Skip to main content

Gas and Oil

Gas and Oil

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 06:33 PM PST

No big changes in the numbers
Huge price difference in the local heating oil markets observed

Media release

Conception Bay South, NL, February 16, 2010- For the second week in a row, consumers in Newfoundland and Labrador won't be seeing any great changes to fuel pricing when the PUB moves to adjust prices later this week. That's according to George Murphy, group researcher with the Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices.

What's in the numbers?
"Oil prices stayed relatively steady this past week with today's trading session being the exception. Prices fluctuated anywhere between $74 and today's close at $77.11 US a barrel. Refined commodity prices also rose along with oil and that absorbed any modest decreases that were expected. Heating and stove oil prices are expected to drop by 24/100ths of a cent, diesel by only a tenth, while gasoline is expected to drop by a half penny. It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't change considering my margin for error of three tenths of a cent."

From the markets this week

• Refinery capacity remains at near historic lows, recorded down to 78.4 per cent.
• Last inventory report showed an increase in crude oil inventories and a drop in imports. Could be a significant signal to the markets of waning demand amidst problems with economic recovery.
• Gasoline inventories also showed an increase last week of more than two million barrels, another indicator of possible demand drops for the fuel.
• A slight drop in distillate inventory, not unexpected as a result of poor winter weather in the northeast US last week.
• Oil bounced back as a result of the increase in the Euro against the US dollar. There's a lot of faith that the European Union's confidence in the Greece debt recovery plan.
• Finally to note: We could see another fight between Britain and Argentina in the South Atlantic over exploration and development rights around the Falkland Islands (The Malvinas). The Argentina government is now refusing entry to oil companies that are getting supplies from Argentinian ports, forcing oil companies to add tremendous expense costs to exploring off the coast of the islands. The recent war over the islands in 1982 cost several hundred lives




Local heating oil pricing
Here's a run-down of local heating oil prices in the immediate St. John's, Mount Pearl and CBS area:

Company Cents/Litre
Harvey's Oil............ 75.74
Irving Oil................. 73.74
North Atlantic......... 73.74
Ultramar.................. 73.74
ESSO (Imperial)..... 73.74
Chafe's Oil................ 73.74
Discount Fuels......... 68.0
A1 Fuels.................... 68.3
Skinner's Oil............. 69.45

Difference Hi/Lo $78.99 (HST included) based on a 900Lt fill-up.

That's it for now!

For more information, contact;

George Murphy
Group researcher/Member
Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices

Popular posts from this blog

Vertical Lube Oil Pumps (Model VCRE)

Lube oil pumping applications demand a pump that provides reliability and extended service life with a minimum of maintenance. The typical Lube Oil pump must also be capable of operation over a wide range of temperature and liquid viscosity conditions. The VCRE family of pumps is designed specifically with these requirements in mind. The VCRE lube oil pump is a vertically submerged pump that utilizes an ANSI standard hydraulic construction, enclosed bearing housing, and welded piping construction which eliminates the inherent maintenance and leakage problems associated with other pumps. During operation, axial and radial thrust loads are controlled by Buffalo’s exclusive modified casing volute and impeller design.  is backed by extensive field-proven experience in designing pumps to handle any lube oil application. This experience also provides flexibility in assisting OEM’s contractors and end-users in designing a sound instal...
Read more

Motorcycle Shaft Drive Grease

General Purpose Grease Grease has several uses on a motorcycle. It's there to protect parts from water, to keep rubber and plastic seals from drying out, and to provide lubrication. Generally speaking, grease is just a reduced fat. In fact, you can find several companies who call their grease bases "soap." The choice for a general purpose grease to protect from water, keep seals moist, and provide lubrication is easy. If you're going to do your own maintenance, I recommend you get Mobil-1 or Valvoline synthetic grease for general purposes, about $6 / pound anywhere. This stuff can handle temperatures higher and lower than you'll ever get near. A one pound jar should last you about 15 years. Shaft Drive Gear Maintenance There are two types of maintenance you must do on a shaft drive bike. At your rear wheel there are pinion gears where the spinning drive shaft motion is turned 90 degrees into the rear wheel motion. These gears are bathed in oil which much be c...
Read more

Understanding Ferrous Density

As part of my job, I regularly present oil analysis training seminars. One of the tests we discuss is ferrous density. I find that this test is seldom well understood, and, probably as a result, is seldom used. Explanation of the Test Ferrous density is the density of ferrous, or more correctly, of ferromagnetic particles distributed in the oil. The other ferromagnetic elements that one might encounter in lubricated components are nickel and cobalt, but in practice, these elements are likely to be present only in comparatively small quantities. Therefore, we are effectively measuring the concentration of magnetic steel alloys. There is no single way to conduct a ferrous density analysis. There are many ways of performing this rather essential test. Perhaps the two most common are the direct-reading ferrography, a technique which uses light blockage analysis of material deposited on a glass slide; and electromagnetic induction, which measures the voltage induced in a current-carrying ...
Read more