A few paragraphs I'll copy/paste here, just some doom and gloom...
The cost of diesel has eased in recent weeks, but U.S. diesel prices
still remain significantly higher than gasoline prices as refiners
struggle to meet global demand for the fuel after hurricanes Katrina
and Rita. The average U.S. retail price for diesel is $2.51 a gallon,
40 cents higher than a year ago, and 31 cents higher than the average
price of regular unleaded gasoline.
Because U.S. refiners are geared to make more gasoline than diesel,
and with strong demand in Europe and Asia constraining exports of
diesel to the U.S., "The industry is less flexible," in ramping up
its diesel supplies, says Larry Goldstein, president of the Petroleum
Industry Research Foundation.
The approach of winter in the northern hemisphere is keeping
additional pressure on the price of diesel. Diesel is a distilled
fuel like heating oil, and so its prices often move in sync with that
popular winter fuel. New York Mercantile Exchange heating-oil prices
are down 23% from a high of $2.20 a gallon on Sept. 1, but are up 16%
over a year earlier. The Department of Energy reported that
distillate supplies rose by 1.1 million barrels for the week ended
Nov. 18, but they remain at the lower end of the average range for
this time of year.
......
There isn't much help coming from overseas. European refiners also
are struggling to make more diesel fuel, because Europe uses more
diesel than it produces. So while gasoline imports surged to 1.54
million barrels a day during the week ending Oct. 14, more than 50%
higher than normal, imports of low-sulfur diesel have shown little
growth.
Diesel demand is high in Europe in part because automobiles there
increasingly run on the fuel. In China, demand has been high because
electric-power shortages led manufacturers to run their plants on
diesel-powered generators. Even in the U.S., demand for diesel is
rising faster than demand for gasoline.
Analysts say such trends could be particularly troublesome next year,
when U.S. environmental regulations requiring lower sulfur content in
diesel could further crimp supplies. U.S. refiners fear that the new
low-sulphur diesel could be contaminated by sulphur residue in the
pipelines during transport, potentially forcing them to re-refine the
fuel.
John
1983 300TDt 358k Kilometers (mobil 1 Delvac)
1990 300TDt 154k Kilometers (mobil 1 Delvac)
1993 500SEL 168k Kilometers (mobil 1 0w40)
