Your Comments

The oil companies ie. Shell and BP are conning us!!!!!!
I use LPG in a 1998 Mondeo, I pay full Road Tax and I have to pay 9p a litre more in SIDCUP than I do when visiting in WATFORD. How come????
That is an 18%difference. Let PM Brown answer that Question.

the government will not admit its the tax that is the real cost because they do not want to reduce the taxes.
they are making a mint a the moment.
so now they can afford that expensive holiday or kitchen at YOUR Expense.

he even said it himself oil was at $11 dollars a barrel during his time as chancellor now it is $135 a barrel.

and before MR Peak oil comes into this and say it is Peak Oil if he knew anything about the oil industry he would know that supply and demand will always equal.
there is no point in storing oil!

this is just an exercise to try and keep the misinformed happy.

i.e thoose that think it the oils copanies makeing loads of cash out of this.

the REAL fact is the Governments making the real cash!

Ladies and Gents it is time to put your coats and hats and get on the street and protest for LOWER fuel taxes to bring the cost to an affordable realistic price IE 69p a litre.

if they do NOT lower them then RIOT because that's what the French do and it works the government listens then!

I second Greg Brown's suggestion. A well balanced (factually based) debate would be quite refreshing.

We need to get off our bottoms and do bigger protests and hold the country to ransome. Hands up to the guys who did the protest this week, I would have been there myself but dod not hear anything of it until it was on the news. Last time this happened we all gave in because of our darling government saying that people would die in hospitals because if it carried on it would affect electricity supplies. What a load of tosh. Their generators are instant. I say lets blockade all major road networks and get Gordon Brown to sit up and take notice. Take a leaf out of the French books they wont be stood on whey the ??? should we. We have put up with too much too long. Lets get out of the rut us British are in and take action. Stop talking about it and lets get results by taking action.

Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown are incompetent and their actions are reminiscent of two jaded no hopers. To say these two public servants have missed the point is an understatement. By not bringing the cost of fuel in this country under control they risk a knock on effect with energy costs to industry and food manufactures who use energy in high volumes (such as Backers and intensive farming) spiralling out of control and increasing inflation to the determent of us all.

Re 8'

current production 87million barrels a day current ussage 86.5million barrels a day

Scottish north sea fields produce More than uk Energy needs 10 more in fact.

Norway has oil fund why dont we?
20000milllion pound in fact!

and let me tell you as someone that has worked closely within this industry i know that there have been new viable fields discovered but not further exploited why? why do you think?

so dont talk to me about Peak Oil. i personally know it has not peaked!

so reference your last statement i think you need a RETHINK.


Sonja i Agree i think what need to happen is people need to instigate a plan EMAIL me please

Brendan, your litre breakdown is way off.

The product price for Petrol should read 41.81p/litre.
Delivery and Retail should read 5.79p/litre.

The Product Price for Diesel should read 53.34p/litre.
Delivery and Retail should read 5.46p/litre.

Producing more oil is a great idea, but they cannot refine it anyway. So the whole business becomes pointless, another government mistake. One amongst many.

One simple fact that might just make you think.

The world now consumes 31.8 billion barrels of oil per year. 1978 was the last year that this volume of oil was discovered and more recently discovery has been running at less than 10 billion barrels per year. It is an utterly forlorn hope that exploration and new discoveries may alleviate the current supply crisis.

Now to explain this step by step;

Oil has to be discoverd before it can be extracted and burnt.

You can only use what has already been discovered.

When you are discovering less than you are using as we have been doing for 30 years you can only use what has already been discovered but not yet burnt.

Thus today we are using what was discovered years ago.

So very soon the amount we can pump will decline and continue declining.

Meanwhile the world's population keeps increasing. It was under one billion before oil was pumped and now is over 6.5 billion.

If you still think the price will go down then please form an orderly queue for the land of elves and fairies, with unicorns grazing in the pastures, tended to by members of the Texas Communist Party. I'll join you there real soon afterwards.

Hey, Tony, do you think our Matt's involvement in the oil industry has more to do with being a cashier in a petrol station than at boardroom level?

Too much time spent looking directly at the Sun. The newspaper.

only you read a tabloid my dear friend only you exist in a fantasy world.
your the FOOL for believing in that!
yes i am a petorl attendant!LOL
with deep sea ROV experience!
I got bored so thought yep i want to see the end products customers complain to my face about how fuel is rising too much and the BLAME is the oil companys instead of the GOV! TAXING policy!
.
if your a GREENY Greg why don't you go back into your tree house and leave the rest of the developing/developed world sort this problem out?

instead if bumping your gums on nothing you know about

Yes it's me again folks. Time for another lesson on Peak Oil.

