Petrol and Diesel are fractions of crude oil produced by distillation. Both have additives to produce the final fuel. I think Diesel is more expensive because it's deemed that vehicles using it have better fuel economy so it's taxed more to equalise things !
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the snooper
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diesel was cheaper then petrol until all the fuel prices started to increase
also the powers that be grabbed another hand full of cash from companies that qualify for refunds by reducing fuel duty repayments by 20%.
where will it all end i wonder
also the powers that be grabbed another hand full of cash from companies that qualify for refunds by reducing fuel duty repayments by 20%.
where will it all end i wonder
Duty is the same for petrol and diesel, currently about 58p/litre? They've both been charged at the same rate for quite some time.
I reckon diesel used to be cheaper because it was dirty smelly nasty stuff that nobody wanted to use (relatively speaking). Then a little while after diesel engined cars improved to the point they weren't such hateful things CO2 became the new environmental swear word and was taxed accordingly and everyone did what was expected of them and started buying diesels. Diesel itself got cleaner which unfortunatly made it (effectively) more expensive to refine as a lot of the crap that used to be left in was no longer allowed to be- apparently you now get less diesel from a barrel of crude than petrol when it used to be the other way around. Of course it could just be because everyone's bought a diesel...
As to the cost of fuel in general... where would we prefer the revenue be raised? (probably not one to start debating as that's bound to bring out the Daily Wail in people and get the thread locked quicker)
Possibly a small/short respite on the way... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/9215714/Petrol-prices-expected-to-drop-by-5p-a-litre.html
I reckon diesel used to be cheaper because it was dirty smelly nasty stuff that nobody wanted to use (relatively speaking). Then a little while after diesel engined cars improved to the point they weren't such hateful things CO2 became the new environmental swear word and was taxed accordingly and everyone did what was expected of them and started buying diesels. Diesel itself got cleaner which unfortunatly made it (effectively) more expensive to refine as a lot of the crap that used to be left in was no longer allowed to be- apparently you now get less diesel from a barrel of crude than petrol when it used to be the other way around. Of course it could just be because everyone's bought a diesel...
As to the cost of fuel in general... where would we prefer the revenue be raised? (probably not one to start debating as that's bound to bring out the Daily Wail in people and get the thread locked quicker)
Possibly a small/short respite on the way... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/9215714/Petrol-prices-expected-to-drop-by-5p-a-litre.html
Seano
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Isnt Diesel a by product of Petrol ?? So why does it cost more ?? Oh thats right Green Tax. All done under the guise of "Global Warming". Didnt that Al Gore video get pulled apart in the Commons/Houses of Parliament (iirc). Hes not even a Scientist/Climatologist is he ? Please correct me if im wrong.
You are not incorrect, my working life has always been in the petrochemical field somewhere down the line, I started out transporting HUGE quantities of crude, and then moved into exploring for it.....so why does diesel cost more than petrol......? oh yes......GLOBAL WARMING, GREEN TAX, and all that other crap that this nanny state tell us it's good for us, I know one thing my next car will NOT be diesel driven, after twenty odd years am off back to petrol.
Rounded up, duty and VAT on fuel is £0.58 and £0.23 per ltr respectivley, so total tax is £0.81/ltr.
Pretty sure that the refining standard for diesel base stock has been the same for decades. Thats as regards sulphur content, cetane rating etc. The various forecourt retailers introduce different additive packs which may or may not be beneficial to the user.
Diesel engines though, have improved dramatically with the advent of ECU controlled common rail systems, so smoke and emission levels have been reduced significantly. The main thing for the user though is power has also increased substantially with continued improvement in fuel economy.
Pretty sure that the refining standard for diesel base stock has been the same for decades. Thats as regards sulphur content, cetane rating etc. The various forecourt retailers introduce different additive packs which may or may not be beneficial to the user.
Diesel engines though, have improved dramatically with the advent of ECU controlled common rail systems, so smoke and emission levels have been reduced significantly. The main thing for the user though is power has also increased substantially with continued improvement in fuel economy.
chunkolini
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This is a very civilised discussion for this subject matter.
Shox Dr
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I may be wrong, but I thought Diesel was a by product of Producing Petrol, and up to the wide spread use of Turbos and their development in cars*, 25yrs ago Diesel was almost a waste product, hense the low price.
