Fuel protests...

I've been reading and hearing moochings about a forth-coming fuel protest in
the UK on the scale of the 2000(ish) refinery blockade that lasted a week
and brought the country to a halt...

Although this is nowt to do with alfa's (well we all fill them up with fuel)
I just want to know everybodys thoughts on
this happening again. Whether it should, or it shouldn't and just to keep
the
NG police happy - how much does your alfa now cost to fill up?

I remember last time nothing really happened in government until London
began to grind to a halt...

I reckon we need a fuel protest again. Why fuel stored in our petrol
stations for the last week and in the refinery for a few weeks before that
which has already been pumped (and due to some nutter
lobbing bombs around in iraq and a gulf coast city going under water (which
I may add all the refinarys in the area are back up and running now anyway
so wheres the fule price drop?) should go up in price in the first place is
beyond
me...

Your thoughts...

In article >,
"Domestos" > wrote:

> I've been reading and hearing moochings about a forth-coming fuel protest in
> the UK on the scale of the 2000(ish) refinery blockade that lasted a week
> and brought the country to a halt...
>
> Although this is nowt to do with alfa's (well we all fill them up with fuel)
> I just want to know everybodys thoughts on
> this happening again. Whether it should, or it shouldn't and just to keep
> the NG police happy - how much does your alfa now cost to fill up?

About $33 US at the moment, in southern California. For a change, we
have some of the cheapest petrol in the US. It's still around $3/gal for
87 and about $3.25 for 91 grade (don't worry, that's *not* the same as
RON scale in Europe!).

> I reckon we need a fuel protest again. Why fuel stored in our petrol
> stations for the last week and in the refinery for a few weeks before that
> which has already been pumped (and due to some nutter
> lobbing bombs around in iraq and a gulf coast city going under water (which
> I may add all the refinarys in the area are back up and running now anyway
> so wheres the fule price drop?) should go up in price in the first place is
> beyond me...

OK, well the UK government has no control over the trade price of oil on
the international markets, so if lots of American traders are getting
jittery about supplies and push the price up, there's nothing Gordon
Brown can do about that. What he *could* do, and the only thing a fuel
protest is likely to bring about, is to drop some of the tax off it,
probably only temporarily, to keep pump prices down a bit.

The only governments with the power to affect oil *trade* prices are the
big oil producers (OPEC nations, and Venezuela, USA, Russia and possibly
some African countries), which can offer to increase production or
release stockpiles.

Having a fuel protest is probably just cutting off your nose to spite
your face, as there's not a lot the Govt can do if the price of oil is
still over $70 a barrel. The oil companies make an absolutely obscene
level of profit on their businesses, but they are also (or therefore) so
powerful in terms of political lobbying/donations that no politician is
going to take them on. Needless to say, GWB and his oil cronies are
rather pleased with the current price and profit margins on the black
stuff, so don't expect any profit-cutting legislation from this side of
the pond either!
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Dr. Boggis wibbled in this way:

>
> Having a fuel protest is probably just cutting off your nose to spite
> your face, as there's not a lot the Govt can do if the price of oil is
> still over $70 a barrel. The oil companies make an absolutely obscene
> level of profit on their businesses, but they are also (or therefore)
> so powerful in terms of political lobbying/donations that no
> politician is going to take them on. Needless to say, GWB and his oil
> cronies are rather pleased with the current price and profit margins
> on the black stuff, so don't expect any profit-cutting legislation
> from this side of the pond either!

our duty is the highest in Europe tho..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4221296.stm

hwile the price of oil will go up, it might be nice to have the duty
lowered a bit.

I'm shocked that Norway has made this mega fund for when the oil runs
out - very intersting!


--
David

I can see my house from here

"Domestos" > wrote in message
...
> I've been reading and hearing moochings about a forth-coming fuel protest
> in
> the UK on the scale of the 2000(ish) refinery blockade that lasted a week
> and brought the country to a halt...
>
> Although this is nowt to do with alfa's (well we all fill them up with
> fuel) I just want to know everybodys thoughts on
> this happening again. Whether it should, or it shouldn't and just to keep
> the
> NG police happy - how much does your alfa now cost to fill up?
>
> I remember last time nothing really happened in government until London
> began to grind to a halt...

Nothing happenned even then - the fuel prices didn't come down and the
chancellor still put the tax up in his next budget (although delayed the
impact for 6 months). I have heard lots of schemes to make the public's
feeling known to parliament, but nothing works. I have heard of everyone not
filling up on a certain day as a message to the oil companies and petrol
station companies, but surely that just means that the people not filling up
on 'Boycot Tuesday' just have to go out and fill up the next day, so the big
companies get no money one day, but twice as much the next day!

Grinding London to a stand still was excellent, but it didn't make any
difference to the oil companies - drivers simply filled their cars up once
it had all died down and again the oil companies got their money after the
protests in one big block instead of spread out over a longer period (during
the protests). It is the individuals and small companies that were damaged
by the protests. If I can't fill my empty car one day because of a fuel
protest, then I can't get to work and have to take time off. I have used all
my holidays up this year so I would have to take unpaid time off, which with
a new house and a new baby, I really can't afford to do.

I don't have any better suggestions and petrol is definitely far too
expensive, thanks to the government, but just felt like airing my 2p worth!
Perhaps we should consider voting differently in the next election -
something other than "New taxes, new Labour".

