Fuel prices continue to rise
April 24, 2008 by Alborz Fallah
Petrol giant Caltex has today warned motorists to expect rising petrol costs for ‘a long time’ to come, a result of record oil prices.
The Singapore Tapas price, which is used by Australian petrol distributors to set wholesale prices, hit a record high of $124 a barrel yesterday.
The RACV was quick to note that given the increasing cost, petrol prices could climb by another 5c as early as next month, resulting in almost $1.60 a litre at the pump.
“There is long-term upward pressure on petrol prices and Australians, like motorists around the world, can expect to pay more. Petrol prices are rising, and are expected to continue to rise, but not because of collusion or price gouging, as our critics suggest,” Caltex chairman Elizabeth Bryan told shareholders today at the company’s annual general meeting in Sydney.
With some analysts already estimating the price of fuel to reach the $2 mark in 12 months time, just how much more will Australians take before downgrading to small capacity or diesel engines?
Print it: 
Thinking about buying a farm and growing my own fuel.
I love my XR6 Turbo but !!!!! glad i only live 10 min from work
FUEL note Fuel prices are out of control, Petrol, Diesel and Gas have all been going up every week. I am tired of hearing all the excuses from the Oil companies why they have to increase these prices. Yet the profits that are being made are astronomical. Governments do not exercise their power over these companies because of the tax (whether directly or indirectly) revenue they collect. I wonder whats going to happen when the bubble bursts. I’m getting old and cynical. If I had my way I would start a government run fuel outlet, maybe 50/50 blend of ethanol. And start to compete with the oil companies. Maybe set up charging stations for electric cars as a pre-emptive plan for the future. Ban all discounting from Coles and Safeways.
The more I think about it the angrier I get. Is this what free enterprise is all about.
yesterday I saw the fuel price in my suburb at 154.9 and nearly fainted!! imagine getting premium for some cars that require!
I think Australia will have to look for smaller engines than the current straight 6, v6, and v8s!
I would hate to think how much an average family is spending on fuel these days!
The good news is that this should promote innovation. Who would care about looking for alternatives if petrol was still 59.9c a litre?
Andrew, couldn’t agree more. With prices in much of europe being over $2 per litre for the past few years, this is where much of the innovation in more efficient vehicles has come from. With the US market only paying $1 per litre, its only now that their buying habits are changing, and even then only slowly. MAybe when we see the US market paying 6, 7 or 8 dollars a gallon we will see some real innovation.
Innovation aside, some of us are really struggling – something must be done, and soon.
Diesel costs have gone mad and although we are experiencing pain, the UK is having issues too.
Around 1.10 for petrol and 1.20 for diesel (getting close to $2.50/litre) there…
And thanks to a state Labour Gov for the past 20 years we can’t rely on public transport…:(
they way this is going… when i am ready to upgrade from from by BA XR6… its more and more looking Like i Will be getting a Mondeo… i hope i dont have to do this… but its looking more and more likly….
There is very little chance of anyone undertaking a research and development project to come up with an alternative fuel source to petrol
To do so would require substantial financial backing from either big business – which shareholders won’t agree to or the government which is more unlikely given that the oil companies contribute heavily to both the Libs and Labs
Time to buy a pantone geet device
Don’t you all wish you lived within easy walking distance from a commuter rail station?
This is why i have my BA and AU Falcons on LPG…. :)
my responce to the last comment of the article, how much more till australians will change to diesel engines?
well along with the petrol price research released today, so called a-n-a-l-y-s-t-s have declared that the diesel option does not yield any savings due to the record diesel prices.
the diesel price at the bowser now demands a 30c premium.
now the thing that makes me laugh is when people say why dont ford and holden hurry up and put diesels in the commy and falcon.
well just to look at it quickly, in the case of a large sedan you would only save 20% consumption, but the price of diesel is more than 20% more expensive. also couple that with the premium demanded for diesel on the purchase of a vehicle.
can any one guess what im gonna say next??????
it starts with “L” and ends in “G”. yep LPG!!!!!
if you are that worried, throw a conversion on your vehicle and it will pay itself off in 6 months.
so to all the people saying we need an alternative fuel to petrol, i say open your eyes next time you visit a servo, because the “LPG” signage on the price board doesnt mean they will fill your BBQ bottles, it means they sell this alternative fuel you people are crying for
Sounds to me lie the oil producers, petroleum companies and the governments are ripping us off due to it being so easy. They know we have an essential demand for their product so they stuff us.
