Petrol to hit $1.50 per litre
January 3, 2008 by Matt Brogan
In what may be an ominous sign of things to come, petrol prices are set to hit a record $1.50 litre mean average within the next week.
Oil prices again hit the $100USD per barrel mark last night driving the pump price up as demand continues to outstrip supply.
The current pump average in Sydney is $1.44 whilst outer suburbs are already paying $1.50. Melbourne is paying well in to the $1.40 mark in what may soon become the norm considering political tensions in oil producing nations and heavy demand from new industrial giants like China and India.
Not only is the concern centred around the price of petrol, but the flow on (pardon the pun) affect of increased inflation and therefore higher interest rates.
CarAdvice looks forward to hearing your views in our comments section, and perhaps what you’re paying for fuel in your part of the country.
Print it: 
Peak oil,
well i should say perhaps we wouldnt need the world oil body as much if we used the oil we got more effectively
yes i know how LPG is made. there are actually 2 ways it can be made. bugger all of our supply is made from the by-product of petroleum.
it can also be made from Natural gas and that is something in which our country is rich in
Here is a Quote i have pulled to back up my claims
Quote………..
“Australia has plentiful natural supplies of LPG and in 2005 exported 1.6 million tonnes (about 3 billion litres).”
sorry but LPG anyone?
it is a far better NOW alternative than anything else out there in my mind
W Wilkin,
mate for starters LPG consumption isnt anywhere near 1.7L LPG to 1L petrol. if it was then yes it would be hardly worth it.
also the excise bill on LPG has been in a long time. I read about it ages ago.
it was actually meant to have been started around 12 months ago i think it was but they have delayed it and changed the stratogy for the way they are going to introduce it. they new way they will introduce it is less sudden than they had planned originally aswell
i still dont think excise is being applied YET but correct me if im wrong.
Reality,
yes mate i was referring to the diesel i30 because thats what i thought we were referencing, as Frugal mentioned diesel. but in all, the larger diesel does consume less than the smaller petrol cars so the point is still relevant
sorry if i confused………
soooooooooo LPG anyone??
Hi Bavaria – you been wallowing round the pool again (couldn’t see you on google, sun went in when the butt came out). Oh the thought of it!
Fuel prices…the only way is up. Its those wealthy oil barons getting greedy…they just want to bling up their TOYOTA Landcruisers a bit more. The Aussie fuel prices seem to be a bit more volatile (meaning the ‘unstable, for Bav M.)than the UK rates, probably as its cheaper. Ours is equivalent to $2.58 now.
Hi Mika – did you get the Toyota spin there. Tee Hee Snigger snigger.
see yah
Cupid Stunt, Aka No Name
solution is to limit china and india’s growth or pray they pray they go into recession faster.
Diesel is more expensive because the oil companies have had to refine diesel better than it use to be in order for it to work in modern diesel engines as well as cut the nasty gasses it creates down to a suitable amount.
I’m not too versed on these gasses, but basically diesel is a lot cleaner now than it was 10-15 years ago.
I don’t understand the comment on going LPG and not taking part in the oil companies games with fuel prices. Liquified PETROLEUM Gas is a by-product, and as such, is also affected by oil prices…. otherwise it would still be sitting at 15-20cents instead of the price I saw it for the other day…. 60 cents
Which is how much I was paying for petrol ten years ago.
The Corolla cannot outlast an EH. Impossible, not because the Corolla is crap but because cars back then where made with a little pride. These days everything is made to cost. You’d be lucky to get 10 years out of a new Corolla. My mate’s girlfriends year old model is falling to bits already. And she looks after it well.
One of my clients has a EK that has been in his family since new. Still looks as good as the day it was bought. Engine is silky smooth. Column shift still crunches nicely into first. He’s spent less money and time on it in the last 5 years than my mates girl has on her two services and non-warranty fixes that Toyota don’t want to know about.
