Latest Fuel News

BP has hit the headlines again today with the confirmation that it will sell two of its’ Malaysian businesses.

Many reports speculate that this is to finance the costs associated with Gulf of Mexico oil spill, however, BP has outwardly denied that the sale is to finance such costs and is adamant the sale had been in the pipeline long before the Gulf of Mexico tragedy.  

Although the actual figures of the sale remain unpublished at this moment it time, some reports suggest that the sale of the two Malaysian plants could raise over £230million, this deal is expected to finalised by the end of 2010.

BP has been under considerable pressure since the disaster which began in April 2010. The Fuel giant has pledged to take full responsibility for cleaning up the spill and to keep people fully informed of the latest developments.

A page on the BP website is dedicated to communicating all the developments, showing pictures and videos documenting all the efforts made by the company to ‘make things right’.

The UK’s CO2 emissions and carbon footprint feature regularly in the news. For countless businesses there is little alternative in many cases but to drive, and due to this business fleets are often under fire when considering CO2 emissions.

Although businesses frequently receive a bad press with regards to carbon footprint, statistics show that they are in fact reducing mileage; between 2007 and 2009 the use of company vehicles lowered by more than eight percent, a decrease on average of over 1000 miles per vehicle, while private vehicles were reported to have lowered by three and a half percent.

Many fleet managers advocate that business vehicles should not be at the brunt of CO2 campaigning, because the bulk of business vehicles are new and replaced after four years of use, making them more efficient.

Recently published figures show that emissions created by new cars on average fell by almost six percent last year. This is a significant mile stone for car manufacturers as it represents the most progress made over the past five years (in a twelve month period). Due to the benefits when considering tax many businesses purchase new vehicles and therefore consider themselves to be lowering their impact on the environment.

Although the government has invested in initiatives to help lower emissions sceptics believe that attaining targets set by the UK government is a long way off, and further investments in technology such as alternative fuel recharging networks, need to be financially dedicated to in order to make a key difference.

Earlier this week reports confirmed that oil and gas had been found off the coast of Greenland, a huge advance for the oil industry.

This opportunity was expected to gain the interest of all major oil companies, however, BP has decided against perusing work on the new Greenland site. News articles claim that BP was involved in the initial stages however has decided against bidding for the contract.

The Greenland site is considered a breakthrough for oil companies and fuel providers alike however; there are environmental concerns with this area due to its unpredictability, stemming from its cold temperatures.

A BP spokes person is reported to have said that the Mexican disaster has impacted the company’s reputation and therefore did not want to compromise their safety record further.

The tragic event experienced in the Gulf of Mexico has fuelled environmental campaigns in opposition to the Greenland plans. Greenpeace has already made its presence known with the Esperanza ship circling the area.

BP is thought to be approaching future opportunities with caution and although has backed down in this case- future bids are not expected to be impacted.

The supply of crude oil is rapidly becoming exhausted; scientists are researching closely into alternative fuels including vegetable oil, hydrogen and Ethanol, in a hope to discover a viable alternative to diesel and petrol.

With so many experiments being carried out there are struggles to find additional alternative fuels. One company has been reported to be examining conventional diesel to create a greener alternative.

The new fuel blends diesel with droplets of water, it is thought that this creates a fuel that has the capability to greatly reduce harmful particles emitted by up to fifty percent.

For numerous years we have been told about the adverse health effects caused by air pollution- a large percentage of which is derived from diesel, this new diesel based fuel could be the answer to lessen air pollution.

The benefit of this new fuel is that it is reported to significantly lower emissions and radically impact air quality. Information about the fuel states that essentially the water particles mix better with air; nitrous oxide the gas that causes soot to be emitted is lowered, resulting in the harmful particles and soot levels to lower.

One of the world’s largest fuel providers Shell has recently spoken out about the increasing amount of sabotage to their oil pipelines located in Southern Nigeria.

The report states that Shell confirmed on three separate occasions already this month, the pipes had been targeted despite last year’s militant amnesty.