Perhaps starting a campaign on certian days by not buying fuel will hurt the companies. It was done in the UK a few years ago and did have an effect.
Diesel here is now £ 1.23 or $2.90 a litre (UK)
No name,
or perhaps since we produce something like 90% of our own oil here, why not make our oil price independant from the world oil prices and not let the “price of eggs in china” (so to speak) affect our lives
perhaps if more people knew that we have plentiful supplies of natual resources for our selves, maybe then there would be pressure put on the government to try and regulate our own economy rather than chasing what is happening else where
The government when the GST came in was getting about 9.5c per litre now they are getting 15.2 cents per litre.
about 50% up in takings.
Coles and Woolies where giving 4c per litre on 95c now they are giving 4c on $1.52 per litre. Thanks for nothing
Look at the EV-1 from GM in the early 90’s
200 km range (who drives more than 200km per day, not trip’s away but just going to work most people have 2 cars these days)
2008 EV-1 town car plus an XR6 turbo for trips.
The EV-1 then could out excelerate a mazda MX-5 easy
costs about 20c to charge for the 200k range
This fellow car buffs is early 90’s,
1. 68cm TV $2500
2. The XT or 286 computer with windows 3 and DOS 5 and no easy to get internet
3. Mobile phones that where the same size as a brick
Can anyone tell me why nearly 2 decades latter that we cannot do better by 50%
Because the bastard dont wont to.
If anyone thinks (cynical statement coming) that LPG prices won’t soon be over $1 you are kidding yourself. Petrol companies couldn’t care less about you or me and the same huge increases in Petrol will soon be the same in LPG just watch. We are held to ranson and that will always be the case. When did a week go by that the news hasn’t has someone complaining about petrol. We are all hurting and it affects from farmers through to nearly every facet of society. If no alternative is derived as a fuel for combustion engines we will all be riding bikes and horses to get around. That’s progress!!
Make motorbikes cheaper to rego and insure. They use less road space and can carry two if required, same as a ute.
I dont know how many times I have been in Sydney and 80% of the cars have 1 person in it. What a waste
OK, for the uninitiated, petrol is priced based mainly on oil price, oil is a free market (which we are a part off so don’t expect us to go alone) and the conglomerate of traders effectively set the price, not the oil companies – but they do reap the benefits. This is a commodity, and in a free market, the commodity is all about supply and demand. With China, India et al consuming huge amounts and oil nations political instability, there is no surprise about the oil price.
Also, Governments don’t and shouldn’t set taxation policy based on supply and demand constraints, so don’t expect tax relief in the short term.
Then there is the issue of peak oil. If this is right we will be remembering the time petrol was only $1.50 and we will all be in deep sh*t. Inflation will go up, jobs will go down and it’ll cost a bomb to get food to the supermarkets. On the bright side, we’ll all be riding bikes everywhere and the Global Warming thing will be sorted!
Whilst the Asian demand has created the fuel price hikes this will mean that the Asians using there new found purchase of a vehicle won’t be able to afford to run their cars, unless of course they have cheapo fuel unlike us. They gain we lose. So stop buying cheap Asian goods and fight back their economies.
Westy,
mate even when LPG hits $1 down the track just think where petrol will be……..$2.20 anyone?
it is an alternative fuel. how can you say LPG will suffer down the track with higher prices yet imply if we were running on used cooking oil, that the price of used cooking oil wouldnt suffer the same fate.
LPG is an alternative fuel which will maintain the price gap between Petrol and continue to halve fuel bills whether it is .60c per litre or $1.00 per litre.
when the RACQ/RACV does a report on consumer LPG prices and exposes export billions of litres of the stuff each year for like 4cents per litre what are the fuel companies going to use as an excuse?
they cant blame the oil prices.
perhaps then the government could step in and regulate the pricing. currently with the Petrol pricing the government has no control what so ever over it.
Milar,
yes i know we are now tied in with world oil prices, and i know that will never change, but wasnt it our government that guaranteed our oil producers world oil prices???
Australia is natural resource gold mine! we have a STUPID amount of the stuff. especially for our population.. however our economy relies so much on export we cant exploit like the saudis and russians do.
Australia is the largest producer of natural gas… yet we export most of it to china. who sell it back to us at a higher price.
