PeakOil is You
THE Fuel Theft Thread (merged)
Re: Gasoline and Diesel Thefts Thread
by TWilliam » Tue 03 Jun 2008, 03:51:59
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MarkJ', 'S')urprisingly, we haven't had many customers that have had theft issues with outdoor heating oil/kerosene tanks and/or propane tanks.
Yet...
I seem to recall reading something a few winters back, when the pricing run-up was just getting started, about some delivery drivers ripping customers off, charging them for whatever they ordered while actually pumping only a small amount into their tanks.
You can bet your butt that there's going to be a lot more theft of all liquid fuels as the price continues to mount, not only for black market resale but for personal use as well by people who simply can no longer afford to purchase it themselves...
"It means buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy, because Kansas? Is goin' bye-bye... "
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Re: Gasoline and Diesel Thefts Thread
by ColossalContrarian » Thu 05 Jun 2008, 11:52:47
A little bored this morning,found this article from September 2005 regarding diesel theft rise in CA. What I found interesting in particular was this quote.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')"I looked at the last two years, in terms of the impact of higher diesel for growers, and the costs per acre for diesel for growing processing tomatoes in the 2003 crop was roughly $72 an acre. That has increased to just over $200 an acre in a matter of two years, so the net impact is a little over $3 a ton," Siragusa said. "So the grower has gone backwards by the tune of $3 and this is using an off-road diesel price of $2.40. In terms of profitability for the growers this year with grower yields and all of these higher costs, they will definitely be in the hole."
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')"I looked at the last two years, in terms of the impact of higher diesel for growers, and the costs per acre for diesel for growing processing tomatoes in the 2003 crop was roughly $72 an acre. That has increased to just over $200 an acre in a matter of two years, so the net impact is a little over $3 a ton," Siragusa said. "So the grower has gone backwards by the tune of $3 and this is using an off-road diesel price of $2.40. In terms of profitability for the growers this year with grower yields and all of these higher costs, they will definitely be in the hole."
And this was when diesel was $3 a gallon… it’s a little off topic but it shows just how dire the situation is becoming because the farmers also had to deal with theft, which they're still dealing with.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')If the high cost of diesel wasn't enough, farmers have become the targets of thieves sneaking onto their farms to steal as much fuel as they can get their hands on.
Denair dairyman Don Morelli is one of the many diesel-theft victims. Suspects disregarded the "no trespassing" signs posted around his dairy and used hoses found at the dairy to siphon both diesel and gasoline from several farm vehicles.
"We are simply victims. This is the third or fourth robbery we've had, and we don't feel safe and secure any more on the farm and at our house," Morelli said. "These are professional people doing this out here."
One of Morelli's workers who showed up for an early morning shift at the dairy discovered that the keys were not in the Caterpillar skip loader he was about to use. The employees were unable to feed the cows right away since they did not have the keys to the equipment. Once he and his workers looked at other pieces of equipment, they realized that other keys were missing as well. After putting two and two together, it became clear to Morelli and his workers that the keys were used to remove locking caps and doors to fuel tanks on the equipment.
"There were pieces of rubber hose lying around these vehicles which they used to siphon the fuel out of the various tanks. We figure that overall, they took at least 150 gallons of fuel that were siphoned out of about three or four pieces of equipment," Morelli said.
The loss of fuel is estimated to be at least $375, but Morelli said the loss goes beyond just the cost of the fuel. He said he and his workers lost quite a bit of time looking for the missing keys, and another factor was the stress felt not only by him and the workers, but the cows as well.
Poor cows
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Re: Gasoline and Diesel Thefts Thread
by MarkJ » Thu 05 Jun 2008, 12:21:05
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TWilliam', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MarkJ', 'S')urprisingly, we haven't had many customers that have had theft issues with outdoor heating oil/kerosene tanks and/or propane tanks.
Yet...
I seem to recall reading something a few winters back, when the pricing run-up was just getting started, about some delivery drivers ripping customers off, charging them for whatever they ordered while actually pumping only a small amount into their tanks.
One of the smaller local COD heating oil dealers was convicted of shorting customers a couple years ago, but overall you rarely hear about this happening. As prices have gone up more customers use a tank chart and stick test their oil level. Many fuel gauges aren't accurate, so people that keep their tank levels low have always measured fuel this way.
The bigger issue is companies with massive amounts of Pre-Pay customers and Pre-Paid Service Contract customers going belly up.
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