Don't really like to talk politics as it causes too many arguments!

However,

In the last budget (March 16) didn't Gordon Brown stated...." an increase,
in line with inflation, of fuel duty rates, from 1 September 2005"

Has this happened??? Is this the cause of some of the price rise????

Stuart

"GT" > wrote in message
.com...
> "Domestos" > wrote in message
> ...
>> I've been reading and hearing moochings about a forth-coming fuel protest
>> in
>> the UK on the scale of the 2000(ish) refinery blockade that lasted a week
>> and brought the country to a halt...
>>
>> Although this is nowt to do with alfa's (well we all fill them up with
>> fuel) I just want to know everybodys thoughts on
>> this happening again. Whether it should, or it shouldn't and just to keep
>> the
>> NG police happy - how much does your alfa now cost to fill up?
>>
>> I remember last time nothing really happened in government until London
>> began to grind to a halt...
>
> Nothing happenned even then - the fuel prices didn't come down and the
> chancellor still put the tax up in his next budget (although delayed the
> impact for 6 months). I have heard lots of schemes to make the public's
> feeling known to parliament, but nothing works. I have heard of everyone
> not filling up on a certain day as a message to the oil companies and
> petrol station companies, but surely that just means that the people not
> filling up on 'Boycot Tuesday' just have to go out and fill up the next
> day, so the big companies get no money one day, but twice as much the next
> day!
>
> Grinding London to a stand still was excellent, but it didn't make any
> difference to the oil companies - drivers simply filled their cars up once
> it had all died down and again the oil companies got their money after the
> protests in one big block instead of spread out over a longer period
> (during the protests). It is the individuals and small companies that were
> damaged by the protests. If I can't fill my empty car one day because of a
> fuel protest, then I can't get to work and have to take time off. I have
> used all my holidays up this year so I would have to take unpaid time off,
> which with a new house and a new baby, I really can't afford to do.
>
> I don't have any better suggestions and petrol is definitely far too
> expensive, thanks to the government, but just felt like airing my 2p
> worth! Perhaps we should consider voting differently in the next
> election - something other than "New taxes, new Labour".
>

> Has this happened??? Is this the cause of some of the price rise????

I doubt it - cos he knows there would be a thousand farmers with pitchforks
walking down downing street after him to lynch him up in parliment square
!!!

No the recent rise are because somebody beleives the storm in New Orleans is
going to create a massive world shortage of fuel...

BP and friends have already sucked and refined this oil and is some cases
delivered it to the petrol station so shy has the fuel price gone up on the
forecourst so quickly. Not to mention that is has had two rise witin the
last 10 days and they are threatening another one soon...

"Dr. Boggis" > wrote in message news:boggissimoron-
>
> Having a fuel protest is probably just cutting off your nose to spite
> your face, as there's not a lot the Govt can do if the price of oil is
> still over $70 a barrel. The oil companies make an absolutely obscene
> level of profit on their businesses, but they are also (or therefore) so
> powerful in terms of political lobbying/donations that no politician is
> going to take them on.

It is illegal for the oil companies to subsidise petrol/diesel prices by
using profits from the crude oil business side. The supermarkets for example
have no crude oil assets to compete in the filling stations market.

--
Simon Mason
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net

Simon Mason wrote:

> "Dr. Boggis" > wrote in message
> news:boggissimoron-
>>
>> Having a fuel protest is probably just cutting off your nose to spite
>> your face, as there's not a lot the Govt can do if the price of oil is
>> still over $70 a barrel. The oil companies make an absolutely obscene
>> level of profit on their businesses, but they are also (or therefore) so
>> powerful in terms of political lobbying/donations that no politician is
>> going to take them on.
>
> It is illegal for the oil companies to subsidise petrol/diesel prices by
> using profits from the crude oil business side. The supermarkets for
> example have no crude oil assets to compete in the filling stations
> market.
>

*DING*

I wondered if I was the only person that knew this. It would be trivial for
the big oil companies to put the independants out of business were it not
so.
--
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"Domestos" > wrote in message
news6pUe.2731$Q%2.1629@newsfe1-
>
> BP and friends have already sucked and refined this oil and is some cases
> delivered it to the petrol station so shy has the fuel price gone up on
> the forecourst so quickly. Not to mention that is has had two rise witin
> the last 10 days and they are threatening another one soon...


It's actually a wonder why it has taken this *long* to filter through to the
pumps since crude has been climbing steadily for some time now.

--
Simon Mason
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net

Catman > wrote:

> > It is illegal for the oil companies to subsidise petrol/diesel prices by
> > using profits from the crude oil business side. The supermarkets for
> > example have no crude oil assets to compete in the filling stations
> > market.
> >
>
> *DING*
>
> I wondered if I was the only person that knew this. It would be trivial for
> the big oil companies to put the independants out of business were it not
> so.

Eh? - that makes no sense *at all*.

A massive proportion of the UK fuel retail business is independents [1]
- that's how the oil companies want it to stay. They don't even give a
toss about local competition from supermarkets as not only do they have
no financial interest in the petrol stations but they're also flogging
their fuel to the supermarket.

[1] Way over 90% of all sites are held on a franchise basis.


--
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