LPG isnt as efficent as petrol and so range per fill up is less. it works out to break even depending on what day you fill up.. and all you get from it is less boot space. LPG isnt the answer
neither is eletric…its a good mid way step. but battery technology “whilst getting better. thansk mostly to more consumer eletronics these days” is still far from car ready.”enviromentally friendly, cheap. light. small. etc”
oil companies know the world runs on oil. it can make its 3 billion dollars a year proffit. and still justify price increase….
we are defently better off than europe/ but at least the choice for stupidly efficent good engines is there… shit holdne hasnt even put int play its cylinder shut down system yet.
the future…. will defently be hydrogen. so who ever finds a good way of storing and delivering hydrogen. will be. the richest person …..ever…………and it will send those saudis back to selling carpet.
people… cheap fuel is gone… forget about it, its never gona cost 50 bucks for your weekend away again.
cookie
again, still logical to drive V8s with 300kW?
I know people who buy them dont care about price of fuel. Its all about grunt and all.
But still… if there is a lighter, more efficient performance car, with actual efficient engineering done… why not eh?
rather than just keep increasing engine size and engine capacity to crank power…..
Anthony… hate to say it, but there has been research and development on alternative “fuel” for cars for years now.
Its naive to think, that the oil companies and the billions of dollars yet to be made from the depleting oil sources has not played a factor in “delaying” these alternatives from being utilized in the commercial world.
The best the governments (globally) can do is introduce and promote the “phasing out” of fuel, the pressure obviously coming from the oil manufacturers… you said it best, the world’s transportation is ran by oil….
but there are definitely has been developments that either been shelved, stalled or simply freezed funded, to allow the fuel companies to make more money of the remaining fuel sources… heck USA still has atleast 50 years worth of fuel reserved for the day that the middle east oil companies run out of stock… do you know how much billions (trillion) of dollars that can bring in for america?
Seems to me Jamison that a lot of Australian and the USA population still want the V6’s and V8’s and the reqesite performance that goes with it. What they ought to be doing is dropping engine sizes to say European levels (2.0litre or less is normal) and saving 30 -40% of their fuel costs. I don’t belive for a minute that they really get the day to day consumption levels they claim for say a 4.0litre Ford.
I for one think fuel will double in cost within two years, then we’ll feel the crunch. It will hurt the USA and Australian drivers more than Europe as we already drive economical cars, and they are getting better with engines like 1.4/1.6 turbos outperforming 2.0 litre cars.
See yah
Andrew,
I take your point except you are forgetting one thing. As demand for LPG increases the price too will increase just as it is now doing for Petrol so I don’t entirely agree with you. Logic means more people will want LPG therefore price will increase rapidly.
No Name yes a 4 Litre Ford does get real world figures of less than 10L/100 combined cycle. I should know I have owned them and recent models at that. Currently I own a Territory and combined cycle I get 11.5L/100.
Don’t forget fuel doesn’t just hurt motorists but everything will become extremely dear. Freight costs will increase if fuel increases to over $2 a litre. The social costs will be enormous yet we all sit and just watch it happen like lemmings. Amazing aren’t we…..that’s progress!!
cost of milk, bread, meat, ..well.. everything is gona skyrocket this year “like it did last year..hmmm”…….
and with australias very compeditive supermarket chains………um…..both of them…. we can expect a healthy dose of f%#k you at the check out…..rent and morgage keeps going up. .. we are being paid less and less….
………….anyone else considering moving to a tropical island with me to live out the rest of days in paradise.. it really seems like the begining of the end
thank you oil companies…………no wait.. thank you stupid us :(
Might get myself a Prius converted ti LPG! :-)
ULP could be $2L by XMAS……OUCH!
Thank God i have LPG Falcon Ute, why did i wait so long to upgrade?
Cheers
F-0
Anthony C,
LPG isnt a reasonable answer???Pffffft
your knowledge in australia being a natural resource gold mine is spot on, but unfortunately your knowledge of the LPG product when put to use in motorvehicles isnt.
im gonna bust a few myths for you right now.
1. when you run dedicated LPG the cylinder goes where the petrol tank would normally go (not in the boot)
2. LPG should return around 8% better consumption and power over petrol when a latest tech system is used in a dedicated manner.
