Oil Strike - Check your fuel !

[Ricardo331]

Oil firms Royal Dutch Shell and BP have made better-than-expected first-quarter profits thanks to the rising price of oil, which is close to $120 a barrel.
Shell made profits of $7.8bn (£3.9bn) in the first three months of the year, up from $6.9bn a year ago.
And rival BP saw its profits rise 48% to $6.588bn (£3.31bn), from $4.4bn.
In January, Anglo-Dutch firm Shell reported annual profits of $27.56bn (£13.9bn) for 2007, a record for a UK-listed company.
BP shares closed up 5.96% in London, while Royal Dutch Shell 'A' shares rose 5.26%.

Since the beginning of this year, BP and Shell have made £3m profit an hour and continues to rise

Price moves
The quarterly results come amid increasing concern at the cost of petrol on both sides of the Atlantic.




In the UK, average prices have now reached 109.8p a litre for unleaded petrol, equivalent to £4.99 a gallon (4.55 litres), according to the AA.
In the US, where fuel taxes are lower, the average price is now $3.60 (£1.80) for an American gallon (3.79 litres), according to the US Energy Department.
The results also follow a strike by oil workers at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland, which had disrupted fuel supplies and halted much of the UK's North Sea oil production.
Some petrol stations in Scotland and northern England had introduced rationing or raised prices.

The price of oil prices has been rising steadily since January, when it broke through the $100-a-barrel mark.
This week the cartel of oil producing nations, Opec, warned that prices could reach $200 a barrel.

[kimandsally]

Oil firms Royal Dutch Shell and BP have made better-than-expected first-quarter profits thanks to the rising price of oil, which is close to $120 a barrel.
Shell made profits of $7.8bn (£3.9bn) in the first three months of the year, up from $6.9bn a year ago.
And rival BP saw its profits rise 48% to $6.588bn (£3.31bn), from $4.4bn.
In January, Anglo-Dutch firm Shell reported annual profits of $27.56bn (£13.9bn) for 2007, a record for a UK-listed company.
BP shares closed up 5.96% in London, while Royal Dutch Shell 'A' shares rose 5.26%.

Since the beginning of this year, BP and Shell have made £3m profit an hour and continues to rise

Price moves
The quarterly results come amid increasing concern at the cost of petrol on both sides of the Atlantic.




In the UK, average prices have now reached 109.8p a litre for unleaded petrol, equivalent to £4.99 a gallon (4.55 litres), according to the AA.
In the US, where fuel taxes are lower, the average price is now $3.60 (£1.80) for an American gallon (3.79 litres), according to the US Energy Department.
The results also follow a strike by oil workers at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland, which had disrupted fuel supplies and halted much of the UK's North Sea oil production.
Some petrol stations in Scotland and northern England had introduced rationing or raised prices.

The price of oil prices has been rising steadily since January, when it broke through the $100-a-barrel mark.
This week the cartel of oil producing nations, Opec, warned that prices could reach $200 a barrel.

The only way to stop the greedy ******** is to stick together and buy from Shell or Esso for a week whichever is the lowest price in the country average for that week, or even better why not try a massive protest where people book a weeks holiday from work and stay at home, that would cripple them.
We have the power but only if we stick together.

I hold out no hope whatsoever I doubt if we could get 1000 people on this forum to stick together and fight them, in fact I'd bet a £1 pay Pal donation to VWAF that we can't get 1000 people to do it.

I do what I can I never go anywhere without at least 2 people in the car that virtually halved our motoring costs.

[Captain Answer]

Seriously what are you on about? I'd be worried about the total price being £1.10 a litre when the oil companies are retailing that at around 34p. Maybe you should have a look at who's really to blame eh? Most forecourts make approximatly less than 1% profit on a litre of fuel, they make more from you buying a bag of walkers crisps

Oil companies like any other are designed to make money and you've no idea of their internal structuring. If the profit rise is 40% that could only be comparative gain to them of 5%. I don't see a soap box thread on here about tesco bringing in £8 a second profits

[kimandsally]

Seriously what are you on about? I'd be worried about the total price being £1.10 a litre when the oil companies are retailing that at around 34p. Maybe you should have a look at who's really to blame eh? Most forecourts make approximatly less than 1% profit on a litre of fuel, they make more from you buying a bag of walkers crisps

Oil companies like any other are designed to make money and you've no idea of their internal structuring. If the profit rise is 40% that could only be comparative gain to them of 5%. I don't see a soap box thread on here about tesco bringing in £8 a second profits

There you go absolutely not a clue, does not 7bn in 3 months not seem a lot of money to you or are you one of the guys on Britains rich list, you keep your 2 1/2% pay increases and keep smiling eh.

