Fuel prices go lower

I am delighted. I thought I would never see the day when petrol prices would go below the 90p mark. Well, today on my way back from the University, saw that petrol is now 89.9p.

I have to thank Asda for this new development. They were the ones who started the price war by lowering the fuel prices first of all. I think I will start shopping there even though it's a bit further away.

Fuel prices still up

A few weeks back, I wrote "Fuel prices coming down". Unfortunately I was wrong. Prices are still above the £1 mark. It was 103.9p for unleaded petrol and 107.9p for diesel at the Texaco station near my house. Prices are a bit lower at BP, Tesco and Morrisons.

I can't believe that they were below 90p when we first arrived here in the UK a year ago.

BP factory in Whiting controversy

During my idealistic college days I was actively involved with a few environmental groups and during those times, I always viewed the oil companies as the villains - the worst environmental polluters. As I got older and wiser, I slowly realised that my extreme views might not necessarily be true. This may be partly due to the fact that I am surrounded by a lot of people in the oil industry, including my own family.

I realise that the oil industry players are aware of their social responsibilities and do contribute to minimise the environmental impact of their industrial activities. Now, whenever there is a controversy relating to a petroleum company, I do try to give them a chance to give their side of the story instead of rushing off to their gates with playcards to stage a protest as I might have done earlier.

One of the more recent controversies involve BP and their Factory in Whiting, Indiana. An article in the Chicago Tribune came heavily down on them, saying that

the massive BP oil refinery in Whiting, Ind., is planning to dump significantly more ammonia and industrial sludge into Lake Michigan, running counter to years of efforts to clean up the Great Lakes.

I am sure that any environmentally aware person would have a negative perception about the plant after reading the article. However, I only learnt later that this article does miss out on some facts.

Only treated water is released into Lake Michigan (more than 99.9% water) from the factory and not sludge. The sludge is treated seperately and not released into the lake. The discharge from the factory is also well within legal limits and even then. it will still be less than half of that allowed by federal environmental guidelines.

I was quite pleased to learn that the refinery voluntarily reduced total suspended solids in its water discharge by 40% in just the past four years. BP has also announced plans to invest about $150 million to enhance the refinery’s wastewater treatment capability. I am sure BP plans to work closely and in a transparent manner with the authorities, the environmental groups and most importantly, the local communities that live near the lake.

Check out the BP Whiting Refinery Fact Sheet for yourself.

Source of contaminated fuel

If you recall, I wrote a post on contaminated petrol in the UK on Friday, March 02. Well they have finally found out that there was indeed a contamination. It sounds stupid but silicon meant for diesel fuel was added into the unleaded petrol. This occurred in four tanks at a terminal in West Thurrock, east of London, owned by Dutch company Vopak. Harvest Energy shares the facilities with Greenergy, which supplies both Tesco and Morrisons. Asda buys fuel from Harvest Energy.

The problem arose because when the unleaded petrol containing silicon burned, it formed a thin layer of silicon-dioxide on the sensor, which controlled the fuel - air mix. I can see that the immediate result is an increase in the fuel prices overnight.

Petrol contamination in UK

Surprised to hear over the news today that contaminated fuel has affected thousands of cars in the UK - mostly in London and parts of east and south-east England.

Most of the blame has been directed at supermarkets that sell petrol. Both Tesco and Morrisons have said that their tests indicate that there is nothing wrong with their oil.

Of course it's the oil. Hundreds of drivers cannot be lying?

Asda also reported that they received several complaints.

It seems that most of the vehicles affected are those from the higher end with fuel management systems. These high tech equipment compose of sensors that are attached to the exhaust and they determine the oxygen and petrol mix supplied to the engine.

Most of the complainants say that their cars suffered from power loss and misfiring.

Several workshops have run out of replacement parts and costs range from a few hundred pounds and more than £1000 for a few.

I filled up at Tesco last week and fortunately our car is OK.

Tags: Asds Morrison Petrol Tesco

Different petrol prices

Unlike Malaysia where petrol prices are fixed by the Government, Petrol prices in the UK depends on the market. For example, the prices went down for a while around November but it went back right up soon afterwards. It also varies from place to place and between companies.

Given below are the prices of unleaded petrol at various petrol stations near our locality:

1. Tesco: 84.9p
2. BP: 85.9p
3. Jet: 86.9p
4. Texaco: 87.9p

Mind you, these are prices for 95 Octane unleaded Petrol. 97 octane petrol is costlier (as much as 4p more at some stations)

The nearest to our house is a Texaco station but have never filled up there because it is the costliest. I usually fill up at either the BP station along Lockhurst lane (2nd cheapest in my area and I also get Nectar points there). My favourite is of course the Tesco station - the cheapest + Tesco points. The full address is Tesco Filling Station, Pheonix Way, Coventry Arena, Coventry. CV6 6EN.

What is your favourite station?

UPDATED: (19 Jan 2007) Just found out that the petrol prices fell overnight.

Tags: Petrol octane Tesco BP