Oil & Gas

[Kathyan]

In view of the recent price increases by EDF, it got me thinking about why gas prices are linked to the price of oil. Does anybody know why the prices are linked?

[rov1200]

If the UK had retained all its energy resources instead of liberalising the market and selling these companies to the French and Germans we could have determined our own price for British consumers. What other country in the world allows their assets to be sold off like this.

Russia is trying to get rid of BP so they have overall control of its oil. Saudia Arabia are sitting on liquid gold and its citizens enjoy petrol at a very cheap rate not having to worry about world prices.

The British consumer is a mug and they know we will fall for it.

[jno]

Oil and natural gas are produced by the same geological process: anaerobic decay of organic matter deep under the Earth's surface. As a consequence, oil and natural gas are often found together. In common usage, deposits rich in oil are known as oil fields, and deposits rich in natural gas are called natural gas fields.

from Wikipedia

[New Judge]

Interestingly, EDF has no plans to increase energy prices for its French customers. This is because energy prices there are regulated by the government. So to recoup its increasing costs the company has to resort to the time-honoured tradition of fleecing the UK consumer.

The link between gas and oil prices is similar to that which linked gas and electricity prices in the 1960s. When North Sea gas was discovered it was announced that gas would be �virtually free� to UK consumers, with just a small administration charge being raised. Not long after that the electricity industry realised that people would switch to gas as far as they could and they lobbied parliament to establish a link between the two types of energy.

There is no logical reason for it, only a commercial one.

[gravitation]

look who cares? i work in the power generation secto and its a load of cac. its tax related and nothing else.


easy mofo

[New Judge]

Quite a lot of people care, gravitation. Especially those on low or fixed incomes who have seen their energy bills almost double in the past 18-24 months.

Although the government is seeing an increase in tax revenue (by virtue of 5% VAT on the fuel bills) it is probably losing out overall as people have less to spend on other things, where the VAT would be 17.5%. So I don�t quite see how your assertion that it is �tax related� holds water.

There is no doubt that UK consumers are being turned over by mainly foreign-owned utility companies who charge nowhere near as much for their products elsewhere as they do in the UK.

[jno]

perhaps that's because other countries are run by interfering nanny-state socialists unlike us free-born Brits.

[gelda]

I got a letter from EDF yesterday telling me my monthly direct debit was going up from �23 to �48.!!!

[Gromit]

Who ever sold off the family silver, for a quick profit and a few votes, and let our energy fall into foreign ownership, deserves a state funeral when they die.

[youngmafbog]

Problem is, as I recall it, when it was a monoply we had high prices. Prices did drop when de nationalized, so I am not sure on that argument.

However having said that I am against Nationalization of our essential services, Gas/water/electricity & rail.

[Haggisdj]

Like youngmafbog, not only am I against nationalization of our essential services, gas/water/electricity & rail but I do not believe that we should pay VAT on these essentials either...