Why is petrol more expensive than diesel?

junii

??

bennyx_o

Needs more refining(sp?) IIRC. Sorry I can't be more specific, but I think I remember someone telling me this.

peasant

because it's much more highly refined than diesel ...in other words it needs more work put in to be made.

The question should really be: Why is diesel in Ireland almost as expensive as petrol?

In other countries there are differences of up to 15-20 cent per liter (in favour of the diesel)

Thomas_S_Hunterson

peasant wrote:

The question should really be: Why is diesel in Ireland almost as expensive as petrol?

Because garages can get away with ripping us off ecause we're so used to getting ripped off everywhere else

Mc-BigE

It’s to do with the distillation process of crude oil, lower down the distillation column you will find engine oil, higher up diesel , there are loads more stages and at the top are petrol and gases.

The price that petrol is distilled is about 10-15cent a litre (might be higher now) THE REST is taxes and vat and duty.

The real question is why should the government take more very time petrol prices go up? It should be a fixed amount, not a %. Or it should be a lower %

The same could be said for Secondhand House Stamp Duty.

nealmac

sean_keevey wrote:

Because garages can get away with ripping us off ecause we're so used to getting ripped off everywhere else

Nail on the head:)

unkel

You've all missed the point

The price we pay at the pump has little to do with which fuel is more costly to produce. The price is mainly duty and taxes. The difference between petrol and diesel prices is government policy in setting these duties. A government that recognises that modern diesels are much less damaging to the economy would ensure diesel is cheaper at the pump. Current pricing example per liter:

Ireland:
diesel €1.20
petrol €1.20

Netherlands:
diesel €1.00
petrol €1.40

junii

unkel wrote:

You've all missed the point

The price we pay at the pump has little to do with which fuel is more costly to produce. The price is mainly duty and taxes. The difference between petrol and diesel prices is government policy in setting these duties. A government that recognises that modern diesels are much less damaging to the economy would ensure diesel is cheaper at the pump. Current pricing example per liter:

Ireland:
diesel €1.20
petrol €1.20

Netherlands:
diesel €1.00
petrol €1.40

Jez, Its about 113 - 114 Per litre diesel and 118.9 - 120.9 petrol in my hometown in the west.

Has there been any talk of the governement reducing these taxes in the future? Perhaps making tax for diesels lower.

Alun

unkel wrote:

Netherlands:
diesel €1.00
petrol €1.40

Thing is though, that in the Netherlands you'll pay approximately twice the road tax for a diesel car as you would for a petrol equivalent. Annual tax there on my car, for example, a Focus C-Max 1.6 TDCi is €996, for a car of the same weight using petrol (car tax there is based on the weight of the car!) would be €512.

sean_keevey

sean_keevey wrote:

Because garages can get away with ripping us off ecause we're so used to getting ripped off everywhere else

Wrong! Its not some global conspiracy.

Diesel was much cheaper than petrol initially. But now everyone has bought diesel cars for their better economy etc, there is more diesel being consumed. Lots more.
Refineries have to be built to cater for the extra demand for diesel (they aren't cheap).

the paper wrote:

Diesel costs are rising more quickly than petrol because of constraints in refining capacity, said Ray Holloway of the Petrol Retailers Association, which represents independent filling stations.

........

Refineries in the UK are designed to produce more petrol than diesel, but the superior fuel efficiency and cleaner exhaust of today's diesel cars has increased their share of new car sales.

The refineries, however, cannot keep up with the demand for diesel, so its cost is rising faster than that of petrol. "With almost half of new cars running on diesel, we are simply not able to produce enough for them," said Mr Holloway.

http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,3604,1556690,00.html

Edit: To clairify, some countries also tax their diesel and petrol differently as well have different refinery infrastructure. Also, countries with large diesel refineries running at partial capacity have absorbed the increased demand for diesel better.