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6 interesting facts about the Australian Fuel Market
- Details
- 04 December 2015
You might think that you quite a bit about fuel, but take a look at these six facts and you may be surprised what you didn’t know.
1. There are a number of factors that influence bulk fuel pricing
In our country, there are a number of factors that influence the cost of fuel. These are mainly:
- The price of refined petrol on the international market
- What the Australian exchange rate is against the US dollar
- The taxes our government decides to impose on fuel
- The margin between wholesale and retail fuel prices
- Fuel retailer competition
- Regular price cycles of bulk fuel in Australia, mainly in city areas
- Product offerings in the local area of service stations
2. The biggest price influencer on Australian fuel is international petrol prices
Changes in fuel prices overseas have the biggest impact on retail petrol prices here at home. International pricing affects about 50% of the final retail price for petrol and diesel and 70% of the price for LPG.
International fuel pricing is influenced by the supply and demand for fuel around the world and because this is set in US dollars, the rise and fall of the Australian dollar against the US also has an effect.
3. A 10% ethanol mix can be found in many fuels
Interestingly, ethanol can be found in many bulk fuels in Australia, and even more interestingly, most of our cars can take the 10% ethanol blended fuel, or E10. In fact, the use of E10 bulk fuels in Australia and Brisbane is supported by most car manufacturers and should be protected under your warranty.
4. E10 is not a lower grade fuel
Some believe that mixing ethanol into your fuel will make it of a lower quality, but this isn’t the case. E10 has an octane rating of around 94.5 which means you are getting a higher grade fuel for a regular price.
Studies in the US have shown that E10 petrol has roughly the same fuel economy as unleaded fuel, too. Conveniently, you can interchange between unleaded fuel and E10 without any damage to your car.
5. E10 is made from waste
In Australia, the manufacturing of E10 doesn’t harm our food resources as it is made from waste starch. This waste starch is produced from an integrated manufacturing process. It is essentially a by-product of the process and doesn’t affect the wheat that is produced in our country.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation say that E10 is good for the environment because it doesn’t compete with human or animal food.
6. E10 isn’t the only biofuel available in Australia
You can also buy biofuels in Australia as biodiesel. There are three types of producers of both this fuel and ethanol in our country and all of these are based in the eastern states.
Currently, the law only allows for a 10% biofuel blend unless they are E85 fuels. E85 is a mix of ethanol and petrol and currently there are very few cars on the market that can take this fuel. One such car is the Series 2 VE Holden Commodore - it is flex-fuel and can take unleaded petrol and E85 fuel.
If you would like some more information about bulk fuel supplies, please don't hesitate to contact Bulk Fuel Australia. We are one of the top Australian bulk fuel transport companies and we would be happy to assist you with all your bulk fuel needs and questions.