don't think that's quite true. i've had a licencse since 2001 and certainly since then, diesel has always been more expensive.... diesel has not been significantly cheaper than petrol for a very long time. Bless! - "..a very long time..." - to us old people, 2001 was yesterday - for the majority of our living memory, diesel was cheaper. We still keep thinking it'll go back to 'normal' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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