At some point, global oil production will reach a peak, and then begin to decline. At that point, oil will become more expensive, because it will become increasingly expensive to discover and extract what oil there is left. As oil becomes more expensive, demand will go down. We'll never actually use the last drop of oil because it will be too expensive to buy.

Oil fields have a life span - in their youth they are plump, full and eager to please. But as they age, they become temperamental and stingy. There is a natural rate of decline in production. Just what that rate of decline is can be a closely held secret, which makes finding information that much more fun. If you look through the U.S. Energy Information Administration's country reports, you can find depletion rates for some countries' resources. A few high spots:

* In 2004, 20% of Russia's oil came from oil fields that were over 80% depleted. The post-peak fields are estimated to be declining between 1-5% per year.

* Iran's rate of decline is estimated to be 8% for onshore wells and 10% for offshore wells.

* Though the EIA has no hard facts for China, they do report that China's fields are mature and production is peaking.

* In Saudi Arabia, Aramco states that the total average depletion for its oil fields is 29%. The largest Saudi field, Abqaiq, peaked in the '70s and is 74% depleted.

Texan oilman T. Boone Pickens said in 2005 worldwide production was close to peaking. This month he predicted $150 a barrel oil this year, after investment bank Goldman Sachs said prices could reach $200 within two years as part of a super-spike driven by poor growth in oil supplies.

In 2002, a barrel cost less than $20.

Matthew Simmons, the chairman of a Houston-based investment bank specialising in the energy sector, said in late 2006 that the peak may have occurred in December 2005.

It's time to accept the inevitable: Oil demand exceeds oil production.

From this moment on, oil prices will continue to rise.

For the terminally bewildered amongst you I repeat:

The time is now to start thinking about and making changes to the way you live so your life is not so oil-centered. Remember that a lack of oil extends far beyond just not being able to drive your car - so many other products, services and industries are based on oil.

Start preparing for a life of austerity. NOW!

Find local employment. Reduce your debts. Reduce your fuel consumption. Grow your own vegetables or buy from local suppliers. Exercise regularly. Insulate your home. Help your family, friends and colleagues to understand the implications of Peak Oil.

Got it? :)

Lets tax the foreign motorists who enter the country on a daily basis. It would be so easy for us to do this **WE ARE AN ISLAND** for god sake. Visitors should be charged at the ports. This could be used to reduce the fuel tax us motorists have to pay to run our businesses.

We have to pay their road tolls and road taxes when we visit their countries - even though we are suposed to be classed as EUROPE too.

Matt

Lots of us in my area agree with the idea of a mass protest. Cars, vans, trucks, tractors. Lets get on the road then block it.

Does any one realise the knock on effect of the governments actions here.

We are coming up to harvest time soon, any idea what bread will cost ofter the summer.

Tractors and harvesters are not cheap to run then there is the fuel for the trucks to deliver the bread.

Red Diesel is over 70p/l - this time last year it was 30p/l

Every thing is delivered by trucks. What happens when they can't afford to go on the road.

peak oil ,i wonder where you get your information from ,hang on i'll guess ....from the companies who are scamming you .

oil companies ,central banks,governments and fortune 500 companies are controlling all the facts and figures that you keep throwing around ,they are as worthless as the papers you found them in.

RE 24 HEY MATT I HERE WHAT YOU ARE SAYING BUT LIKE I SAID THE ONLY WAY TO PROTEST IS TO GET PEOPLE TO COMPLAIN TO THEIR LOCAL MP AND GET THEM TO HAVE THEIR SAY, WE ELECT THESE PEOPLE SO LET THEM FIGHT FOR YOU AND I. I BELEIVE THAT SO THE PAPERS SAY TAKE IT AS READ THEY SAY THAT 40 LABOUR MP ARE AGIANST THE INCREASES IN FUEL AND ROAD TAX SO IS THIS NOT TELLING YOU SOMETHING IF EVERY MP IN THE LABOUR PARTY WAS TO COMPLIAIN THEN IT WOULD BE THE END OF LABOUR.
GORDON BROWN HAS NOT MADE A STAND FOR US THE WORKING MAN SINCE HE HAS BEEN PUT POWER I THOUGHT TONY BLAIR WAS BAD, FOR THE AMOUNT OF U TURNS HE DID.BUT BY GOD GIVE ME HIM ANY DAY BECAUSE HE COULD WIN THE PUBLIC OVER IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE BY CHARM ALONE.
GORDON BROWN HAS NOTHING GOING FOR HIM AND IF HE CARRIES ON THIS WAY I WOULD NOT BE SUPRISED THAT THERE WOULD BE A VOTE OF NO CONFERDENCE IN THIS GOVERMMENT BY THE OTHER PARTY.
MR DARLING AND MR BROWN THOUGHT THAT THEY COULD PULL THE WOOL OVER ARE EYES AND GET AWAY WITH IT BUT ITS STARTING TO BACK FIRE.
AS FOR THE GREENER ISSUES WELL WE MOVE ONTO MORE ECONOMICAL WAYS EITHER BY ELECTRIC VEHICLES WHICH HAVE BEEN OUT FOR YEARS OR MAY BE ABLE TO USE CO2 AS ANOTHER SORCE WHO TO SAY WHAT THE FUTURE HAS. WE HAVE TO SEE YEAH.
ALAN