Now is a different matter, Diesel is in Short supply because of the increase in use, esp as there is no longer a refinery in the UK producing it.
*anyone remember the first Turbo Diesel cars, such as the Sierra, foot on pedal and wait, 10 secs
Now is a different matter, Diesel is in Short supply because of the increase in use, esp as there is no longer a refinery in the UK producing it.
*anyone remember the first Turbo Diesel cars, such as the Sierra, foot on pedal and wait, 10 secs
rtbcomp
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Diesel isn't so much a byproduct. When you distil crude oil you get different amounts of product, the heavier the product the more you get.
So you get more diesel from a barrel of oil than you do petrol, you get more petrol than LPG and so on.
So you get more diesel from a barrel of oil than you do petrol, you get more petrol than LPG and so on.
This explains the process I was talking about above :-
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/oil-refining4.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/oil-refining4.htm
Drains
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Wedg1e
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If you really want to get your collective blood pressure up, consider natural gas. Wherever you find oil, you find gas. So what the Floating Production, Storage & Offtake vessels do is use the natural gas to run their onboard gas turbines which gives the boat free electricity. One of the turbines powers a pump that compresses the gas and squirts it back down into the oil well, so now you have the assistance of the pressurised gas to help pump the oil out, you don't need as much energy to do the pumping.
Once the oil well is dry, what do you have? Well, a nice underground store of pressurised gas - which will quite happily find its way out of a valve, up the line to the nearest shore where you can flog what is now almost a free product... for a fat profit.
Once the oil well is dry, what do you have? Well, a nice underground store of pressurised gas - which will quite happily find its way out of a valve, up the line to the nearest shore where you can flog what is now almost a free product... for a fat profit.
Shox Dr
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and do you know when they first started bringing natural gas ashore the Government were unsure as to its viability, so pegged the price a few % below Oil.
They have just passed another bill, to keep it the same. So yet again we have our collective pants pulled down
They have just passed another bill, to keep it the same. So yet again we have our collective pants pulled down
Weldinator
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Fuel is something people need, the gov etc take advantage of that.
the snooper
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yep we are over a barrel so to speak no pun intended
Again, fuel duty in the UK is the SAME for petrol and diesel. You could argue that they shouldn't be taxed at the same rate but it makes pump price comparisons easy- Diesel costs more because it's more expensive before tax. Diesels are typically cheaper when it comes to road rent etc as these are (old cars aside) currently based on CO2
Because the pump prices aren't the full story. I'd guess that diesel is taxed less than petrol where you are as is the case for most of Europe
I said apparently diesel costs more to refine than it used to as that's part of the official line along with supply and demand which i also hinted at
Whether diesel is over taxed relative to petrol due to greed under the pretence of 'green' bull**** or (as the first link claims) other countries are effictively subsidising diesel is another thing
http://www.moneyweek.com/investments/commodities/energy/the-truth-about-soaring-diesel-prices-20800
http://www.greensborogasprices.com/crude_products.aspx
Oh, more in line with OP but looking at current prices relative to inflation. Quoted from... http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/276763/fuel_prices_to_rocket_in_2012.html...
which then goes onto to talk about tax, oil prices, the UK fuel tax escalator, speculators etc
Premiershipman
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It's £1.53 over here on the island for diesel and super unleaded, I think unleaded is £1.49, we get stung on shipping costs as well and the fuel over here is poor quality with no additives etc and the car doesn't run anywhere near as smoothly as when it's fueled when over in the UK.
This is just a guess, but if demand for diesel is high compared to the other fractions coming out the crude, they'll use hydrocracking to convert the other stuff to diesel. This presumably would add to the average cost of diesel?
What I'd like to know is if LPG really is still a waste product? 10 years ago there were figures like LPG demand is only 10% of production. I was also told of a chap that used to buy it wholesale from the refinery for 0.3p/litre, as they just wanted rid of it.
In recent years I've noticed it reliably priced at just above half the price of petrol, so it's either following real crude/production costs, or a set price-plan.
What I'd like to know is if LPG really is still a waste product? 10 years ago there were figures like LPG demand is only 10% of production. I was also told of a chap that used to buy it wholesale from the refinery for 0.3p/litre, as they just wanted rid of it.
In recent years I've noticed it reliably priced at just above half the price of petrol, so it's either following real crude/production costs, or a set price-plan.
