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Hurricanes aside…
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Posted on Oct 02 2005
When debating or discussing the cost of diesel fuel in California and the Marianas the following items must be included.
Diesel fuel has always been cheaper and easier to produce. Gasoline is a more highly refined product and therefore more costly. With the onset of stricter EPA rules, low sulfur emission standards and costly fuel additives California now pay higher prices for their diesel.
On top of production costs there are also Federal State and local states added on totaling close to $1 a gallon. On top of these taxes is the road use fuel tax hovering around .40 cents.
The city of El Segundo in Southern California has a large refining plant. But no matter where the refining is done the raw material must get there be refined then sent out for distribution. No matter if the raw material is from South America or Southeast Asia transportation is a preordained cost factor.
Our fuel comes from Southeast Asian refineries. They are not hindered by the strict rules and regulations of the EPA and California. Distribution of the fuel on this small island is hardly a logistical problem.
The tax structure on our fuel is infinitesimally small in comparison to California.
And of course all consumers would like to know on what the price hikes are based: spike price, a futures price, or the price it was actually purchased for.
It’s time the oil companies here show us a flow chart of their cost distribution. We’d all like to see whose pockets are being filled with our hard earned dollars.
Kathleen Bowen
Capitol Hill