A government spokesperson said when asked if the government were prepared to lower tax on fuel to ease the burden high prices are having on the motorist, "They would consider it in the autumn".
They forget that it is the people who put them in their positions to work for and represent the people. The government is abusing it's position by ignoring the pleas of a nation that is becoming crippled by the highest taxation in Europe. Remember, it was the people who voted them in, and it could be the same people who will vote them out. No other country is as tolerant as the people of the UK, but enough is enough and it is time to speak out in protest.
If the country is spending more than it can liberally sustain, then the country needs to trim it's spending now. Overseas involvement in major conflicts needs to end, immigration with all it's expensive complications must stop. We must learn to be more insular, looking after national interests first and foremost. If we are not subsidising half the third world, perhaps the cost of high taxation would become unnecessary and fuel would be affordable again.
Rant over (for now).

RE 19 Just to pick up from ,You made the comment and I quote if your a GREENY Greg why don't you go back into your tree house and leave the rest of the developing/developed world sort this problem out?

instead if bumping your gums on nothing you know about

Year thats fine but like i said have been in the motor trade for over 30 years and as a representive of VOSA for the local council who I am employed with we test over 2000 vehicles a year. At least 1500 of them are taxis so yes their has been a massive change in the last decade in lowering the emissions, like I said you cant get a reading out of the euro4 engine when you carry out a gas test so is this not the way forward, to have a zero reading on all modern vehicles then road fund tax would drop drasticly.
The goverment would have you brain washed in telling you that all engines throw out masses of gases and pollute the air and to the averge lay man we beleive them, your log book tells you what band you come under.
You only have to pick up any car magazine in any show room when you go to buy a new car and the details are their about co2 readings.
So on this note you know and I know with the increase in duty everything goes up, rail / bus fares retail and food plus inflation.

Matt: You may have great experience of the oil industry, but you are seriously lacking when it comes to knowing about human nature or business practice.

Get around this - IF $130 per barrel oil doesnt tempt the producers to get more oil out of the ground then nothing will. At this price level profits are going begging and shareholders are getting mightily pissed off - look at Exxon Mobils (the biggest US company) share price, up a pitiful 10% in 12 months while the oil price has doubled, or Chevron Texaco up only 25% in the same time. Those companies should be making a f@cking killing right now, but are not - why not? Is it because they have suddenly broken the habit of human existence and are now frightened of making money? or might they just be struggling to get enough of the stuff up to surface?

Enough said. My time is better spent on the logically capable.

We can argue about this for as long as you like but its simple..

The government works for queen and country, yet the only people making money are the MP's.

Its time we told them what we think and its time we done something about it.

Its just like the Poll Tax, until people stand up and do something about it then nothing is going to happen.

Mr B says to the oil companies "Big Man, I may 67 p a litre, you make 48 p how about you cut your prices?", not even a muppet would ask that question!!

I think we should all join the truckers, make a noise then something will be done. If we sit back and take it then simply put we deserve it!

The time for debate has passed.

Whilst I agree with SOME of what Peak Oil says, I am SICK of hearing the line "Find local employment" (obviously meant to be read as "stop commuting")

I did - worked on an NHS psychiatric ward in my hometown. It was closed down to cut costs. I was therefore left with no choice other than to accept (through redeployment) a post in a hospital 15 miles from where I live. I have no choice but to commute, and the ridiculous cost of fuel is making it an extremely difficult endeavour. And I can't very well "Find local employment", as there is no requirement for the job that I do in the town that I live in.

And I KNOW I am not the only person on this blog who would rather not commute, but has little choice in the matter.

Besides is "Finding local employment" really that simple these days?

I think this debate is becoming personal so I say ORDER IN COURT, judge Boo To Peak Oil residing. Greg, Tonyw and Peak Oil you guys are putting in scares post after post and no real alternative suggestion. We need an alternative power source I agree, but the oil will not run out as quickly as you fear. There are many untouched oil fields that man still needs to discover before the oil runs out. We are assuming that the pumps that pump the oil will never get replaced with better, faster and more efficient ones. You can even call them "more environmentally safer".
I respect the fact that you have the right to let us know your views but my fellow motorists and I would appreciate it if you would be more constructive with them instead of announcing the end of the world, as we know it. Be careful as there are people out there that will go and buy 100 litre drums of oil and lock them in the basement because they are frightened of the oil running out tomorrow while we all know it wont. That is indirectly adding on to the demand that you guys are trying to cut.

