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[Devinda_Z]

Anyway oil prices seem to have stagnated at last. And some say it could drop as well...

...might have something to do with the Saudi's increasing oil production and the slight decrease in Chinese consumption..

[Velocity]

Last couple of weeks in every newspaper (govt.) first page carried out news on increasing of fuel prices in other countries.

From today midnight onwards IOC is reducing diesel prices by 10 rupees. Why do I get a strange feeling on this? Are they trying to comfort us a bit before a sharp increase????

Guys ready for the worst…

In fact i think government had told IOC to reduce the Diesel price or pay a stiff penalty for not doing so.

[ash]

In fact i think government had told IOC to reduce the Diesel price or pay a stiff penalty for not doing so.

Yeah… got it bit crossed. But Still IOCs’ Diesel is expensive than CEYPETCO… correct?

LIOC reduce diesel price

Ravi Ladduwahetty

COLOMBO: The Lanka Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (LIOC) reduced the diesel price by Rs. 10 per litre with effect from midnight yesterday, which Managing Director Krishnan Ramakrishnan described as 'heeding Minister Fowzie's advice'.

"We are still losing Rs. 4 per litre of petrol and Rs. 12 per litre of diesel even after the reduction. By the increase of diesel prices, our monthly sales have dropped from 30 million litres to 3 million litres," Ramakrishnan added.

The IOC Managing Director refuted claims that the Government was going to take over LIOC.

"All what Minister Fowzie did was to write to us and advise us to reduce the diesel price, which we have done now.

We do not know or cannot comment on the statement attributed to the Minister in the media," he added.

"I cannot imagine the Government waiting to acquire the company in which there are 12,000 Sri Lankan shareholders and it is a truly Sri Lankan company with 25 per cent of shares held by Sri Lankans," he said.

I don’t understand this statement. I was under the impression that they’re making profits on Petrol and losses in Diesel. According to this they’re making losses in both, this is contradicting with earlier statements by other officials.

[Pericles]

I don’t understand this statement. I was under the impression that they’re making profits on Petrol and losses in Diesel. According to this they’re making losses in both, this is contradicting with earlier statements by other officials.

I dunno man. I get the feeling someone is lying. There is no reason for a private company to stay in business if its making losses. Might as well close up shop and go home. Either its making profits elsewhere, or its outright lying.

[Gummybr]

Yeah… got it bit crossed. But Still IOCs’ Diesel is expensive than CEYPETCO… correct?

I don’t understand this statement. I was under the impression that they’re making profits on Petrol and losses in Diesel. According to this they’re making losses in both, this is contradicting with earlier statements by other officials.

Well the government was supposed to ad on taxes on petrol (as the wealthy used petrol) and from that they were supposed to give a subsidy to the diesel user. This maybe only true with Ceypetco, maybe thats what LIOC is saying.

There was another story where it was said that the selling price of a litre of petrol contained anout Rs. 50 - 55 taxes.

The reason for LIOC to increase price was because the government had put a certain tax on a litre of diesel to regain the profit LIOC made from petrol when the petrol price increased. At least thats what the head of Ceypetco the ex- cricketer had said to the papers.

All in all its too confusing. Dont we have anyone from the fuel and lubricant field in this forum to explain the scenario

[charitha19]

Well the government was supposed to ad on taxes on petrol (as the wealthy used petrol) and from that they were supposed to give a subsidy to the diesel user. This maybe only true with Ceypetco, maybe thats what LIOC is saying.

There was another story where it was said that the selling price of a litre of petrol contained anout Rs. 50 - 55 taxes.

The reason for LIOC to increase price was because the government had put a certain tax on a litre of diesel to regain the profit LIOC made from petrol when the petrol price increased. At least thats what the head of Ceypetco the ex- cricketer had said to the papers.

All in all its too confusing. Dont we have anyone from the fuel and lubricant field in this forum to explain the scenario

i think they are both scamming us consumers as usual...

so only the wealthy have petrol vehicles huh... how about the three wheelers and the motor bikes..

and the poor fellow that drive diesels V6's and V8's ohhh such poor people.. its these sorts of shit that really boils the blood..

so the diesels that cost far more than the petrol version of the same make are owned by poor people..... Please.....

so get this guys technically in this country the poor people are wealthy...

Edited June 25, 2008 by charitha19

[GTAm]

...might have something to do with the Saudi's increasing oil production and the slight decrease in Chinese consumption..

Consumption was dropping and the world would rush to find alternative fuel/energy sources. There's always a max that the system can take. OPEC countries were just cashing in. There were also accusations about speculators etc. IMHO while consumption might have gone up, the magnitude of the price rise was certainly an over-reaction. Maybe one day even $200 would be justifiable. But not right now.

