[notavictim]

Can anyone explain to me in lay terms why the cost of kerosene/28 sec heating oil in the UK is higher than unleaded road fuel and on a level par with gasoil/diesel.

I am getting quotes from various oil companies of between 34p and 36p per litre for kerosene plus 5% tax. The price of road fuel averages circa 89p per litre at the british government's confiscation centres, euphemistically called gas stns. which constitutes a pre-tax price of 29p per litre, 5-7p per litre cheaper than kerosene. I would have thought that kerosene, being a less refined product than unleaded road fuel, would be cheaper to produce.

I have written to several oil companies based locally to me requesting they tell me the reasons for this hike in prices, ie, from 17p per litre to 35p per litre, alas they don't appear to be forthcoming with their answers. My conclusion is that they are taking advantage of the rise in crude oil and exploiting the ever suffering british public's gullibility, by hiking up the prise of kerosene which only carries a 5% tax burden, whereas they can't do likewise with the road fuel, because 60p per litre comprises of tax.

Its the same old problem, ie, an apathetic attitude from the subjugated british public who are prepared to suffer anything providing it doesn't interfere with their lager swilling, soap operas, deifying of untalented, ugly celebrities, football, etc, not to mention of course, the banks willingness to lend them unrestricted amounts of money to spend on inflated goods and commodities with their business cronies.

I suppose I've answered my own question here, but others might have differing views on why kerosene is priced higher than road fuel and I'd be interested to know the average pre-taxed price of the aforementioned in the USA

[smallpoxgirl]

Your problem is this thing:


It moves about by burning kerosene. There's millions of them flying all over the world, and hence the price of kerosene goes up.

[pip]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('notavictim', ' ')I would have thought that kerosene, being a less refined product than unleaded road fuel, would be cheaper to produce.

[JoeW]

Kerosene is the more desirable than gasoline from an energy perspective. It has more energy per litre.

[backstop]

Notavictim -

SPG has it right that it's demand from the air-transport buyers that's driven this price-spike, but there's also more to it.

The recent (totally unexplained triple blasts and resulting) fire at the Bruntsfield Oil Depot has cut supplies of Kerosene to Heathrow by 30%, and as of a few days ago they'd not found alternative sources.

At present a full departures schedule is being maintained, but fuel supplies are being strictly rationed.

The reason this was publicized at all was some formal wingeing by 2 major US carriers with Heathrow slots claiming that they need bigger fuel rations to avoid carrying fuel from the US to the UK in order to have enough to get back to the US.

They seem to have been politely told that all carriers are having to carry extra fuel, and no exceptions will be made. i.e. F.O.

Given that carrying extra fuel means you burn still more fuel to carry it, it appears that a shortage of fuel at airports can dramatically degrade airliners' fuel efficiency.

Which is an unusally clear example of the 'vicious spiral' of oil-supply decline.

I'd still like to know what happened at Bruntsfield, which was reportedly "the largest fire in Europe since WWII," with zero reportage once they stopped congratulating firemen for doing their job.

I'd also like to know which if any other airports are starting to ration fuel - e.g. Johannesburg ? Jakarta ? Somewhere else ?

Kerosene is the critical junk for a critical component of global economic confidence - it has to be well worth watching.

regards,

Backstop

[dbuckley]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('backstop', 'T')he reason this was publicized at all was some formal wingeing by 2 major US carriers with Heathrow slots claiming that they need bigger fuel rations to avoid carrying fuel from the US to the UK in order to have enough to get back to the US.

[notavictim]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pip', '
')
It is cheaper to produce. What does that have to do with the price?

[Kingcoal]

Kerosene is not a "less refined" product than gaseline. It's just a longer chain hydrocarbon.

[notavictim]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Kingcoal', 'K')erosene is not a "less refined" product than gaseline. It's just a longer chain hydrocarbon.

[pip]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('notavictim', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pip', '
')
It is cheaper to produce. What does that have to do with the price?

[Kingcoal]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('notavictim', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Kingcoal', 'K')erosene is not a "less refined" product than gaseline. It's just a longer chain hydrocarbon.

[notavictim]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pip', '
')


1. There's not a greater quantity to be derived from a barrel. Less jet fuel comes out of a barrel than gasoline or diesel.

[notavictim]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Kingcoal', '
')
Care to elaborate on why you are you sure it's cheaper to produce than "road fuel?"

[pip]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('notavictim', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pip', '
')
1. There's not a greater quantity to be derived from a barrel. Less jet fuel comes out of a barrel than gasoline or diesel.

[notavictim]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pip', '
')
We’re both referring to the same thing.
Jet Fuel = Kerosene = 28 sec heating oil = Jet-A = Hydrocarbon boiling between about 300 – 500 F
It’s all the same market. When you buy kerosene/28 sec heating oil, you are competing with the airlines for fuel.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('notavictim', 'W')ell, I've always presumed it was a cheaper product, because for the past 10 yrs. that I've used kerosene for both my heating and running my diesel vehicle its been cheaper than road fuel.

[pip]

I doubt kerosene would have a measurable octane. Vapor pressure on kerosene is not something that is measured. It would probably be less than 1 psi. Typical summer gasoline has a vapor pressure of 7 to 9 psi.

There is a gasoline spec in the US of 437F for the Final Boiling Point in the distillation of the gasoline. Like I said before, kerosene boils between about 400-500F. You could not mix any finished kerosene with gasoline and still meet that spec.

[notavictim]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', ' ') If the demand for kerosene goes up relative to gasoline, then the price of kerosene will go up relative to gasoline.