3. an LPG conversion will pay itself off in 6 months, you will easily halve your fuel bill NOT just break even like you think. even if LPG consumption was double that of petrol you would still make savings because petrol is usually just a bit over double the price of LPG
Westy,
it doesnt matter whether its LPG that goes up in price due to higher demand or hydrogen.
do you honestly think that LPG is the only alternative fuel that will go up in price when demand increases? do you think Hydrogen wont suffer the same fate?
the main thing is LPG is easier to make and store hence i feel it will always be cheaper to purchase an LPG vehicle and the LPG fuel itself.
the only thng Hydrogen will bring is Zero emissions. dont for one minute think hydrogen will bring back 70cents per litre prices. expect an entry price for hydrogen at $2.50.
and by that time LPG will have risen to $1.10 per litre
OH MY F###ING GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sorry, but its simple. LPG will halve your fuel bill. the only people who ever seem to doubt this is those that have never experienced it.
oh and on fuel bill savings,
it has been proven that a territory on LPG (duel fuel) has beat a prius on fuel costs on a side by side test route comparison
China seems to be sucking up all the worlds commodities at the moment – especialy Oil, Gas and Iron ore, and why ?
1. Huge construction project associated with the Olympics – which are close to being completed.
2. To feed the LARGE consumer based westerns economies (ie. the U.S, Aust, and the contries in Europe)
My prediction is that once the Olympics are over (Sept 08), and the U.S (the worlds biggest consumer economy) falls into real resession which is already happening (albeit slowly) – which means people stope spending big time, watch Oil consumption fall, and along with it Oil prices.
We just neeed to make sure the ACCC makes sure that Oil companies pass on the savings when they come again.
Another way to stop people spending is to put Interest rates up, that and our latest Inflation figure of 4.2%(which is also being fueled by petrol prices) means – another interet rate rise is coming !
as most cars are LPG converted. the tank does go in the boot…….
Anthony C,
so is any other alternative fuel that comes to light going to be duel fuel too? meaning that we would still run petrol and have a hydrogen tank in the boot?
think outside the square.
LPG can be a stand alone alternative fuel.
but even with duel fuel………..
so people will downsize to a small hatchback rather than lose 100L of boot space??? false economy there.
you could throw an LPG tank in the boot of a large sedan and still have more room than a hatch back.
anyway, i say dedicated LPG because it doesnt have to run a compromised setup
Andrew M
what lpg system gives you 45MPG or 5 litres /100 better in costs not better litres.
What is the cost for the system used in the territory that you are talking about?
Where do we get it from?
Does the government grant support it.
I have worked out
My Jumbuck
80lt LPG tank only (no petrol tank)
5 litres /100
= 1400km for about $50.00
I do 9000 km/ year so I would fill up bimonthly
sign me up
Andrew M,
My point is only 3 or 4 years ago Petrol was around or under $1 a Litre. That’s right only that long ago. It won’t be long when LPG also goes over the $1 a litre in my opinion and then onwards and upwards from there. Within probably 5 years even LPG won’t be cheap as you say it is now. So then what ? We’ll all be asked to distill our own ethanol perhaps ?
Once upon a time going back 10 years and earlier I remember when fuel hardly budged year to year but it did increase ever so slightly. The problem is now we can start the year at $1.20 and finish at $1.70. To me such a huge variation doesn’t make sense….although OPEC control that to a large degree by increasing/reducing outputs but they have always done that. Profiteering seems to be what’s happening in my opinion and because we are all soooo reliant on our cars we suck it up and keep paying. There will come a point when many many world economies are in recession the way fuel prices are rising. It mightn’t happen today but you just watch it will bite harder than people can imagine. I know you are talking LPG and sure in the short term I agree it would be worth spending 2K to convert but longer term the same thing will happen to LPG users as currently is happening to petrol users. Currently with the prices of groceries/rent/mortgage payments/kids who has the spare dough if they are currently running petrol vehicles to convert to LPG ?? Not many I dare say. So a 68L Falcon running on unleaded will cost around $100 a tank to fill (given it’s an empty tank) and that’s a lot out of a weekly pay packet. Then groceries, kids bills….etc and imagine at $2 a litre.
Governments are not helping if they were then alternatives would have been researched and promoted years ago. But no let’s wait until everyone can’t afford fuel and then do something…..a lot like general infrastructure. Anyway….that’s progress !
Capri XR2,
the one that was used in the territory i am talking about was a Tartarini sequential gas injection system which is imported from Italy and distributed in Australia by Victorian Autogas Supplies.
that sort of system costs around $4K and yes you will get a $2K government rebate reducing it to a $2K outlay.
they achieved 13L/100k using that system on a territory and keep in mind that it was still a duel fuel compromised setup.