This key threat for Shell derives from local fuel thieves tagged ‘Bunkerers’. These fuel thieves use tools such as saws and drills to make small holes into the pipes; this enables them to collect the escaping oil to sell.

Not only is this terrible for Shell the environment also suffers; the escaping oil often leaks onto surrounding land. Local communities are also victims from this crime, it is reported locals have spent decades suffering from the consequences of oil spills and pollution to their local environment.

Shell has confirmed they are cleaning the surrounding areas and paying compensation because of the spills.

The latest investigation being carried out in Scotland’s Edinburgh Napier University is researching into using distilled whisky as a biofuel for vehicles.

Copious litres of whisky are produced in Scotland every year leaving a mass of bi-products. The fuel created from the bi-products, combine cooper stills and the remaining grains to create a fuel known as ‘butanol’, capable of fuelling vehicles.

The new fuel has the capability to become part of the conventional whisky producing process, and is considered by many as a more environmentally friendly method than planting crops especially to produce biofuels.

The research has progressed well and scientists have applied for a patent for the fuel. There are plans to take it to market to make it available in all UK service stations.

Reports state that unlike many biofuels currently on the market and in stages of investigation, the whisky fuel can be put into a normal car engine without making any adaptations.

Not only is this fuel thought to be good for the environment, this could be an exciting opportunity for the Scottish economy as whisky production is one of the largest industries for Scotland.

Future plans for the fuel include using it to power aeroplanes!

Earlier this year the government pledged to tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions, since then biofuels have become the subject of topical debate. As a general explanation a biofuel is a fuel that is considered carbon neutral, originating from a renewable source that does not generate any additional carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere.

For motorists the financial cost of using this type of fuel can be seen as an advantage. The cost of buying this type of fuel is cheaper than purchasing diesel and petrol for vehicles. There is also the additional benefit that the government is offering initiatives such as lowered taxes for vehicles run on biofuels.

Not only can biofuels help the environment, countries that cannot currently produce their own oil will now be able to develop fuel farms, lowering their reliance on imported fuel. However, there are concerns; changing land to produce fuel above food could result in the homes of many animals and natural resources such as rainforest’s being destroyed.

Biofuels are still in their very early stage of induction and therefore at this moment in time there is no definitive argument for or against. With the fuel industry increasingly under pressure to become greener, experiments surrounding the fuels will continue to grow.

The UK is however leaning towards a lower carbon future, the government recently revealed a multi million pound scheme to encourage green motoring, and has pledge millions to help establish electric cars by investing the finance into electrical charging points across UK service stations.

Announcements this week confirm that Gloucester will be the first in the UK to have a number of green motorway services; plans have been given the green light for stations along the M5. It is estimated that the project will be ready by 2013 for customers to use.

Architects have designed the facility to blend into the surrounding country side of the Cotswolds. The service stations are anticipated to be built from local timber, have grass roofs and boast vegetable patches! The stations are expected to host locally grown food, electric car charging stations and  strictly prohibit fast food outlets in favour of local produce.

Controversy comes as some green campaigners believe that this is a contradiction; a motorway service station regardless of its credentials is still a service station and therefore can never be truly green, suggesting that the new stations will act as an attraction, which people will visit in their cars.

You may recall the talks of a ‘green’ vehicle exemption scheme to be trialled in London to try and reduce the city’s emissions?

News articles indicate that this will no longer be the case. It is reported that it has been overhauled in favour of congestion charging.  

Authorities are said to believe that a discount scheme for commercial vehicles will not encourage the use of cleaner, greener vehicles.

A simple alteration to your driving style is thought to significantly increase your fuel efficiency and save you money!

Research suggests that one of the easiest ways to save money on your fuel bills is to keep your driving smooth and consistent. It is advised that techniques such as; resisting aggressive acceleration, changing gears in good time and avoiding heavy breaking can help save huge amounts of fuel.  

There are various statistics out there which give estimates just how much fuel you can save; however general figures suggest anywhere up to 15%!

Not only is this a great fuel saving tip it is thought to be a much more safe way of driving too!