I agree fully with the article. Even if the world oil producing countries start pumping more oil and the demand would be met, we here in Britain would still pay higher fuel prices compared to the rest of the world because of the fuel duty.

In conclusion I say, if the government really wants us to ease of the oil consumption then they must give us an affordable replacement, i.e. better, faster and safer trains and busses. Otherwise they should reduce the fuel prices by reducing the fuel duty. On top of this subsidise diesel, as that is the lifeline for farmers, truckers and majority of motorists.

This will be the greatest test the government will face, will they support Greg's lot for the sake of votes and ruin the economy or will they support the average Joe who is trying to do the right thing in life and save the economy in the process?

The government is highly unlikely to significantly reduce the tax on fuel. I'm sorry to say this but I think it is true. They are simply getting too much money from it and this is how they are funding much of the budget proposals each year. The best we can hope for is a temporary freeze or possibly a small reduction (doubtful).

The government has got used to getting all this money and they have got used to us paying it because we have little choice. We rely on our cars and trucks so much that they believe we will keep paying it, and we probably will but at what cost....personal debt, house repossessions, etc.

A viable alternative to the car or petrol is needed. The should have got public transport right a long time ago. I am personally considering alternatives to diesel or petrol, or even using my car. LPG is looking a viable alternative, and hybrid cars are now more common.

The problem is, that when more people switch to these...they will increase the tax on them too...we simply cannot win! It will take the country's economy to begin to collapse before they will seriously consider changing the tax levels on fuel significantly.

I'm with Greg Brown, Peak Oil and George Monbiot. The stuff is running out and the only thing you can do is plan to live in a world where oil and its derivatives are scarce and expnesive, mean time use less and use it wisely.
Governmants and oil companies are just tinkering wiht the price but the bottom line is there will not be enough to go round.

MarkTime

The autumn will be far too late to save the British tourist industry, retailers, and any other business which relies on people being able to travel to spend money.

The idea that waiving a 2p duty increase is going to help by then is absurd, IMHO. Things are already desperate for many motorists, so it doesn't stand to reason that saving us a 2p rise in a few months is going to help. We've seen rises much bigger than that of late, and every indication is that we're going to see unleaded at over £1.50 per litre before long, and heaven knows how high the cost of diesel will get.

Unless a drastic and urgent tax cut is made on fuel in this country, the knock on effect of a summer where people would rather stay at home than travel is going to put a large dent in our economy in addition to what's already happening. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who's starting to really feel the pinch.

The idea of everyone leaving their cars at home and taking public transport is great if you live in a place like London where the public transport system is excellent. Elsewhere, where the other 50 million of us live, it simply isn't possible to use public transport to get to and from work.

I thought this topic was that the governments approach is wrong. Maw, do we really have to go through this again? Ow very well....

1) There is enough oil left in the ground, even though a finite quantity. The problem is that it's becoming less and less economical to pump it out, as we have to go deeper and deeper to get it. After all it's all about making money and not saving the planet, something that Greg's open letter failed to comprehend.

2) Scare tactics such as fuel is going to run out and the fuel prices should remain or become even higher is only going to add to demand therefore contradicting the entire argument of most green supporters here, including you.

3) By un touched oil fields I was referring to places like Namibian desert, Sahara desert and near the shores of Angola. Yes I know Nigeria has got oil but it would help if they didn't blow up the oil pipelines every now and then.

4) Please do not recommend silly things like we should all grow our own food or move closer to work or ride a bicycle. If we all did that we would be paying road tax for bicycles just like China. Lets think of solutions that affect the majority of the population. Especially us that live outside London. Public transport could ease the burden but there isn't enough money going into it. Why? Because it is not nationalised as it used to be, now it's all about making more profit than they made last year.

5) Maw unfortunately you have fallen to Gordon Browns warm smile (how exactly I don't know), Peak Oil theorem has zero to do with high fuel taxes in Britain. If we keep this up whatever the replacement energy source is going to get taxed like no bodies business, why? The government is used to receiving money from easy targets.

6) This government has incentives for people to have children. The more the merrier. What do you think this does to demand?

7) Your suggestions in this debate have amount to very little, LPG and hybrid cars are not cheap. One would have thought the fuel duty would have subsidized this but....