Then there were a few problems that affected production in Nigeria. So the Saudi 200k barrel increase helps balance things out. Thankfully they are pro-western. This kind of thing might even justify GWB invading Iraq. Imagine if Saddam invaded Saudi A after Kuwait!? He would've had a massive influence on the price.

[GTAm]

I dunno man. I get the feeling someone is lying. There is no reason for a private company to stay in business if its making losses. Might as well close up shop and go home. Either its making profits elsewhere, or its outright lying.

The govt. constantly delayed to pay them the subsidy before. Large corporates will take a hit for a long time, They're in it for the long term and usually analyse the country risk. Maybe the govt. has given them bigger promises.

[GTAm]

i think they are both scamming us consumers as usual...

so only the wealthy have petrol vehicles huh... how about the three wheelers and the motor bikes..

and the poor fellow that drive diesels V6's and V8's ohhh such poor people.. its these sorts of shit that really boils the blood..

so the diesels that cost far more than the petrol version of the same make are owned by poor people..... Please.....

so get this guys technically in this country the poor people are wealthy...

Ha ha you're right mate. We are all very rich. It's only the ministers who are poor! That's why their fuel is allocated in litres and have not changed!!

[mirage7777]

I dunno man. I get the feeling someone is lying. There is no reason for a private company to stay in business if its making losses. Might as well close up shop and go home. Either its making profits elsewhere, or its outright lying.

I saw an article in the newspapers recently- where the CEO of LIOC had said - that they were losing on both petrol and diesel.

Also stated that - they were only continuing - because of the profits made in the lubricants.

Also stated - they have stopped selling to bulk purchasers like 'prima'.

But IMO this doesn't sound true.

[xXx]

I’m with peri on this. No organization especially when it’s privately owned will continue to do business if they are not making a profit. Hence I refuse to believe that IOC (or LIOC or what ever it’s called) is making a loss. CPC on the other hand is genuinely making a loss mainly due to financial mismanagement and corruption.

Velocity is right. IOC was forced to bring the price down. They didn’t do it out of sympathy for us.

I doubt the oil price is stagnated. I’m with the school of thought that this price inflation we are seen is an effect of a bubble caused by greedy traders bidding absurd amounts on futures contracts and uncertainty in Africa contradictory to popular belief of Middle East.

Unless the dollar picks up its strength I don’t see the oil prices coming down anytime soon.

When will local fuel price come down???? Well that’ll be a question even the most prolific economic gurus won’t be able to answer

If anyone’s into spread betting put a mid term bid on oil, gold and iron ore you are sure to win some money back.

[xXx]

Damn this thread it kicking off really well. I started typing my earlier post and got side tracked by the time I managed to post it there were 5-6 new posts.

Forgot to comment on the whole petrol is used by wealthy people statement. This is nothing but yet another pathetic cheap government statement/propaganda. How can you judge someone’s wealth by taking into account the type of fuel used in his motor car.

[Watchman]

i think they are both scamming us consumers as usual...

so only the wealthy have petrol vehicles huh... how about the three wheelers and the motor bikes..

and the poor fellow that drive diesels V6's and V8's ohhh such poor people.. its these sorts of shit that really boils the blood..

so the diesels that cost far more than the petrol version of the same make are owned by poor people..... Please.....

so get this guys technically in this country the poor people are wealthy...

well, the whole point of considering diesel the poor man's fuel is cos its mainly used in the public/goods transport sector. And the government has a responsibility of keeping that a slow as possible. But if those well off (no matter what, you gotta admit that if you have a car you are relatively well off than someone who doesn't) start enjoying that subsidy (aka the lower price of diesel) it is only fair that the government charge them something for it upfront, thus the unreasonably high taxing on diesels. So if someone after all this still wants to enjoy the low price diesel of his montero or prado, its only fair that he pay a premium up front...... at least thats what it should be in a perfect world, but sadly sri lankan is a 'tiny bit' away from perfect and so the government is trying to squeeze every penny out of a man who can afford to cough it up... Which means in this theory petrols vehicles should be taxed a minimally, once again only in a perfect world...

I know it sucks, but you gotta look at this form both sides, even though the government side looks at this in much narrower terms...

[Devinda_Z]

I dunno man. I get the feeling someone is lying. There is no reason for a private company to stay in business if its making losses. Might as well close up shop and go home. Either its making profits elsewhere, or its outright lying.

hmmm may be they threatened to nationlize IOC or something drastic like that?

[Car Maniac]

thats been flying abt for a while now...

but if it did ,think of the upside - a nice round figure like that would make it nice and easy to calculate things

He...hee..... Good one Devinda!!!!!! Sheer positivist approach!!

