In school studying science i learned that heating oil and Diesel were the lowest grades of fuel in the production process, therefore also the easiest and cheapest to make, as far as i can see not much has changed at the low end, so why are we being charged a premium price for the lowest grade product cheapest to produce?
I have included this link to a very well done pdf file which explains the procedures and impacts. Why are we being raped by this process?

http://www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/qqLkl5o...-practices.pdf

The price of crude oil has risen.

Ergo, the products made from crude oil has risen.

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I agree however when gas was was 2.50 a gallon i was paying 1.50 a gallon for fuel oil and that was just about 4 years back and i was driving a diesel mercedes paying 2 dollars a gallon, how did these prices reverse making the lowest, cheapest to refine more expensive, and the demand of any of these products has not changed.

IIRC, we've got new federal standards for diesel fuel, which costs the refiners to meet.

Those costs get passed on to the consumer - something that politicians can't seem to grasp.

Matt

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I think that the demand for diesel has increased (in addition to the new sulfur standard).

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Makes sense, too.

Matt

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OK when electric cars become standard will you also support a 100% increase on electricity?

My home's not heated by heating oil, and my Exxon stock is at over $93.00 a share...

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As demand rises, price rises.

Doesn't matter if anyone supports it or not (and FWIW, I don't see pram's comment as supporting the price increase).

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Heating oil and or diesel is the lifeblood of rural energy, especially where I live. When 8 years ago, when oil was less than $25 per bl, the cost burden was much less to us. The rising cost of this type of energy makes great strain on our pocketbooks. January of 07 I spent over $700 in home heating fuel.

Also, keep in mind that commercial aviation is among the highest demand for low grade fuel. Jet-A fuel is more or less diesel.

Uh, I'd rather see the money used to educate some on basic economics...

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When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

No offense intended, but perhaps if you're spending too much on energy, you shouldn't be living above the Arctic circle?

There's a reason that very little life exists up there...

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When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

When you build a refinery, you can control the product mix, but once it's built the product mix is pretty much fixed, regular gas, the lightest product, high octane gas, the second lightest, #1 oil (Kerosene or jet fuel), #2 Oil (Diesel or heating oil), #3 oil and # 4 oil (power plants) and asphalt (the heaviest product).

Refineries used to be built to maximize gasoline production, but in Europe, something like 70% of the new cars are diesel, European refineries stepped up production in the 90's and exported the excess gasoline (remember 99 cent regular in 1998?). The increased demand for #2 oil from all these diesel cars has pushed the price of diesel higher than the price of gasoline.
Over time, as refineries undergo major refittings, the product mix can be changed to produce more diesel and less gasoline, but this will take many years.
At one time, gasoline was a waste product, and was diverted to trenches and burned off, #1 oil was the most valuable product then, competing against whale oil as lamp fuel.

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"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics"
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Your point?

Well just the obvious comes to mind here, the lowest grade fuels take 1 or 2 processes while gasoline requires about 6, resulting in fuel oils such as heating oil to be the cheapest to make, and outside of greed in the market i see no justifiable reason for the unsupported increase in price. I see not one justification for a 3 dollar plus a barrel increase as it is happening right now.