8) Whether people complain about taxes after it has been lowered is not a problem. Its part of human nature. There is no way we will make everyone happy. Clearly you will be very unhappy when you discover I was right when I said we would be able to find an alternative fuel source before the current one is completely dried up.

9) You cannot expect Britain (63 million people out of more than 6 billion) to do everything. Therefore the fuel duty is unfairly high for the people of Britain while others pay much less for the very same oil.

10) If you are scared of where the government will make its money after the fuel duty is reduced then simply stop the £6 billion a year war in Iraq, send in peace negotiators, which are much cheaper and safer as peace can only be achieved by using peaceful means. Revamp the entire £161 billion pounds a year welfare system and assist people with basic necessities and not life styles. We can save a lot of money.

11) Before we go replacing new labour with conservatives consider this, look at some facts (from reliable sources, e.g. Institute for Fiscal Studies). Conservatives introduced the fuel price escalator in 1993; Labour (Gordon Brown actually) scrapped it in 2000. In 1993 tax as a proportion of unleaded fuel price was 72.8%, by the time the Conservatives had left office in 1997 it was 76.3%. Rising initially under Labour, it was down to 72.3% by 2000, and now it's about 60%.

Maw as a fellow blogist to another, look at it beyond the point at which oil will be depleted and you will see this very tax that you feel will not help will be there to greet your wallet and bank account and even I wont be able to help you. I think Maw, your intentions are good but your facts have a bit too much emotion in it.

Let us all work together in this fight to lower fuel prices by lowering the fuel duty. Maw, you Greg and others are still more than welcome to join us for the right cause.

There could be scope for a new poll here.

Who is prepared to accept that the concept of Peak Oil is a reality and that we can no longer continue to bury our heads in the sand?

Yay or nay?

And further to 49, how about adding a link facility, it would certainly stop some of the more ill informed posters bandying arrant nonsense about, and enable dissemination of a good deal more useful info on which people can make informed decisions.

Marktime lets at least pretend we are on petrolprices.com and stick to the topic at hand.

Lets leave Peak Oil for another day.

KEEP THE TAXES AS THEY ARE!

Cutting tax on fuel is a bad idea. We are just beginning to see a reduction in demand for fuel thanks to its high cost - exactly what we need if we are to begin to question our reliance on oil and look to an oil-free future. The fact of the matter is that we need to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80-90% by 2050 if we are to stand any chance of avoiding run-away global warming. Short term pain now is nothing compared to the global suffering if we allow a business as usual approach to climate change.

The government needs to show leadership here and stick to its guns - both on fuel tax and road tax. Of course it's not going to be popular, but these decisions have to be stuck to if we are going to see a change in attitude to 'everyone has a right to drive'. Even if they scrapped the planned 2p rise, the rising cost of oil would soon swallow that up. And if we cut taxes on fuel further, just exactly where would the gap in the government's coffers be filled from?

You have a choice - drive less and pay less tax. You're going to have to stop driving fossil fuel-powered vehicles within the next five to ten years anyway when the cost of oil becomes prohibitively expensive, so now's the time to kick the addiction and wean yourself off the car bit by bit.

You have a few years until the REALLY big prices arrive. So move to a job within walking/cycling distance to your home. Or move closer to your job. Start learning how to grow food - the RHS website has plenty of advice for beginners. Empower yourself and get ready for unavoidable changes to the way you live and the way modern society conducts itself.

Marktime said "if you can't see the connection then you clearly have your head in the sand. Governments and oil companies can do little more than tinker with the price of fuel".

Marktime, I cannot stress this enough, the world is bigger than just Britain. If you cannot see that you are being played then go ahead. Make your wallets day. Just don't say good old uncle Boo To Peak Oil didn't warn you.
Benv said, "Cutting tax on fuel is a bad idea. We are just beginning to see a reduction in demand for fuel thanks to its high cost - exactly what we need if we are to begin to question our reliance on oil and look to an oil-free future".
Would you like to see us buy it from outside UK? Truckers from abroad are going to continue doing this and you will achieve what you always wanted an expensive treasure island were there is only two classes the workers and those on benefits.
"The fact of the matter is that we need to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80-90% by 2050 if we are to stand any chance of avoiding run-away global warming. Short term pain now is nothing compared to the global suffering if we allow a business as usual approach to climate change".
I agree, humans must start to hold their breath wile the rest of the 75% of the entire worlds co2 production continues. You really know how to make me laugh.

"The government needs to show leadership here and stick to its guns - both on fuel tax and road tax. Of course it's not going to be popular, but these decisions have to be stuck to if we are going to see a change in attitude to 'everyone has a right to drive'. Even if they scrapped the planned 2p rise, the rising cost of oil would soon swallow that up."
My goodness do you hate new labour that much? Do you honestly think they will stay in power if they insist on putting up fuel duty? Good luck with that.
"And if we cut taxes on fuel further, just exactly where would the gap in the government's coffers be filled from?"
Refer to my previous post.