Yes it’s true, everyone wants bigger cars. We don’t need them. But what about the people that do need them? I know I’d rather drive from Sydney to Wauchope in a Falcon than a Honda Jazz. Why? Because the little Honda can’t make it up a hill in my street. I’d hate to think of how hard it would be to drive at 110km/h on the Pacific Hwy across Mooney Mooney bridge with the nice buffeting winds. While my rather “planted” Falcon will be fine.
I’d like a Jazz for around town. Makes perfect sense. But I want it to be a Falcon when I need the power, stability and comfort.
Back to LPG. It makes sense for Australian cars to all have LPG. The people that say there’s a power loss. Unless your drag racing, I highly doubt Joe Average is going to notice that it’s harder to pull away from the bus at the lights now that he’s on LPG. Please…
This country has tonnes of the stuff. It’s cheap. It’s better for your engine, it’s cleaner too.
But like anything else, it’s still not a long term solution.
Steve
Well until australia has a better public transport structure, we will use our cars over excessivly. But people need to buy cars they need. Although I shouldnt talk I just bought an XR6 Turbo, but i do a fair bit of country driving and I couldnt find a Turbo ute in my price range so got the sedan. But at least if I have the Falcon now, if I start a family in the next few years I’m set, no worrying about space or comfort. But for those people in northern Sydney mostly who drive around in Landcruisers, Prados, Pajero’s or Patrols that have never seen dirt. FFS you are the biggest problem and I’m betting that the vast majority of them are the ones saying people (apart from themsleves) should be driving more economical cars. Unless you have 4 or 5 kids get a falcon or commodore, or if you only have 1 or 2 get a corolla or Focus. Don’t buy a Prius your money is better spent on a diesel focus, peuguot or VW.
Steve,
i will firstly re-quote myself…….
“bugger all of our LPG supply comes from the by-product of petroleum”
“Australia has plentiful natural supplies of LPG and in 2005 exported 1.6 million tonnes (about 3 billion litres).”
if that wouldnt mean we would lessen the need for the oil giants then i am missing something.
i cant remember where exactlly it is but i have been told that here in australia we are continually burning the stuff off cause we have not enough demand for it.
i think the price goes up with Petrol just simply because it can. its a way fuel stations can profit from it. the focus is all on the unleaded and no one complains about what they are doing with LPG prices as it is still under half the price anyway
if you put a decent LPG system on your vehicle like the systems that are coming in now you wont find any power difference what so ever. in fact i read that when fitted to a SS commodore they actually recorded a slightly increased power output.
also of course the actual consumption reduces greatly to the point where it isnt drinking that much more than a petrol equivalent.
the same system was also fitted to a ford territory where they recorded a lower fuel cost for the territory than a Prius when they tested them over the same route
Glen,
perhaps people who want to purchase a 4X4 should have to warrent their reason for having one? in the same way you have to qualify for a gun licence?
just a thought……
perhaps they should be put on a seperate licence/rego category so that a prospective owner must prove themselves?
awaiting 4X4 owners to fire up………..
I know what you mean Andrew.M
A year ago, a workmate was planning to replace his written off VT Commodore with a Commodore or Falcon. But his fiance insisted on a 4WD/SUV and they ended up with a Prado. She said “to feel safer”??
He says it’s been a good vehicle, except he’s paying more for tyres, fuel, etc. He goes fishing and says there was only one occasion when he actually needed a 4WD to get into a spot, and would prefer to have bought a sedan.
Watto,
the funny thing is 4X4’s typically are less safe than some large sedans. most have an increased risk of rollover and they offer far less pedestrian safety, and that is one they are starting to place focus on now days too when they rate a car
4WDs wouldn’t be so popular if they didn’t enjoy the commercial car status that they currently enjoy.
In response to Steve
“The Corolla cannot outlast an EH. Impossible, not because the Corolla is crap but because cars back then where made with a little pride. These days everything is made to cost. You’d be lucky to get 10 years out of a new Corolla.”
Were you around in the 70’s? A 10 year old car then was ready for the scrap heap. A scratch would instantly rust. Boots would leak and rust out the floor. Sure you could keep them on the road but you were replacing major components or it would look and drive like crap.