I just knew my £1 was safe.


I've said enough I think my opinion is obviously wrong and I accept the majority, but why do people even bring up the subject of fuel increases if you feel sorry for the oil companies?

And regarding not knowing about their structuring you have assumed wrong, one of my best friends uncles works for Shell and has done for over 30 years he has a place in Kensington where we go to stay with them on the summer, you wouldn't believe what I've heard even if I were stupid enough to put it on here, when your feeling sorry for the oil companies think of me having a week of luxury in the summer paid for by them.

[Captain Answer]

There you go absolutely not a clue, does not 7bn in 3 months not seem a lot of money to you or are you one of the guys on Britains rich list, you keep your 2 1/2% pay increases and keep smiling eh.

I just knew my £1 was safe.


I've said enough I think my opinion is obviously wrong and I accept the majority, but why do people even bring up the subject of fuel increases if you feel sorry for the oil companies?

And regarding not knowing about their structuring you have assumed wrong, one of my best friends uncles works for Shell and has done for over 30 years he has a place in Kensington where we go to stay with them on the summer, you wouldn't believe what I've heard even if I were stupid enough to put it on here, when your feeling sorry for the oil companies think of me having a week of luxury in the summer paid for by them.

Feel sorry for an oil company? er no. I've merely stated that the price we pay is influenced to the level it is by our government taking a healthy tax and duty from it for pretty much doing nothing. I expect oil companies just like any other to be as successful as they can, much like any individual person to be so in terms of well being and prosperity. I'd be on the dole eating mung beans in a self sufficient commune if I didn't

[kimandsally]

Feel sorry for an oil company? er no. I've merely stated that the price we pay is influenced to the level it is by our government taking a healthy tax and duty from it for pretty much doing nothing. I expect oil companies just like any other to be as successful as they can, much like any individual person to be so in terms of well being and prosperity. I'd be on the dole eating mung beans in a self sufficient commune if I didn't

Now please don't take this the wrong way but I notice your vehicles in your sig, the guy I know who works for Shell has an Aston Martin a Porsche Cayenne and his wife has a nice Mercedes, the figures you think they make at or near 1% are absolute rubbish, the governments taxes are fixed with the exception of VAT which as I'm sure you know increases 1.75p for every 10p the oil companies make, Shell do the whole job of getting the oil out the ground to the pumps and so fully have their influence on the price, they could half their margins and still be one of the most profitable companies in the world, and that is a virtual direct quote from the guy I know, it is as close as I can get without a tape recorder, I know this because I had the same conversation with him thinking the government were to blame, the government actually delayed their budget increase because the oil companies had already done it so much they had made their 2p a litre on the VAT of the increase. When Shell think it's funny how the government squirm because of inflation then they know how powerful they are.

[Eshrules]

Tell you what, if there's a genuine shortage at any point related to the current strike, i'll paypal you a fiver

quite... I'd do the same too

People panic filling and scare mongering CREATE shortages. My wife is in Scotland at the moment and there are no cues, no shortages and no problems-at the moment!

here, here!

bloody idiots causing panic, it's chain emails like that posted up above that causes these damned issues in the first place.

[Captain Answer]

Now please don't take this the wrong way but I notice your vehicles in your sig

So because I can afford to run more car's than average my point is null? Most companies could half there production, research, development and logistics arms but don't as long term its detremental to the business. That doesn't alter the fact that the product we buy at the pump is retailed at a third of what we pay to the manufacturer and the government take the rest.

[dansansome]

i have to admit i was originally in the "oil companies making too much money" camp. however, i suppose at the end of the day they are a business.

BUT

if oil companies can make £7bn PROFIT from selling fuel 34 pence per litre on a garage forecourt, then imagine how much the government is getting....

i dont have a problem with the price of fuel, nor the price the garage add on for using their pumps. i have a problem with the rest that just gets added on, because its an easy target.

[k9max]

I don't know the exact difference in fuel costs between this country and say most of Europe, but I know for a fact it's cheaper over there. This might be a simplistic view, but surely proves this government is greedier than most otherwise everyone would pay similar prices...