Over the same test route,the Territory used $20.38 of fuel, while the Prius used $20.57.
even the old tech dedicated LPG systems achieve 9L/100k on the hwy.
a “dedicated” vapour injected system should achieve equal or better consumption and power than a petrol fuelled vehicle
keep in mind that the consumption they achieved on the duel fuel (or compromised setup) territory was not even 1L/100k worse than the petrol territory consumption
Westy,
well when petrol was under $1, dont forget LPG was still just under half the price of petrol.
LPG has always been just under half the price of petrol whether petrol be 60c per litre or $1.40 per litre.
so would you rather pay $2 for petrol and complain that $1 for LPG is not a solution?
at least LPG wont be controlled by world oil prices so perhaps if majority of people were to use LPG, the lobby groups would wake up and slam the government for not doing something wabout LPG prices
Andrew M, while LPG will save you a bit of money, it is nowhere nar as good as you make out. In the Falcon, there is about a 5L/100km difference in fuel economy, so theres no way you are going to “easily halve your fuel bill NOT just break even” like you say.
And there is a loss of power. Find me proof of “around 8% better consumption and power over petrol when a latest tech system is used in a dedicated manner”. Maybe with a ECU upgrade and other mods! Do the same thing to a petrol and you’ll see similar improvements. Again, LPG isn’t the amazing product you make it out to be. Good, not great.
whats happened to the replys they have all been cut short. or lost?
Jbot and other doubting Thomas’s…….
QUOTE……….
LPG provides about 8% more energy per unit weight (LHV = 19,757 BTU/lbm) than gasoline. Theoretically, vehicle operation with LPG should be more efficient than with gasoline, i.e., the vehicle should attain better specific fuel consumption and improved mileage. However, this will only happen if the engine design is optimized for LPG fuel. If a gasoline engine is converted to operate on LPG this increased efficiency will not be realized due to the lower density of LPG compared to gasoline and also its slightly higher oxygen demand (LPG stoichiometric A/F = 15.8). The lighter density fuel displaces air in the intake manifold, and thus, less air per cycle is induced to the cylinders. This translates to a decreased volumetric efficiency and a loss of power compared to the original gasoline rating of the engine.
is that “Proof” enough for you mate?
Jbot,
and just some quick maths on your “halve your fuel bill” doubt
4sp auto petrol falcon = 10.7L/100k
4sp auto LPG falcon = 15.1L/100k
lets say you do the average of around 400k’s per week.
in the petrol falcon it would cost you 10.7 x 4 x $1.45L,
which costs you $62 per week to run your petrol falcon.
in the LPG falcon it would cost you 15.1 x 4 x .68cL,
which costs you $41 per week.
well not quite half ($10 off of half) but it is still 20 bucks back in each weeks budget.
then on top of that dont forget the system ford uses is an old tech system.
if ford used a better system on their dedicated falcon i would predict such figures…….
210kw
422nm
9.2L/100k
wake up ford thats what you need to do!!!!!!!!!
and if you dont believe that is possible, then read my “Proof” above
sorry meant to predict 9.8L/100k for the 4sp but 9.2 for the 6sp auto
if ford woke up and put a decent vapour system in the falcon we might see this……..
9.8 x 4 x .68L = $26 per week to run your falcon.
Nothing like half Andrew M. 1/4 is not 1/2. And providing “quotes” with no reference or link is no better than your word.
Also, if this was all as simple as you make out, all cars would run on LPG. You nor I understand whats required to make an LPG engine that efficient. It sure as hell isn’t just a decent vapour system!
5th time lucky
Jbot,
it is actually 1/3 not 1/4
i actually return better than 15.1L myself though.
i switched from a 4.0L petrol 5sp manual falcon ute to a 4.0L LPG 5sp manual falcon ute, and i went from handing out $50 bucks a week at the time for fuel and getting a few coins change to handing out $25 bucks a week and getting a few coins change.
i recieve better than 15.1L/100k. if you were driving 100% city cycle you would prob return 15 odd litres/100k.
even F-O who has just purchased an LPG Ute reports 14L at the worst and it isnt even run in yet
the official Hwy figure for the LPG falcon is 9L/100k and the city cycle is 16L/100k. somehow it equals a combined cycle of 15.1L/100k???????
and as for your link Mr Thomas………
nett.ca/faq/lpg-1.html
^^ put the usual lingo at the front
Jbot,
well when a vehicle with a decent vapour system can return similar figures to a petrol version even whilst still a duel fuel compromise,
i would say it sure as hell is that easy
who cars about petrol? what about diesel? $1.70 a litre! thats bullshit
ITS ALL BECAUSE OF KRUDD’S PETROL TAXES