A 10year old Corolla should be rust free, still have a good engine. Plus a new one is cheap to buy so you may just trade it in.
In 1977 I made the mistake of buying a HQ V8 it was already an old car. EHs were almost all rusty and very old looking. The only good ones were the restored ones.
Well that’s how I remember it.
As for the performance of a Jazz, they go fine, Much better then an EH Holden and no-one complained then. No A/C then either a long drive was hell in summer.
Here we have a CO2 based ‘Rego’ the more CO2 the more to pay annually. Theres pressure to increase the heavy polluters as nuch as $4700 per year for driving say big 4×4’s, and sports cars.
No Name, I assume you’ve converted to $AUD. If so, OUCH!! $4700 for rego would maybe keep the people who never see dirt out of big 4WDs. I pay about $430 for rego.
And over $2/L for fuel? Ouch again. Good thing UK isn’t the size of Australia, with such long travel involved.
Yep Watto – $4700’s correct but thats only proposed at the moment. Lowest Rate is $0 highest is $505. Theres much pressure to get people out of their Chelsea Tractors. Apparently Hybrids are the thing in London town as they are exempt from the congestion charge. Taxis are also exempt so people are registering their BM’ Mercs etc to private cabs. It costs less than £100 p.a.
The diesel market here has risen from 18% to 40% of cars in 5years, it had to with fuel at £2.55/litre
£2.55/litre? Does that work out to over $5AUD/L? I’d heard they had some sort of congestion charge for central London.
Watto – got the currenccy wrong mate, its £1.10 or $258/litre. Londons congestion charge is £8/day soon to be £25/day for cars over 225g/km of CO2.
Coming to a city near you soon… a ta guess
Hi Peak oil,
Broadmeadows to Craigieburn extension in MELB was opened last year.A lot of mistakes were made over the decades eg Glen Waverley line stopping where it did.A relative of mine lobbied for setting aside a reservation to extend the line.At the time 1950s it was dismissed,’Melbourne would not grow any further’should have been extended beyond Stud Road into Knox.
Too often we are governed by the shortsighted.A road tunnel
is seen as viable costing 100’s of millions + tolls yet a narrow low tech rail tunnel is seen as prohibitive.
I’ll hang on to my ageing cars & wait for the next big tech advancement.
Agree with Sam in the 70’s 10 year old rust buckets were the norm.
Replaced areas of floor of an EJ wagon in 1980(first car cast off from parents) my oldest 92 Subaru is now the same age,no comparison.Feels like it will go forever.
I thought we imported the low sulphur Diesel which is partly why it is so expensive.Yet we export LPG & CNG for next to nothing.
Agree with AndrewM,LPG ought to be our Diesel.
Diesel engines in cars are far too expensive as is the fuel itself you will be hard pressed to recoup the cost.
Closing thought,Given that OIL COMPANIES are rebirthing themselves as ENERGY COMPANIES & that they burn off LPG
how is the price hike in LPG justified?Also why oh why is it not used to run a turbine for power generation to contribute to the energy grid?
The whole debate about charging a higher tax for cars that produce more CO2 is stupid, considering CO2 is a natural gas and cars contribute less than 14% of the CO2 emissions in the world. That is another knee-jerk reaction tax so the government is looking like its doing something when it isn’t.
I think a special license for 4×4/SUV is a good way to go, and not just a theory test but you have to be able to go off roading safely. I’m sure that will weed out a few of the urban landcruisers.
Hi David,
its good to see someone else understands LPG and how it would be so beneficial to our country. it would save many of the problems people keep whinging about.
ive always wondered how the price increase of can be justified aswell. it is a natural product to OZ, we export a hell of a lot of it , and we are constantly burning it off due to no use.
people go on about Unleaded fuel price profiteering when LPG suppliers are worse. why? well cause they can be and no one says anything cause the LPG car drivers are still halving their fuel bill by using it.
a read a few years back that Taxis were complaining about it. i thought you beauty they might have a watch dog on that now too (like everything) but what the government did to shut them up was de-regulate the taxi fares meaning they could simply pass their extra costs to the consumer.