And I should add something up to you. The next day morning after the petrol price increase to rs 200, you will see a shocking scene, which is the colombo roads covered tons of people in office uniforms, school uniforms walking while swetting like sh**, on the main roads instead of vehicles. How nice?????????? And further, You will faint if you see them walking on queues on lanes while stopping and going according to the traffic light signals and policemen. Why to be shocked ne???? Thats Sri Lanka's definite future. :angry-smiley-048:

Edited June 26, 2008 by Car Maniac

[Newbi]

According to my calculations ( assumptions 1USD = 107 sl Rs, 1US petroleum = 158.987 Liters, Today’s Crude oil price 140USD)

140USD = 14,980 Sl Rs.

That is 1 US crude oil Barrel is Rs. 14,980 Sl Rs.

That work out to about 94.22 Sl Rs. per crude oil per liter.

I cant Imagine The price difference of 63.72 Sl Rs. per liter is only for processing/refining and transport. That is 67% of the cost of a crude oil liter.

Dont forget that there are bi products from refining crude oil which are also marketable ( eg. Tar, Grease ect.) which will also generate revenue.

Blaming the world market for current prices then, in my opinion is absurd. Increase gross domestic production among other things and you will find the dollar rate coming down. The government investing in developmental projects and welfare activity will bring down inflation. Stop Printing money. stop lending fuel at subsidized rates to loss making air lines.

This is simple economics.

Maybe then the fuel prices will come down. No doubt the entire world is feeling the increase in crude oil prices, but are their fuel prices as high as ours. are their inflation rates as high as our. If comparisons are to be made they must be made across the board. Not with, just selections that will suit just the argument.

Just my two cents worth.

Cheers

[Pericles]

hmmm may be they threatened to nationlize IOC or something drastic like that?

I wasn't commenting on why they reduced the price. My comment was aimed only at the comment that they are making X loss on petrol and Y loss on diesel. Skeptical on this lube theory too. Considering the volumes of lube used up compared to the volumes of the fuels, the profit margin would have to be massive to cover the losses on petrol and diesel.

Which is why I think, someone, somewhere is lying. Can't quite put my finger on who and where yet, don't have the info, but the available info is too skewed. I mean, there could be a chance that availability of the complete info could point out that they are telling the truth even, but right now, based on the info that is available to me, someone is lying.

[Ripper]

He...hee..... Good one Devinda!!!!!! Sheer positivist approach!!

And I should add something up to you. The next day morning after the petrol price increase to rs 200, you will see a shocking scene, which is the colombo roads covered tons of people in office uniforms, school uniforms walking while swetting like sh**, on the main roads instead of vehicles. How nice?????????? And further, You will faint if you see them walking on queues on lanes while stopping and going according to the traffic light signals and policemen. Why to be shocked ne???? Thats Sri Lanka's definite future. :angry-smiley-048:

there's a foreign tv spot like that but can't remember for what brand it was..

[Devinda_Z]

He...hee..... Good one Devinda!!!!!! Sheer positivist approach!!

And I should add something up to you. The next day morning after the petrol price increase to rs 200, you will see a shocking scene, which is the colombo roads covered tons of people in office uniforms, school uniforms walking while swetting like sh**, on the main roads instead of vehicles. How nice?????????? And further, You will faint if you see them walking on queues on lanes while stopping and going according to the traffic light signals and policemen. Why to be shocked ne???? Thats Sri Lanka's definite future. :angry-smiley-048:

no no machan that is what will happen after the raise tax on push bikes!

[GTAm]

Yesterday's news paper says that Sri Lanka has just "re-entered" the world's FAILED STATES list that's headed by Somalia. What a crying shame !!!

[Devinda_Z]

Bio-diesel from Jatropha

Lankan firm ventures into new territory:

Hiran H. Senewiratne - Daily News 2008/07/01

A Sri Lankan company has taken the initiative to find an alternative energy source in the wake of the current fuel crisis.

A Sri Lankan company has taken this initiative to produce bio-diesel out of Jatropha, (Weta Edaru) for the local market.

This project has been undertaken by the company, Lintons Bio Diesel (Pvt) Limited, to plant 100 acres of Jatropha in the Mahiyangana area to produce bio-diesel.

The company has invested a considerable amount of money for the project, its CEO/Consultant A. P. Deegalla said.

Talking to the Daily News on the viability of the project, he said more than 18 countries successfully obtain bio diesel now including USA, India and China.

Therefore, this project is suitable for the Sri Lankan soil conditions, he said.

Jatropha, the wonder plant produces seeds with an oil content of 37 per cent. Jatropha oil is converted into methyl ester (Biodiesel) by the process of transesterification. The transesterification process is a chemical process, which requires alcohol as driver (alcohol) escape glycerinate and ester.

The ester has the quality of diesel, he said.

These processing plants can be easily installed anywhere with simple technology”, he said.