"You have a choice - drive less and pay less tax. You're going to have to stop driving fossil fuel-powered vehicles within the next five to ten years anyway when the cost of oil becomes prohibitively expensive, so now's the time to kick the addiction and wean yourself off the car bit by bit."
No Benv, you have the choice - you and all that oppose driving so much, walk or ride bicycles. Reduce the demand and get of your car and save the fuel for me, as I need to drive to put food on the table. Just don't expect any deliveries, ambulances to come to your aid, police to save you from the mob of x motorists at your door and firemen to get to your house as it burns to the ground.
"You have a few years until the REALLY big prices arrive. So move to a job within walking/cycling distance to your home. Or move closer to your job. Start learning how to grow food - the RHS website has plenty of advice for beginners. Empower yourself and get ready for unavoidable changes to the way you live and the way modern society conducts itself".
Refer to my previous post and be enlightened.
It's quite disturbing; you want us to suffer so the rest of the world can get on with strengthening their economy. Just remember that tax you want to keep will be around to bite your alternative energy resources. Look beyond tomorrow or even your own lifetime and you will see the light.

hi
i have posted on the other blog i am willing to protest and have my voice heard but on there all are moaning i have put my email address on there and here it is again scoobyhand@yahoo.co.uk for people to contact me so can try and organise something but nobody has a backbone anymore i am only 27 and am willing to stand up and do something but EVERYONE MOANING IS WAITING FOR THE PERSON NEXT TO THEM TO DO SOMETHING well everyone needs to do something i bought a brand new diesel instead of my 10 year old car to become more green but i dont know if will be able to afford to run the bloody thing soon . come on stand up and fight for this we all need to stick together for once take a leaf out the old frogs book and protest and get want before nobody can afford to live and people go out of business and the economy will be on the floor it will be a viscious spiral . STAND UP OR STOP BLOODY MOANING .

Greg said, "I am very curious as to why you believe the rest of the world is going to carry on unimpeded whilst we suffer. Where does that come from?"

Let me give you an example Greg, Finland has one of the highest taxes in the world but they have a very good transport system. Universities are free and diesel is subsidised hence cheaper than petrol at near on £0.90 per litre. While the current price of diesel is £0.46, which means they are charging 44p a litre in tax. In Britain we are being taxed £0.70 a litre.
I am not saying they are going to be in motoring heaven, I am saying that the increase there is manageable because the government has shielded its people by making the rises more manageable. Other countries have alternatives to the car, all we have is a group of people telling us to ride bicycles and grow our own food.

"Peak Oil and its effects are universal, and we may well be better situated better than most to weather the storm."

Interesting you should say that, India's fuel prices have risen only once this year, do you believe that they have more money than the uk? Britain has made a very big mistake of handing over the running of the economy to tree huggers and as a consequence we are being squeezed.

Even though I am of this opinion the future is quite clear, new labour will try to keep the greenies happy and in the process lose power. Motorists here will not protest because they are too busy trying to make ends meet.

Greg the worlds oil prices are at £0.46, which is still within reach but the tax on top of this, is the killer. I understand you are trying to delay the inevitable but fear not, there is enough evidence of mans capabilities. Alternatives will be found. Lets not panic, as I said even if the oil ought to run out tomorrow should it have to be at £200 a litre?

Re: 61

This is what I mean when I say you need to do more research. Here is what is happening in India:

"NEW DELHI: Fuel consumers in the country could be in for some hard times if the threats by oilcos are to be taken seriously. Oil marketing companies are planning to cut supplies of cooking gas, diesel, kerosene and even petrol. The cash-strapped companies—IOC, HPCL and BPCL—have told the government that they would soon be forced to impose quotas for consumers of cooking fuel even while completely stopping new connections.

In an election year, however, it is unlikely that the government will allow companies owned by it to go ahead with their threat. An official in the oil ministry said, "Oil PSUs have not taken any such decision. OMCs give several suggestions, including increasing prices of auto fuel, LPG and kerosene. The government considers all suggestions and takes the most appropriate action in the benefit of all."

Top honchos of all the three oil companies met petroleum ministry officials earlier this week to apprise the government of the growing losses. "Demand will have to be restricted to supplies. We are not in a position to import anymore. It is no longer a question of making profits. We do not have the cash to import and meet the demand," the top boss of an oilco said. "

Re: 62

See 55.

