Unfolding fuel protest.

Slinwagh · 1 May 2008 at 22:18

Full story here

Police have conformed that a small scale protest is being held at the Stanlow Oil refinery.

Up to 20 lorries are currently blockading the refinery. An estimated 80 protesters are participating.

DannyW · 1 May 2008 at 22:18

i'd protest too if it was local, this country is becoming an utter joke

paradigm · 1 May 2008 at 22:20

bbc website said:
One of the protesters said: "Enough is enough, something has to be done."

Well yes, something HAS to be done, but the oil companies are NOT the reason for our high petrol prices. This is the same as complaining to your dentist that the price of toothpaste is ridiculous.

Housey · 1 May 2008 at 22:26

paradigm said:
This is the same as complaining to your dentist that the price of toothpaste is ridiculous.

Really? No wonder he was pointing at me out of his window, laughing

pc-modd · 1 May 2008 at 22:30

Is the protest going to do anything though or are they just wasting there time?

Slinwagh · 1 May 2008 at 22:34

pc-modd said:
Is the protest going to do anything though or are they just wasting there time?

Panic buying and a price increase.

Not being so flippant the government are going to reduce the fuel duty because of it.

gillywibble · 1 May 2008 at 22:41

paradigm said:
Well yes, something HAS to be done, but the oil companies are NOT the reason for our high petrol prices. This is the same as complaining to your dentist that the price of toothpaste is ridiculous.

So there isn't a monopoly on the price of fuel? Thank goodness for that.

paradigm · 1 May 2008 at 22:41

Gillywibble said:
So there isn't a monopoly on the price of fuel? Thank goodness for that.

Yes, its called the Government.

Mad old tory · 1 May 2008 at 22:45

What other option do they have? Trouble is, they'll probably get arrested under terrorism legislation. It's disgraceful how the government is letting the haulage industry go to the wall. I'm not one for the government artificially propping up failing industries per se, but in this case most of the difficulties are caused by the government itself :mad:

SB118 · 1 May 2008 at 22:49

Best get the rozzers up there to round up these dangerous terrorists.

Amazing what you can get away with when you're allowed to literally make up the rules as you go along.

gillywibble · 1 May 2008 at 22:54

paradigm said:
Yes, its called the Government.

The fuel companies aren't blameless. They're making huge profits and there simply isn't enough competition to force prices down.

[TW]Fox · 1 May 2008 at 22:55

Gillywibble said:
The fuel companies aren't blameless. They're making huge profits and there simply isn't enough competition to force prices down.

Are you aware of the margin on retail fuel?

Mad old tory · 1 May 2008 at 22:56

Do you know why they make huge profits? It isn't from the forecourts, it's from selling the crude as it is currently trading way above costprice as traders speculating and the increase in commodity prices due to a volatile dollar and stock market have pushed oil prices way above their natural level for the current supply/demand.

Morba · 1 May 2008 at 22:56

Gillywibble said:
The fuel companies aren't blameless. They're making huge profits and there simply isn't enough competition to force prices down.

not from the sale of fuel on forecourts in the uk though.

big_white_dog84 · 1 May 2008 at 22:57

[TW]Fox;11611084 said:
Are you aware of the margin on retail fuel?

The margin at the petrol station is slim to nil. The margin at the refinery is massive.

gillywibble · 1 May 2008 at 23:05

The margin at the petrol station is irrelevant. The companies make large enough profits to enable them to subsidise the cost of fuel on the forecourt and this is precisely what would happen in a competitive market place.

The fact that it isn't happening shows clearly that there is a monopoly.

[TW]Fox · 1 May 2008 at 23:07

Gillywibble said:
The margin at the petrol station is irrelevant. The companies make large enough profits to enable them to subsidise the cost of fuel on the forecourt and this is precisely what would happen in a competitive market place.

In a perfectly competitive market why would companies sell a product at a loss?

paradigm · 1 May 2008 at 23:08

Who exactly are you blaming here Mr Wibble? And just why should a business subsidise its products? There is no monopoly, there is more than one large oil refinery company out there.

Perhaps you want to start blaming OPEC next?

[TW]Fox · 1 May 2008 at 23:08

paradigm said:
Perhaps you want to start blaming OPEC next?

Well actually now you mention it..

gillywibble · 1 May 2008 at 23:09

[TW]Fox;11611173 said:
In a perfectly competitive market why would companies sell a product at a loss?

Because the end result is a profit and this is weighed carefully in their forecasts.

One of the most competitive markets, car insurance, is a prime example. There is rarely a profit before investment return.