According to Deegalla, three kgs of Jatropha can produce one litre of bio-diesel. Therefore, once the company starts commercial operations, by 2010 they expect to produce 250,000 litres of bio diesel for a year.

One-acre could accomodate 1000 plants and the maturity period will be around five years and the profit margin is more than 50 per cent from a tree, he said.

From one-hectare, they will be able to produce between 2100-2800 litres per year and the energy value is 19,800 to 26,400 Kw/ha.

Jatropha is also medically used for diseases like cancer, piles, snakebites, paralysis and dropsy.

Depending on soil quality and rainfall, oil can be extracted, Deegalle said. With the high oil crisis India is involved in this business on a large scale especially in the Rajasthan State.

Therefore, to promote the concept the Ministry of Environment has set up a seed producing centre at Digana, he said.

With these developments Sri Lanka could produce at least 10 per cent of the total diesel requirement in the country.

[The Don]

Bio-diesel from Jatropha

Lankan firm ventures into new territory:

Hiran H. Senewiratne - Daily News 2008/07/01

A Sri Lankan company has taken the initiative to find an alternative energy source in the wake of the current fuel crisis.

A Sri Lankan company has taken this initiative to produce bio-diesel out of Jatropha, (Weta Edaru) for the local market.

This project has been undertaken by the company, Lintons Bio Diesel (Pvt) Limited, to plant 100 acres of Jatropha in the Mahiyangana area to produce bio-diesel.

The company has invested a considerable amount of money for the project, its CEO/Consultant A. P. Deegalla said.

Talking to the Daily News on the viability of the project, he said more than 18 countries successfully obtain bio diesel now including USA, India and China.

Therefore, this project is suitable for the Sri Lankan soil conditions, he said.

Jatropha, the wonder plant produces seeds with an oil content of 37 per cent. Jatropha oil is converted into methyl ester (Biodiesel) by the process of transesterification. The transesterification process is a chemical process, which requires alcohol as driver (alcohol) escape glycerinate and ester.

The ester has the quality of diesel, he said.

These processing plants can be easily installed anywhere with simple technology”, he said.

According to Deegalla, three kgs of Jatropha can produce one litre of bio-diesel. Therefore, once the company starts commercial operations, by 2010 they expect to produce 250,000 litres of bio diesel for a year.

One-acre could accomodate 1000 plants and the maturity period will be around five years and the profit margin is more than 50 per cent from a tree, he said.

From one-hectare, they will be able to produce between 2100-2800 litres per year and the energy value is 19,800 to 26,400 Kw/ha.

Jatropha is also medically used for diseases like cancer, piles, snakebites, paralysis and dropsy.

Depending on soil quality and rainfall, oil can be extracted, Deegalle said. With the high oil crisis India is involved in this business on a large scale especially in the Rajasthan State.

Therefore, to promote the concept the Ministry of Environment has set up a seed producing centre at Digana, he said.

With these developments Sri Lanka could produce at least 10 per cent of the total diesel requirement in the country.

Devinda there is another report (s) you need to read up on this issue one I think by the world food program.

Several UN bodies have warned in a time of a looming food crisis which can escalate further and even lead to conflict bio fuels might actually contribute to this problem and make it worse.

The problem right now is not enough land is being cultivated to feed the increasing population, and several of these companies have re assigned land previously used for food production into production of produce that can be used for bio fuels.

Bottom line is there are severe doubts whether this particular measure is sustainable, because cultivatable land is also a limited resource !

Not disagreeing with the article, just shedding some light on the other side of the picture

[Devinda_Z]

Devinda there is another report (s) you need to read up on this issue one I think by the world food program.

Several UN bodies have warned in a time of a looming food crisis which can escalate further and even lead to conflict bio fuels might actually contribute to this problem and make it worse.

The problem right now is not enough land is being cultivated to feed the increasing population, and several of these companies have re assigned land previously used for food production into production of produce that can be used for bio fuels.

Bottom line is there are severe doubts whether this particular measure is sustainable, because cultivatable land is also a limited resource !

Not disagreeing with the article, just shedding some light on the other side of the picture

your quite right Don - there have been many issues brought up regarding the use of crops for fuel generation

and then there is also the abuse of crop subsidies such as that for corn in the USA...

this world is really in a stew

[Devinda_Z]

Chrysler LLC shuts down its St Louis minivan plant, cutting production of its top-selling vehicle and 2,400 jobs highlighting automaker's woes

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNew...me=businessNews

[Watchman]

Chrysler LLC shuts down its St Louis minivan plant, cutting production of its top-selling vehicle and 2,400 jobs highlighting automaker's woes

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNew...me=businessNews

tad OT....

anyone see the MOST POPULAR ARTICLES Section on the side?

2nd on list "Gay runs wind-assisted 9.68 seconds" the Article is taking ages to load, but I'm presuming "Gay" is a dude's name