The fact is Benv some of us have to travel by car to just work, my work takes me all over the country, train is great, but when I get off the train and still have to get 15 miles or so, and there are NO buses there, I then have to use a taxi!!, they use fuel the same and in the process I also have to pay even more money out. And of course there are the train delays etc etc. The answer is not leave early, sometime some of us just have to use our cars, we do it VERY reluctantly taking into consideration the fuel cost. The problem is the government take such a HUGE amount in taxes, its just pure greed, nothing else. The majority of us don't mind paying taxes and even are happy to pay when we know the reasons behind the tax is justified, what we object to is the governments total lack of the honesty to the called people who put them there. Small companies, like me will be put out of business because we cannot absorb this extra outflow. The government is meant to support small business; this is not the way to do it. We have seen an increase of 10p a litre in a week! The cheapest now in my area is a staggering 1.26.9 for diesel; I even paid 1.29.9 the further North I drove. I have to use my car for all my business so have seen my profits drop considerably in the last few months. If I tried to pass this charge onto my customers I would not get the business being self employed I have to absorb this and just take a loss. At this rate I will be out of business by the end of 2008. a peoples government....i don't think so by any stretch of the imagination.

As I understand the position we have to get EU permission before we can make change to the rate of VAT. However this tax increases with every increase in the product cost. Therefore the Treasury is raking in more tax than budgeted for on every litre sold. There should be a measure to allow for emergency changes to the tax but knowing how each government has given in to the EU, I suspect that they have not got permission.
Therefore, the one thing that A Darling could do is to reduce the fixed rate of duty, which in turn reduces the amount of VAT. A 10p reduction would then be worth 11.75p. This would not bring us back below £1 per litre (unleaded) but it would offset the most serious leap in the price over the last few months. This would provide a breathing space until the forward price falls.

The forward price is not going to fall until the market can see a fall in demand. Increasing production is no answer unless that increase leads to a surplus when the spot price will fall; this will not impact the forward price unless demand continues to be less than the supply. There is nothing any individual government can do about the world price of oil. Government does not have any control over the variation in prices around the country. That is down to the petrol company.

I understand the anger behind many of the comments; the above points are to help some people follow what is happening. I am a consumer and just as angry as every other user. This government, and particularly Gordon Brown, should have the ability to be flexible in cases like this. The prudent iron chancellor is not prudent at all. When Brown had plenty of funds in the kitty he spent the lot and has borrowed huge sums on top. The cupboard is bare and it is his fault; his lack of prudence; prudence flew out of the window and Darling is left holding the can; that is why we have heard nothing from him. We need a change of government before they ruin a lot of businesses and put people out of jobs.

Maw I think whether OPEC can or can not increase productivity is irelevent when considering the fuel tax duty.

I am not claiming to know what the replacement is but I know it will be found before the oil runs out, and all those that insist that we go back to caves and eating grass will be amazed and will remember Boo To Peak Oils words, don't worry be happy.

Hi Boo, sorry but I am struggling to understand what you said in 57.

61, Finland is an interesting choice for comparison a nation of 338,000sq Km
a population of 5.25 million and a daily oil consumption of 219,700 bbl/day.

Compared with the UK a nation of 245,000 sq Km, a population of 61 million and a daily oil consumption of 1.8million bbl/day.

(Stats from cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook)

Due respect to the Finns but they are hardly in the same leauge as us when it comes to oil use and therfore CO2 emmisions. If their goverment were to use fuel taxes as a lever to reduce the nations emmisions it would be welcome but would not have much impact on a world scale. We on the other hand could make a difference. And as key players we should lead by example.

Our govenment are trying (but getting it wrong in many ways) to use fuel taxes and VED as levers to control the nations oil use and emmisions. Because they dare not say it out loud the message has failed to get across despite the length of time that it has been broadcast.

The banding of VED was introduced in 2001 the message was quite subtle at first, frugal cars will pay less then bigger ones. The message today is much clearer £0 for band A, £35 for band B, £120 for band C and to really drive it home £400 for band G. Anyone who has aquired a high emmision vehicle in the last 5 years really should have see it comming. The fuel tax escalator (2 pence every budget) is intended to do the same thing but it is a blunt instrument that causes people to get irate without actually changing their behaviour.

MarkTime

You know, it really is time to stop thinking the way we have been doing - continued economic growth, more toys for everyone, we have a to drive.

This is becoming silly now, it's over. Truly over. We have to manage an energy descent.

No other civilization before us has had to deal with this. This is global. It is not another Easter Island.

How many more articles like the one below are we going to have to read before it sinks in. As individuals we do not stand a chance, many many people have to wake up. Now.

It's time for the red pills.

Brendan, alot of people come to this site, it's time you stopped rabble rousing and did something sensible. You are in a position to do so and must act.


