Gasoline is made by processing or refining
crude oil. The cost of gasoline is shown in the following table:
Cost
Component
Dollars
per Barrel
Cents
per Gallon
Percent of Pump Price
Crude
Oil Price
$ 90.00
214.3
70%
Transportation
to Refinery
$ 2.00
4.8
2%
Refining
Costs
$
4.00
9.5
3%
Refining Margins
$ 5.00
11.9
4%
Transportation
to Market
$ 2.75
6.5
2%
Marketing
Costs
$ 2.25
5.4
2%
Marketing Margins
$
5.00
11.9
4%
State
and Federal Taxes*
$ 18.27
43.5
14%
Pump
Price including Taxes
$129.27
307.8
100%
* National Average and late October 2007 prices
The two
largest cost components are crude oil and taxes which comprise about
84% of
gasoline price. In the United States taxes include both a Federal and
State tax. Both of these taxes are levied as cents/gallon rather than as a
percent of price. State taxes can vary considerably depending on the need
and philosophy of the local government. The price of crude oil, which is 58% of
pump price in our example, is a large factor in determining pump prices and in
causing prices to fluctuate. This relationship is illustrated in the plot
of Gasoline and Crude
Oil Prices.
Please check the following sites for other
viewpoints on gasoline prices:
PetroStrategiesanalysis indicates that
increases in average U.S. pump prices are explained by the average cost of
crude oil processed in a U.S. refinery (Refiner's Acquisition Cost) and
the average utilization of U.S. refining capacity.
The formula used to make this forecast is
based on historical data and has an R2 value of 0.9182.
Before you start
driving around town looking for the cheapest gasoline, calculate your
savings compared to the costs of the extra mileage using the following
calculator.
Gasoline provides fuel for our mobile lifestyle in the United States.
Unfortunately, the characteristics which make it a good fuel for car engines
also make it a dangerous product. Gasoline is highly
flammable (burns easily) and very volatile
(evaporates quickly). Our familiarity with gasoline often makes us unaware of
its dangers. The following cautions have been issued by fuel manufacturers
and equipment providers.
Smoking - Most people know
not
to smoke when fueling their car with gasoline. These dangers
also apply when filling your weed eater, lawnmower, chain saw and any engine
using gasoline as a fuel. Gasoline should not be used to clean hands or
kill weeds. Buy products designed for these uses. It is also a good idea
to only use approved containers to store gasoline,
do not overfill the approved gasoline containers, make sure they are stable when
transporting and store in a safe area away from flames and children.
Cell Phones
- The Shell Oil Company
recently issued a warning after three incidents in which mobile phones (cell
phones) ignited fumes during fueling operations. In the first case, the phone
was placed on the car's trunk lid during fueling; it rang and the ensuing fire
destroyed the car and the gasoline pump. In the second, an individual suffered
severe burns to her face when fumes ignited as she answered a call while
refueling her car. And in the third, an individual suffered burns to the thigh
and groin as fumes ignited when the phone, which was in his pocket, rang while
he was fueling his car.
Cell phones can ignite fuel or fumes. Mobile
phones that light up when switched on or when they ring release enough energy to
provide a spark for ignition. Mobile phones should not be used in filling
stations, or when fueling lawn mowers, boats, etc. Cell phones should not be
used, or should be turned off, around other materials that generate flammable or
explosive fumes or dust i.e. solvents, chemicals, gases, grain dust, etc.
Static Electricity - Static electricity has
been responsible for gasoline fires. Bob Renkes of Petroleum Equipment
Institute is working on a campaign to try and make people aware of fires as a
result of "static electricity" at gas pumps. His organization has
researched 150 cases of these fires. There were 29 fires where the vehicle
was reentered and the nozzle was touched during refueling from a variety of
makes and models. Some resulting in extensive damage to the vehicle, to the
station, and to the customer. Seventeen fires that occurred before, during
or immediately after the gas cap was removed and before fueling began.
Out of 150 cases, almost all of them were
women!
Almost all cases involved the person getting back in her vehicle while the
nozzle was still pumping gas. The fire started from static electricity
when the pump had shut off and she went back to pull the nozzle
out. Most men don't get back in
their vehicle until completely finished which is why they are seldom involved in
these types of fires. Most had on rubber-soled shoes.
Mr. Renkes stresses to never get back into your
vehicle while filling it with gas. If you absolutely have to get in
your vehicle while the gas is pumping, make sure you get out, close the door and
touch
the metal on the door frame, before you pull the nozzle out. This
way the static from your body will be discharged before you ever remove the
nozzle.
Pat Cabling who works at Chevron Texaco's Richmond Refinery offered these
four simple rules for safe fueling.
1) Turn
off engine
2) Don't smoke
3) Don't use your cell phone-leave it inside the vehicle or turn it off
4) Don't re-enter your vehicle during fueling
You might
want to post these simple rules in your car so that everyone knows how to be
safe when using fueling with gasoline. Explain these rules to the new
drivers at home especially.
According
to an article on Snopes.com:
"Static
electricity can cause fires at service stations: True
Static
electricity was actually the cause of a number of gas station refueling fires:
Undetermined"
While
this article questions the validity of the sources of gas station fires, it also
confirms that static electricity can cause fires. The question seems to be
in the data and research supporting cautions about cell phone use and reentering
the car during fueling.
In our
mind, if you believe that static electricity can cause fires, then you should
avoid potential sources of static electricity. This caution should apply
to any devices that cause or could cause a spark including electrical
appliances.
We also
question any multitasking that prevents complete attention to the task of
filling the fuel tank. Spilling gasoline on your hands, clothes and car is
certainly undesirable. You should also be aware of other motorists who may
be careless during fueling (spilling gasoline or smoking) and this means
focusing on the task at hand. Lastly, we would suggest that caution in
handling volatile fuels may save you from a horrible consequence.
Here are some fueling tricks from a 31-year
industry pro who works for Kinder-Morgan Pipeline in San Jose, CA.
Fill up your car or truck in the morning
when the temperature is still cool. Remember that all service stations
have their storage tanks buried below ground; and the colder the ground,
the denser the gasoline. When it gets warmer gasoline expands, so if
you're filling up in the afternoon or in the evening, what should be a
gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the
specific gravity and temperature of the fuel (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel,
ethanol and other petroleum products) are significant. Every
truckload that we load is temperature-compensated so that the indicated
volume is actually the amount pumped. A one-degree rise in temperature is
a big deal for businesses, but service stations don't have temperature
compensation at their pumps .
If a tanker truck is filling the
station's tank at the time you want to buy gas, do not fill up; most
likely dirt and sludge in the tank is being stirred up when gas is being
delivered, and you might be transferring that dirt from the bottom
of their tank into your car's tank
Fill up when your gas tank is half-full (or
half-empty), because the more gas you have in your tank the less air
there is and gasoline evaporates rapidly, especially when it's warm.
(Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating "roof" membrane to act
as a barrier between the gas and the atmosphere, thereby minimizing
evaporation .)
If you look at
the trigger you'll see that it has three delivery settings: slow, medium
and high. When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle
to the high setting. You should be pumping at the slow setting, thereby
minimizing vapors created while you are pumping. Hoses at the pump
are corrugated; the corrugations act as a return path for vapor
recovery from gas that already has been metered. If you are pumping
at the high setting, the agitated gasoline contains more vapor, which is
being sucked back into the underground tank so you're getting less gas for
your money .
