Why does diesel cost so much more than petrol

Cos you pay more tax on it.

From a cost point of view the ex tax bit. & it tends to have a higher water content & lower quality control.

AFAIK it does cost less to produce. It costs more at the pump because there is extra duty on it, and there is a price war on unleaded at the moment which is keeping the price artificially low. I was always told that diesel prices increased in the winter as more raw material was diverted into producing kerosene. Don't know how true that is.

Not a huge amount, but enough to cause you running problems. Road diesel should have a cetane number of around 51 kerosene will be about 7 lower, so your car will run like a dog on it. If you have a common rail or PD engine expect major problems as they are more fussy about fuel quality. Sulphur content will also be higher, and lubricity will be less. It would be fair to expect fuel/lift/injector pump damage in the long term using this as road fuel. Injectors *may* also soot up more quickly.

The message from "sa3214" contains these words:

Demand.

I think its called cynicism, build up a demand for a product and then tax it to hell. Take care air may be next !!

After LPG :-)

Tax.

Would you believe that the fuel tax for Diesel contains a surcharge of about

2p because a couple of years ago the chancellor decided that because Diesel engines were more fuel efficient than petrol ones, the fuel should carry a higher tax ...

So much for environmental concerns, shows it's all new excuses to make more money.

Because people will pay that much for it. Either they have no choice, or they can't be arsed to find a better price. I've never paid more than the same price as unleaded for my derv, but then I was born in yorkshire :->

aye! J

R. Murphy ( snipped-for-privacy@murphy9100.fsnet.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I think the official line was more to do with the increase in particulate emission related breathing difficulties, but...

If it was a carbon tax, the duty would be nearly 20% higher.

Diesel is denser than petrol, which would tend to suggest you would get less of it per gallon of crude (assuming it could all be converted to one or the other). On that basis too, it probably ought to carry a higher tax (greater use of natural resources). However, refining is a careful balance of inputs and outputs - I don't think it's especially true to claim that some heavier or lighter fuels are necessarily inherently cheaper or more expensive to produce. Most crudes produce a reasonable balance of fuel oil and lighter fractions which can be matched to demand without too much effort. However, there is a large seasonal demand for domestic and industrial heating oils which definitely affects prices. Unlike diesel for road use, these markets seem to accept such variations. I don't drive a diesel - is the differential against petrol different in winter to summer ?

Can I take this opportunity to ask a question - why is it that so many people I come across refer to diesel fuel as derv? I thought DERV was Diesel Engined Road Vehicle. Is this not correct? Any explanations?

| James Dore wrote: | | > I've never paid more than | > the same price as unleaded for my derv, but then I was born in yorkshire | | | Can I take this opportunity to ask a question - why is it that so many | people I come across refer to diesel fuel as derv? I thought DERV was | Diesel Engined Road Vehicle. Is this not correct? Any explanations?

Diesel fuel was called DERV long long long ago.

I didn't know about the acronym, it's just easier to type!!

Cheers!

I'm not saying I know one way or another - sometimes acronyms get made up to fit a name - I'm wondering if this is the case?

I'm around the South Midlands, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Surrey almost daily and the only places I see that charge the same for UL and Derv are those which charge a premium on both!

Diesel is currently about 3p per litre dearer in Worcestershire/Gloucestershire than Hampshire/Surrey. UL is identical.

ISTR it meant "Diesel Engined Road Vehicle, fuel for the use of."

Lee

Also we're constantly being told about how much environmental damage is being created by the amount CO2 in vehicle emissions, despite the fact that as far as I can gather, not only are modern diesel engines much cleaner (in regards to particulates) than their predecessors, but they also emit 30 to

40 percent less CO2, and bio-diesel over 70 percent less.

Yet the EU actually subsidises farmers to put fields aside, isn't this then a golden opportunity for our government to put its money where its mouth is?.. i.e. say remove half the fuel duty on diesel, and then give cash incentives to farmers to use their put aside land for producing crops that can be at least used as an additive to make conventional diesel even more eco-friendly.

Yes. Petrol has a high world price during summer when the population of the USA Midwest gets in it's cars and does 1000's of miles at 10mpg which pushes prices up. They hibernate during winter or don't go out of town. Drive gas guzzling pickups and SUV's to national parks, camping and hunting grounds in the summer.

I've seen pumps that said DERV. I thought it was something to do with the duty paid.

Whats this?, sensible policies for a better Britain?

They'll have you shipped off to the colonies for such radical thoughts.

Anyways, the gubmint will never back a policy that reduces revenue. They'll just pay lip service to the overall scheme. I'll crawl back under my stone now.