Gordon Brown doesn't get the oil crisis
By David Strahan
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 29/05/2008


"Even by the low standards of his Government, Gordon Brown's recent pronouncements on oil have been surprising. Writing in a national newspaper on Wednesday, he argued that the price of a barrel had soared to $135 because of barriers to production that are "technical, financial and political".
Many experts expect non-Opec production to peak by around 2010, due to geological reasons
There are problems here, sure enough, but the word he left out was "geological", and the omission is crucial. It means he really doesn't understand the profundity of the current crisis, and explains why panicky initiatives are bound to fail.
Brown and Darling can implore North Sea oil producers to pump harder, they can even finagle the tax regime to raise the incentives, but it will make very little difference. North Sea oil production peaked in 1999 at 2.9 million barrels per day and has now fallen by almost 60 per cent to around 1.2 million. This happened, as in all mature oil producing regions, because of two simple facts of life.
First, oil is produced from deeply buried, highly pressurised reservoirs. This is great news to start with; the pressure forces the oil up the pipe of its own accord. But as the oil is produced the pressure is relieved, so the oil inevitably comes out more and more slowly as time goes on.
Second, in any given region, oil companies usually find and exploit the biggest oil fields first. So, as time goes on they are forced to scrabble around for ever smaller deposits. It is principally this combination of geological factors, rather than economics, which caused North Sea production to peak and decline.
Changing the tax regime will make very little difference to UK output, let alone the global oil balance that determines the price.
As for the rest of the world, Mr Brown is even further astray. Last week, he ranted at the "scandal" that Opec controls 40 per cent of the world's oil, as if it were somehow outrageous that our oil should have found its way under their sand. Here again the geology is in control.
Opec's 12 members produce around 36 million barrels a day, while the rest of the world ("non-OPEC") produces about  50 million barrels a day. But many experts - including ExxonMobil's chief executive Rex Tillerson - expect aggregate non-Opec production to peak by around 2010, for the usual geological reasons.
With non-Opec production either flat or falling, we are in Opec's hands as never before. Gordon Brown hopes the cartel can be pressured into raising output, but the signs are that they either will not or cannot. In the past, Opec has deliberately restricted its oil production in order to maintain or raise the oil price, with varying degrees of success.
Today, however, the cartel has almost no spare capacity; they are pumping flat out, just like everybody else. To create any surplus would mean investing billions - and the end result would presumably be a lower oil price.
This may not seem a strikingly attractive bargain from Opec's point of view. But neither is it to Opec's advantage to let the oil price rip. That would eventually cause a deep global recession, demand would slump and so would their earnings. So it is fundamentally in their interests to invest and expand their production capacity - if they can.
However, there is good reason to suspect that cartel members have been exaggerating their reserves figures, and that even mighty Saudi Arabia may be running into geological constraints.
Until recently, Saudi officials were telling anyone who would listen that, in effect, the kingdom had a bottomless well. But last month, oil minister Ali al-Naimi announced that all plans to expand oil production capacity beyond 2009 had been shelved, claiming there would be no demand for the additional oil. This is arguable but highly unlikely, and even the mildly sceptical will suspect the move was not entirely voluntary.
The International Energy Agency has also expressed doubts. Two Opec members do have the potential to raise output substantially: Nigeria, where production is severely hampered by continuous assaults from rebel groups in the Niger Delta, and Iraq, whose giant, untapped fields are off limits because of daily violence and the failure to agree a new law governing foreign involvement in the oil industry.
The chances of either of these producers coming good in even the medium term are vanishingly slight. Yet this is the leaky lifeboat to which Mr Brown clings.
Amid the rising panic, Arctic nations are scrambling for the oil industry's final frontier. But the amount of undiscovered hydrocarbons in the province is estimated to be relatively limited, at 176 billion barrels - theoretically, six years' supply at current consumption. And three quarters of that is predicted to be not oil but gas, which is difficult to produce in such hostile conditions. So the Arctic is unlikely to produce significant amounts of oil any time soon.
All the signs are that we have reached the foothills of global oil peak - the moment production flattens and then goes into terminal decline. The facts are stark: the amount discovered has been falling for 40 years; for every barrel we find each year, we now guzzle three; output is already falling in over 60 of the world's 98 oil producing countries; and global production has been essentially flat, at just under 86 million barrels a day, since early 2005; serious analysts now forecast $200 per barrel. What is it that Gordon doesn't get?
Or perhaps he gets it perfectly well. Because the alternative to praying for some improbable boost to the oil supply is to get serious about cutting demand, and no politician, least of all Gordon Brown, is eager to do that.

David Strahan is the author of 'The Last Oil Shock: A Survival Guide to the Imminent Extinction of Petroleum Man'