Petrol Malaysia

RON 95 will be making its nationwide debut come September 2009, and RON 92 will no longer be offered for sale. In a report dated 13th May, 2009, the New Straits Times reported that come September 2009, RON 95 will be sold at RM1.75 per litre and RON 97 will be sold at RM2.00 per litre. RON 97 will become a premium product, similar to Shell's V-Power, which currently retails at RM2.05 per litre. (Ref: The New Straits Times, 13th May 2009. Cheaper RON 95 petrol from Sept 1 ) What Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob failed to mention was whether V-Power would be going up in price, in response to the changing prices of RON 95 and RON 97. A premium product, after all, would need to remain slightly above the market's normal offerings. In the same report, it was stated that RON 95 is presently being sold at two Petronas stations in Putrajaya. This was probably a pilot test which has proven successful. The report also stated that petrol stations ...

British Petroleum's green petrol stations were once upon a time all over Malaysia. Starting in February 2005, all of the green slowly became orange, and the august logo "BP" became replaced with a more modern looking "BHPetrol". If the old logo looked like a school badge, the new logo looked like a Web 2.0 logo. It was a rebranding process, to reflect the takeover of BP Malaysia Sdn Bhd. Thirty per cent of the company was held by Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera, while the remaining seventy per cent was held by LTAT's subsidiary company, Boustead Holding Bhd. Thus, Boustead Holding Berhad came to change the name of BP Malaysia Sdn Bhd to Boustead Petroleum Marketing (M) Sdn Bhd. (Source: BHPetrol News and Media Archives. Boustead to rebrand BP Stations .) The whole matter began in 2004 when BP Malaysia and LTAT concluded talks to sell BP's 70% stake in BP Malaysia Sdn Bhd to LTAT. (Ref: Gulf Oil and Gas, 3rd January 2004. LTAT To Purchase BP's Shareho...

NST recently reported that a group of Turkish tourists have been caught for a spree of robberies at petrol stations. From the report: KUANTAN: While other foreign tourists come to Pahang to spend money on shopping and sightseeing, a few Middle Eastern people have been making money by stealing and robbing petrol stations. The robbers travelled in groups of three to five people, including women and children as young as 14, and had been going on a robbing spree since February. Police have identified some of the Middle Eastern men and women involved. They would walk into the stations under the pretext of changing money before grabbing the cash in the counter. (Source: New Straits Times, 27th March 2009. Turkish Group Robs Petrol Stations .) Why is it that petrol stations are targeted by criminals? Perhaps, it is the fact that the petrol station remains stationary, and is a convenient target. Criminals can plan when and where to attack -- at their convenience. They may be hiding in vehicle...

Recently I came across this video. I thought that it was good when I first viewed it. I still do. It was obviously done up during the few weeks that culminated the peaking of oil at US$147 per barrel. While the panic causing events have passed, what is relevant is that oil is still being consumed and hybrid engine vehicles are still a rarity. Watching the video, I could not help noticing the matter-of-fact statement that 85% of the world's energy needs are provided by fossil fuels. Part of the underlying assumptions for this video is that population will always increase, leading to more and more demands for energy, food, etc. Obviously, our dependency on oil as a source of energy will not change drastically -- not in the near future. Population needs will however increase, thanks to population increase. Many years ago the philosopher Malthus imagined that one day man would fail to obtain an adequate supply of food due to the constantly increasing population. But to date that has no...

It was reported in the Financial Mail (from South Africa) on 24th April 2009 that Petronas is a "state owned success". (Ref: Financial Mail, 24th April 2009. State Owned Success: Petronas Accounts for Half Malaysia's GDP, and It's Not Cutting Back . URL: http://free.financialmail.co.za/09/0424/features/afeat.htm) The reporter, Matthew Hill, interviewed Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, head of Petronas. Among the interesting points disclosed during the interview, were: Despite oil prices coming down (from the high price of USD$147 per barrel), the cost of oil production (that rose during the boom) has not come down. Margins have thinned. Thinning margins have led to deferment of exploration and development of new oil fields. In the long run, a shortage of supply would raise oil prices. Petronas did not get caught up in last year's "frenzy" (presumably, to develop its supply capacity). It now has capacity for development. 40% of Petronas' revenue comes fr...

In Australia, it was reported by the Sydney Morning Herald that the Australian government's target that fuel companies should have at least 2% ethanol blended with their petrols by the end of 2008, was not met. (Ref: The Sydney Morning Herald, 23rd March 2009.  Companies Miss Ethanol Target . URL: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/energy-smart/companies-miss-ethanol-target-20090322-95mu.html) From the same report: The revelations cast doubt on the likelihood of achieving the Rees Government's mandatory target of 6 per cent by 2010, with plans to give motorists the choice in 2011 of only E10 (which contains 10 per cent ethanol) or premium unleaded. Gasoline (a.k.a. petrol ) containing a 10 percent blend of ethanol is known as E10 or "gasohol". (Source: US Energy Information Administration, February 2007.  Biofuels in the US Transportation Sector . URL: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/analysispaper/biomass.html) Is ethanol really the solution to the problem of peak oil? So...

While browsing about the Internet today I was curious about the state of car pooling in Malaysia. Car pooling is also known as ride sharing. Car pooling is the act of several individuals using the same vehicle at the same time to get from one point to another. For obvious reasons, car pooling works best in the "get to work" commute, and back. But there is nothing to stop individuals from sharing a ride for a different kind of commute, e.g. four individuals who want to go to Penang from KL can always share a ride. A few years ago the Government suggested that all vehicles entering the city center (Kuala Lumpur) should be charged a toll, and the toll would depend on whether the car was on car pool. That phase engendered some funny comments from an uncle of mine who joked that I might like to buy an inflatable doll (I can't mention the type) to put on the appearance of car pooling! Fancy that ... an inflatable doll of unmentionable proportions being my comrade of commutes.  ...