Gasoline Prices and Energy Security

[melbourne_yankee]

We started a four day holiday - Thursday was a mourning day for the Queen, Friday (today) was a holiday in Melbourne for a sports game (yeah, a bs holiday the Labor government implemented to get votes), and then of course Saturday and Sunday.

So yesterday morning I checked gasoline prices and they were A$1.529 a litre.  I was planning on filling up the  car and a couple of jerry cans tomorrow on the way back from shopping as on the 28th the government will reinstate a 22 cent per litre excise tax.  The previous government reduced the tax right before the election as an attempt to get votes.

So guess what happened today?

Yep, a huge price increase in gasoline prices.

How much do you ask?

No, not 10 cents a litre, or 20 cents a litre  not 30 cents either, but a whopping 43 cents a litre at most service stations. Was out driving around and just happened to see the new prices.

So stopped the car and got out the mobile phone and checked out  to see if there were any gasoline stations in the local area that hadn't yet raised their prices.

Got lucky and found two of them about 3 miles away from where we were and drove over there right away.  By the time we got there one had already jacked up their price to A$1.929, but the other was still at A$1.529 so I filled up the car.

Wasn't able to fill the jerry cans which were at home so tough luck.

So on the 29th the price will jump another 22 cents a litre and be around A$2.15 a litre. That is a price increase from yesterday of 65 cents a litre or 42% in less than a week.

Of course these new prices will be taken into account when the government calculates the inflation figures for the month of September and they will now be bad as all the previous months' price reductions have been erased.

But you ask, isn't the price of oil down on the markets?

Yes, it is.  it is now down to the US$82 a barrel level, but here in Australia that means squat as the benchmark price used for gasoline comes from the Singapore market.

We now only have, IIRC, only two, yes TWO refineries in the entire country and we rely on imported refined products to supply the market.

When you think about that it boggles the mind.  We export lots of energy products: coal, NG, NG liquids, and crude oil, but import refined products. If there was ever a war all a country would have to do to shut down Australia and make it submit would be to block energy imports.  Block Sydney Harbor and the Port of Melbourne or sink a couple of boats and lob a couple of missiles at the two refineries and the country would shut down in about a month.

We have limited storage of refined products in the country which makes it even worse................

[NFriday]

At least thankfully, here in the US we don't have to import a lot of gas.  It is way cheaper in some states than it is in other states.  California probably has the most expensive gas right now, whereas Texas, where there are a lot of refineries, gas is way cheaper.  I need gas, and it has been 2 1/2 months since I bought gas last, and it was $4.49 the last time I bought gas at Sam's Club.  It is now $3.79 a gallon, but Sam's Club is by far the cheapest place to buy gas in Evanston, and so I am sure the lines are going to be long when I go there.

Unless Putin decides to get out of Ukraine, I cannot see the price of gas in other countries that have to import most of their gas going down.

[dawn_b_adams]

I live in Wisconsin and gas prices went down to about $3.43/gallon, now back up to $4.10/gallon. I'm trying not to drive too much. I try to limit buying gas to twice a month or once every three weeks if I can. I also shop at a grocery store where I can get points towards gas discounts. That has helped a little bit. 

[peach6]

1 hour ago, dawn_b_adams said:

I live in Wisconsin and gas prices went down to about $3.43/gallon, now back up to $4.10/gallon. I'm trying not to drive too much. I try to limit buying gas to twice a month or once every three weeks if I can. I also shop at a grocery store where I can get points towards gas discounts. That has helped a little bit. 

My gas also went down the last few weeks but now it's starting to creep back up they say itself because o the Hurricane

[NFriday]

I just checked, and the gas that I bought nine days ago at Sam's Club for $3.84, is now $4.19.  I live in the Chicago area, and so when I have to go down to the dental school clinic on Wednesday at UIC, I can take public transportation.  I could drive and get free parking, but it would cost me as much in gas, as it would to take the train down and back, which is $5, and I don't have to deal with getting stuck in traffic on the expressway, which always happens.  I have not driven my car since Friday.  Saturday when I went to the farmer's market, I walked there.  I have to drive to a rehearsal tomorrow night, and I might drive to my community garden, but another group that I am involved with meets through Zoom tomorrow.  I usually only go to the grocery store once a week, and I try to consolidate trips when I do.  The last time I got gas, I also went grocery shopping, and the last time I went to my garden, I went grocery shopping afterwards.

I heard there have been three hurricanes in Florida in the last five years, partly because of global warming.  I used to live in a rural area of Michigan though, where it was very difficult to go grocery shopping or do errands if you did not have a car, and so I understand that some people have no choice but to drive.

[NFriday]

Opec voted to cut gas production, and so gas prices are predicted to go even higher.

[dawn_b_adams]

14 hours ago, NFriday said:

Opec voted to cut gas production, and so gas prices are predicted to go even higher.

Yeah, it's going to be bad everywhere. I read an article where in France, they are urging people to keep their thermostats to no higher than 19C. They are also urging people to keep their water heater down to 130F. It's going to be a cold winter in some parts of Europe.

[melbourne_yankee]

And it is time in the USA for the seasonal change from summer formulated gasoline to the winter type fuel as mandated by the EPA.

This requires refineries to "change over" their production methods to meet the winter formula gasolines.

This causes higher costs for refineries and is passed on to consumers.

We only have one type of gasoline used all year round here in Oz.

The only thing that is changing here is that the government finally passed laws a number of years ago that required cleaner type gasoline with lower sulpher "sulfur for you yanks"  content. The deadline is sometime in 2024.  It was supposed to be happening in 2027, but the new government moved it forward.  It will end up costing us a couple of more cents per litre.