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William_Cleland · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:46 pm Post subject:

It may be related to speculation arising from the weakening of the US dollar to an extent but there is not much doubt that global demand now exceeds supply and that a major price rise is needed to eliminate enough consumption so that the market restores its balance. The next few years are probably going to be rough ones economically until people in developed societies identify ways to use a lot less oil. It will be interesting to see if a move to electric and hybrid cars from about 2012 onwards will be enough to get prices down to sensible levels again at least in the short to medium term. It is certainly reassuring that the technology does exist to do that.

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Holebender · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:31 pm Post subject:

Reluctant Hero · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:30 pm Post subject:

Holebender · Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 2:11 pm Post subject:

No. Capitalism is about risking capital by investing it in an enterprise and taking a profit, if possible, from that enterprise. I was talking about the grotesque nature of making a massive profit from essentials.
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Reluctant Hero · Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 9:51 pm Post subject:

Won't be long until fuel prices rise again following this strike. Apparently some petrol stations have run dry already.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7454149.stm

Fuel strike begins to hit supply

A strike by hundreds of Shell tanker drivers has begun to hit fuel supply in parts of England, Wales and Scotland.

On the second day of the walkout over pay, demand for fuel was up 25% and more than 100 stations closed because of shortages, the government said.

Shell said fewer than 15% of its sites had been affected but warned continued action could have a "significant impact" on supply at forecourts.

Unions said drivers would walk out again if the dispute was not resolved.

Unite joint leader Tony Woodley told the BBC there would be another strike next weekend and, if necessary, a third strike after that.

"This dispute will go on until such times as our members have pay justices, so that our members don't have to keep working long and unsocial hours putting themselves at risk on the motorways of Britain, and at the same time putting the general public at risk."

THE SHELL PAY STRIKE
The striking drivers work for two companies, Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport, contracted to Shell
Industrial action began when pay talks broke down this week
The companies say unions rejected a pay offer taking the drivers' average salary to £41,500 by January 2009
But the Unite union says the offer would have increased salaries from just under £32,000 to £36,000
The drivers are planning a second four-day stoppage next week if the dispute is not settled

Rush to pumps is a trickle

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform confirmed demand for fuel at forecourts had gone up by 25% between Friday and Saturday lunchtimes.

He said supply was tightest in south-west and north-west England and central Scotland.

At noon on Saturday, some 112 out of 8,900 petrol stations - just over 1% - had been forced to close, he added.

A spokeswoman for Shell said by late Saturday afternoon, fewer than 15% of the company's sites had experienced disruption but added that the four-day pay strikes could have a "significant impact".

"Sales remain high but are not at extreme levels, and there are still few signs of panic buying," she said.

"As the strike continues, it is inevitable that in time, there will be a significant impact on our petrol stations."

The company added that 99% of all petrol stations across the UK - not just those run by Shell - remained unaffected by the strike.

Diesel problems

The Scottish government said figures showed fewer than 1% of stations north of the border had run dry.

A number of petrol stations in the Strathspey area, along the A9, reported they had run out of diesel.

In particular, garages in Aviemore and Newtonmore ran out and one site has started rationing. One service station manager in Ayr also reported he had run out of diesel.

On the picket line: Drivers are looking for higher pay

Lorry convoy in M6 fuel protest
Tractors in fuel protest go-slow
Send us your comments

A number of sites in Glasgow reported that trade was brisk, but so far shortages were limited.

A handful of petrol stations in Wales also ran out of fuel, but many stations in the south Wales area said they were currently well stocked.

Members of the public have e-mailed the BBC News website to report fuel queues and some stations running out, in areas including Leicester, Cambridge, the Wirral, and Aberdare, South Wales.

There were also shortages reported in St Austell, Cornwall, Stoke-on-Trent, Bedford, Carlisle and Bath.

Drivers have been urged not to panic-buy and, although major retailers reported increased demand, they said they were working to maintain supply:

Tesco said some drivers had changed their normal buying habits, emptying pumps faster than it could fill them. However, "outstocks" had been short-lived, it added.
Morrisons said its stations had seen high demand during the past week and additional deliveries were being made to their forecourts.
BP said while sales were high on Friday, Saturday sales were the same as on a normal Saturday.
Esso said it was doing all that it could to maximise supplies to its stations. It asked motorists to stick to normal buying patterns.

Nick Vandervell, from the UK Petroleum Industry Association which represents Shell and the other major petrol suppliers, told BBC Five Live that some service stations had run out of fuel, but the situation was patchy.

The scene at Kingsbury oil depot
"We have had reports that locally there are some problems, but essentially what our members' companies will be doing is working over the weekend to try and make sure that those sites are re-supplied and in some cases that may well involve re-supply from terminals or depots where there isn't picketing action."

But Ray Holloway, of the Petrol Retailers' Association, told the BBC the situation was under control.

"Outside of Merseyside, mid-Berkshire and some places on the south coast and south-west of England, generally speaking it's actually been busy but not anywhere near what we'll call panic buying," he said.

