Petrol Malaysia

And It's A Law! Did you know that petrol stations must have sufficient fuel? If they run out of fuel supply, they must order more. This may not be a big thing in Kuala Lumpur, but imagine what happens in the more remote areas of the country! The scenario goes like this: Petrol prices are falling (they have been falling for a few months), and it's the last day of the month, maybe half a day to the next month. The petrol station owner is sorely tempted not  to refill his station because he knows, if he orders fuel today, and fills his tanks, within 12 hours the oil in the storage tanks would be worth less than he paid for them. Because oil prices are falling, whatever he pays for oil today is more than what he would pay tomorrow (i.e. the next month). So should the petrol station refill? In Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley in general (including Petaling Jaya), it might not be an issue. Just drive ten minutes and voila! There's another petrol station. But let's im...

In a report "Oil and Gas Reality Check 2015" by consulting firm Deloitte one of the issues discussed was the dynamics of the demand for oil. Among some of the points raised in the report on the shifting dynamics of oil demand, were: The International Energy Agency forecasted that demand for oil would grow by 0.9 MMbbl/d in 2015.  China's demand for oil is strong and remains a "demand center", with projected demand for oil at 18 MMbbl/d in 2040. However, its main sources for oil may change in time. European demand for oil is expected to maintain at 14 MMbbl/d in 2040. In the US, crude oil imports have dropped 3% year-on-year as of January 2015. Players in the oil industry are starting to focus on domestic (US) demand, which are seen as more stable. Japan's oil demand has dropped 22% since 2000, with increasing reliance on natural gas and nuclear. Nuclear is seen as a viable main source of energy. The Asia Pacific oil-importing countries accounted for...

Ranhill Holdings Bhd. is a Malaysian company. Recently it has denied being involved in the Unaoil bribery scandal. The following is a photograph of a recent newspaper report (source: The Sun Daily, 6th April 2016.) The recent statement from Ranhill Holdings Bhd. reads as follows: "....we wish to clarify and confirm that neither Ranhill Holdings Bhd nor any of its group of companies has entered into any transaction or arrangement with Unaoil. We wish to further clarify that at Ranhill, we have due process prescribed in the forms of policies and procedures in regards to engagement of third parties that include due diligence process and we practise code of conduct and good business ethics." For the curious readers, they may like to read the article linking Ranhill to Unaoil  (article by The Age, Australia).  My Thoughts on the Matter Here is my advice to Ranhill: The right response would be to demand that The Age withdraw its statement from the offending ar...

Extract: "In Asia, traders have stored excess gasoline on tankers as onshore storage facilities in Singapore and Malaysia are filled to the rims. Analysts say crude prices could soon fall again as an emerging gasoline glut potentially adds to a global overhang in crude output that sees more than 1 million barrels of oil produced in excess of demand everyday." Former Shell President, John Hofmeister said that it's a good thing that oil prices have fallen. "It’s a good thing we have a lot of oil in storage because it provides some security on the supply side. And I worry about the day that our storage starts to drop because then how do we protect ourselves from all the threats out there to what is otherwise a market situation that’s seeking equilibrium?"  Mr. Hofmeister also said that oil should be normalizing back to USD80 per barrel by this year's end. In the meantime, my wife's friend's British husband has lost his job in the offshore...

According to the Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia, crude oil is purchased in US Dollars. It's president Datuk Hashim Othman said, "Even though the price of crude has gone down, our ringgit has depreciated, so we're buying at a higher price. All global trade in crude oil is in US dollars. Currency is the main reason." Ironically, Malaysia produces crude oil as well. If oil mined from Malaysia is sold to Malaysian petrol dealers, would it not be cheaper for Malaysians? Can Malaysian crude oil be sold in Malaysian Ringgit to Malaysians?