Andrew M this is from the NRMA blog sight
LPG vs. Petrol
So you’ve done all your calculations and decided to convert your car to LPG like over 70,000 other Australians. It sounds good in theory and the government rebate of $2000 is a great help. The fuel figures show your savings in dollars will have your conversion paid off within a year or two depending on your vehicle and the mileage done. But have you got all the facts?
Environmental impact
The environment is another winner in the change you have made by lowering greenhouse emissions. The Australian Greenhouse Office website states that the mass of CO2 gas released of the exhaust pipe by the burning of one litre of fuel is:
» 2.3 kg for Petrol
» 1.5 kg for LPG.
LPG = Less kilometres per litre
You can expect a 20-30 per cent increase in gas consumption over petrol per kilometre because the lower energy content of gas requires more to be burned in the engine compared with petrol. For example, a six cylinder Commodore achieves 10.9 litres per 100 km on petrol compared to 16 litres per 100km when run on LPG.
Excise
(or about 1.6 to 1.1 (99.2C to $1.61))
There is no government excise until July 2011. But then the price of LPG will gradually rise over 5 years.
The excise will increase as follows:
» 1 July 2011 increase of 2.5%
» 1 July 2012 increase of 5.0%
» 1 July 2013 increase of 7.5%
» 1 July 2014 increase of 10.00%
» 1 July 2015 increase of 12.5%
In knowing all this, is or was a change to LPG worth it?
Do all the figures add up and, despite the cost savings, has your vehicle’s power and torque suffered? It is less efficient when towing or carrying heavy loads, especially on long trips and going up hills?
w wilkins,
it must have been on another posting that i went further into LPG.
the vapour injected systems that are now here actually dont mean an increase in consumption by very much at all. when tested on a ford territory they didnt even record an increase by 1L (nearly but not quite.
well has your vehicles torque suffered? actually no here is a quote that proves NRMA doesnt know what the hell they are talking about and they are probably to blame for the many ill informed people out there.
Quote (from a reputable LPG source)
“On Autogas, torque is available at lower engine revs, which aids driveability – particularly in stop/start city driving. In some cases total torque is actually increased.”
I know the savings are real because i have a Dedicated gas falcon running the older system and i dont go anywhere near as high as 16L/100k. when i switched to it the money i forked out each week at the bowser was instantly halved and that takes into account any extra consumption.
co2 emissions will still be better than that of petrol either way you look at it.
did NRMA tell people that LPG also reduces other toxic emissions by up to 90%? not just the co2 but the other gases that come from a tail pipe that are linked to many illnesses and diseases including cancer?
also LPG has the same energy content (if not better) as unleaded. its not the energy content of the fuel thats the problem…. its the old school technology that feeds it into the motor. its like a carby unleaded motor V an EFI motor if you like.
but at last the “EFI” versions of LPG have arrived and it is set to feature in the dedicated LPG falcon range
the same territory with LPG example i gave before recorded lower running costs than a prius when they were run together
also excise of 12.5% on LPG wont put it anywhere near $1.50
Its not only petrol that is increasing. LPG has shot up approx 10-15c per litre over the past few months. It wasnt that long ago that I was paying 59c per litre for gas and now at the same servo Im parying 75c per litre. Gas is now more expensive than what petrol was when I had my vehicle converted to LPG.
Gibbo,
ive never seen gas anywhere near 75c
that is just blatent profiteering by the servo if you are paying that.
anyhow even at 75c you would still be getting a better deal.
we are still getting it for 60c as you say where i see it
Andrew.M, do you know for sure if Orion will feature DI gas? I sure hope so.
Gas in my area went from 50-55c/L to 65c seemingly just for the holidays. But it’s still much cheaper to run my old EB on gas than petrol.
I paid $1000 for the car a few years ago already converted, so I didn’t have to recoup the costs of a conversion, and I am miles in front.
ive asked many of people who seem to be in the know and they say yes it is coming with the orion.
i know ford were planning to have it at the start of ‘05 (i think it was) but was delayed due to copyright issues in being able to use the system.