During a day of action over fuel, go-slow protests also took place on the M6, M56 and in the New Forest.

Lorry drivers and farmers were among those taking part in the protests over the rising cost of fuel.

Pay offer

Shell UK boss James Smith on the strike
Shell runs one in 10 of the country's fuel stations, but industry sources suggest its market share could be up to 17%.

The striking drivers work for two companies, Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport, contracted to Shell.

Industrial action began when pay talks broke down earlier this week, with the companies saying unions rejected a pay offer taking the drivers' average salary to £41,500 by January 2009.

But the Unite union says the offer would have increased salaries from just under £32,000 to £36,000.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged both sides of the dispute to resume negotiations, adding that contingency plans were in place to minimise the effects of the walkout.
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William_Cleland · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:17 am Post subject:

Some sobering reading:-

Why UK Natural Gas Prices Will Move North of 100p/Therm This Winter

Reluctant Hero · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 9:18 pm Post subject:

Oil prices hit a fresh high today with OPEC saying it could go to $170pb by the summer.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7476269.stm
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Alasdair · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:25 pm Post subject:

bollocks and bloody fuel prices ...

I put four chicken breast fillets back on the shelf the other day in Lidl (of all places) because I couldn't afford them! Let's face it we're all f****d and fuel inflation is only part of the crisis! Just wait until the cost of manufacturing starts to rise in all those developiong nations that currently supply us with our cheap tat ...
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William_Cleland · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 1:18 am Post subject:

We are in for a painful recession so the best policy is to stay out of debt, build up a large financial cushion of savings and do whatever it takes to stay in employment. There is some hope for the future, however, as there are technologies, which can replace a large amount of fossil fuel use like nuclear power and electric cars so that eventually supply can exceed demand at under $100 again. Without that the 1930s would be a picnic compared to the 2010s.

Reluctant Hero · Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:39 pm Post subject:

Report in the Herald tomorrow saying that petrol prices are to rise by 20p within a month!!

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/n...f_20p_a_litre_fuel_price_rise.php
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Cruachan · Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:21 am Post subject:

I am a supporter of good quality public transport, but it's a pity that car ownership is so low in Glasgow East. Not only is it yet another indicator of how financially and socially marginalised some of our communities have become, but its a useful backdrop for the Glasgow East by-election?
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Lord Pitsligo · Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:47 pm Post subject:

I wonder. All that money the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England "injected" (or printed as they used to say) had to go somewhere, and it clearly hasn't been used on the mortage market. Is it being used to fund investment in oil? Would that explain the huge rises we've just seen?

Now that housing's a dead duck investment wise world wide, oil seems a good choice for the next "sure thing".
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Reluctant Hero · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:19 pm Post subject:

What would you know, an announcement that there will be no increase to fuel tax this year - just before a by-election.

PMs spokesman said

Lord Pitsligo · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:25 pm Post subject:

The same day oil dropped by about $10 a barrel...
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Reluctant Hero · Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 8:08 pm Post subject:

GB is calling for a cut in fuel prices as the cost of a barrel of oil has dropped from $147 to $82.

Some good news coming out of the recent financial turmoil.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7662918.stm
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Neil · Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 3:24 pm Post subject:

Looking at previous posts isn't it amazing what a short time catastrophes last these days. It seems like only May when this thread started with Joan Ruddock, Environment Minister making out that $140 oil was inevitable because of peak oil & others were predicting $200 a barrel by autumn.

Now the price is $70 & production is rising fast. Note that since the dollar is worth no more than 60% of what it was when Bush came in that is about $40 in old money, barely above what it was then & bearing in mind GNP growth a fall in terms of world average income (rising 5% a year) & level pegging in terms of our own (2.5% a year).
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Reluctant Hero · Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:49 pm Post subject:

How long do you think it is before we reach peak oil though?

It can't be that long and when it happens, prices will not come down.
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William_Cleland · Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 2:18 am Post subject:

Neil · Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:18 am Post subject:

It was between $20 & $30 when Bush came in. I can't remember it being $10. It may be rising faster than average inflation though such things, when a product's price is volatile, depend very much on which dates you choose & if the Canadians & Israelis can turn shale to oil at $17 a barrel we may well not have hit minimum yet. Any bets?

As regards "peak oil" I note that it has been forecast for in a year or 2 since the 1850s (they expected to run out of whales). All such predictions from then to those predicting it for today have clearly failed to live down to expectations. With the improved technology that can make use of shale & tar world reserves have more than doubled. More importantly with GM technology & the ability to engineer algae to produce oil it is going to become a renewable in a few years.

http://alfin2100.blogspot.com/200...s-never-believed-in-peak-oil.html

As with all the eco-catastrophe stories they depend on human technological ingenuity being non-existent, or, increasingly, being suppressed by the Luddites in power. Obviously anybody really worried by the eco-scares over peak oil, will be a strong supporter of GM. Those motivated purely by fear of progress will push the peak oil story & equally oppose the solution.
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William_Cleland · Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:43 am Post subject: