Petroleum pricing in Nova Scotia is based on the Petroleum Products Pricing Act which governs the wholesale and minimum and maximum price of gasoline and diesel fuels that are authorized in Nova Scotia.
Petroleum pricing in Nova Scotia is based on the Petroleum Products Pricing Act which governs the wholesale and minimum and maximum price of gasoline and diesel fuels that are authorized in Nova Scotia.
In the spring of 2004, some consumers and an association representing some retailers (the Retail Gasoline Dealers Association of Nova Scotia) complained about the rising price of gasoline and diesel fuel, and the closure of rural gas stations due to low volumes and low margins. After appearing before an all party committee on petroleum pricing, the Nova Scotia legislature passed Bill 79 The Nova Scotia Petroleum Products Pricing Act. After a year of not proclaiming it law, Rodney MacDonald, the Premier of Nova Scotia announced in May 2006 that petroleum prices will be regulated, beginning on 1 July 2006, two weeks following New Brunswick's announcement of doing the same.
The price of gasoline and diesel fuel are based on the price on the New York Mercantile Exchange as a benchmark in Canadian funds. This plus a 6 cent per litre wholesale margin, plus a transportation allowance of 0.5 to 2 cents per litre, and a retail margin of 4 to 5.5 cents per litre (or to a maximum of 7.5 cents per litre for full-serve gasoline).
The transportation of the product is calculated based on six zones in Nova Scotia:
There is no notice of change in prices. Every Friday, prices may go up or down or stay the same, depending on the market price over the past 7 days.
Scheduled price changes occur every second Thursday starting 13 July 2006. The interrupter is based on a formula that will determine whether the market prices of fuels have changed enough to warrant a price change . This “interrupter” formula will run every second Wednesday beginning 19 July 2006. For the interrupter formula to trigger a price change, a 5-day average NYMEX spot price from the last price change to the current date, will be calculated. If this new average NYMEX spot price changes by ±4 cents per litre over the last NYMEX spot price average, used to set the scheduled price change, the pump price may be adjusted using the new average NYMEX spot price as the baseline. If the interrupter is not triggered on the interruption date, the current pump price will continue until the next price change the following Thursday. In extreme circumstances, precipitated by a weather or perhaps a geopolitical event, a catastrophic interrupter could initiated whereby international product prices change by significant amounts, say ±15 cents per litre. This interrupter would be initiated on the day of the price change or the next day when rack prices in Nova Scotia would change.
Many critics argue that this method of controlling the price of petroleum products is not in the public interest; these critics include the Liberal Party of Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Chambers of Commerce, and vocal critics, mainly in the Halifax Regional Municipality, from the public at large. When this was first brought about many including in the New Democratic Party and the Retail Gasoline Dealers Association of Nova Scotia wanted a system similar to Prince Edward Island for lower prices. The ones opposing this scheme argued that the PEI system not only keeps prices higher but it does not allow for competition. The lower gasoline prices are a result of PEI's not charging the Provincial Sales Tax of 10% unlike in Nova Scotia where the Harmonized Sales Tax of 15% is charged. In New Brunswick, the HST is also charged, but they set a maximum price for most of entire province (no zones) without setting a minimum price. As a price comparison, on 1 July 2006, the same day Nova Scotia started its system, the maximum price in New Brunswick was 112.4 cents per litre for regular self serve compared to Nova Scotia's minimum price of 113.3 to 115.2 (depending on the zone) cents per litre.
A filling station is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline and diesel fuel.
Diesel fuel, also called diesel oil, heavy oil (historically) or simply diesel, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and then injection of fuel. Therefore, diesel fuel needs good compression ignition characteristics.
A fuel tax is an excise tax imposed on the sale of fuel. In most countries the fuel tax is imposed on fuels which are intended for transportation. Fuel tax receipts are often dedicated or hypothecated to transportation projects, in which case the fuel tax can be considered a user fee. In other countries, the fuel tax is a source of general revenue. Sometimes, a fuel tax is used as an ecotax, to promote ecological sustainability. Fuel taxes are often considered by government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service as regressive taxes.
The harmonized sales tax (HST) is a consumption tax in Canada. It is used in provinces where both the federal goods and services tax (GST) and the regional provincial sales tax (PST) have been combined into a single value-added tax.
Liquid fuels are combustible or energy-generating molecules that can be harnessed to create mechanical energy, usually producing kinetic energy; they also must take the shape of their container. It is the fumes of liquid fuels that are flammable instead of the fluid. Most liquid fuels in widespread use are derived from fossil fuels; however, there are several types, such as hydrogen fuel, ethanol, and biodiesel, which are also categorized as a liquid fuel. Many liquid fuels play a primary role in transportation and the economy.
Sweet crude oil is a type of petroleum. The New York Mercantile Exchange designates petroleum with less than 0.5% sulfur as sweet.
Ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) is diesel fuel with substantially lowered sulfur content. Since 2006, almost all of the petroleum-based diesel fuel available in Europe and North America has been of a ULSD type.
Crack spread is a term used on the oil industry and futures trading for the differential between the price of crude oil and petroleum products extracted from it. The spread approximates the profit margin that an oil refinery can expect to make by "cracking" the long-chain hydrocarbons of crude oil into useful shorter-chain petroleum products.
Light crude oil is liquid petroleum that has a low density and flows freely at room temperature. It has a low viscosity, low specific gravity and high API gravity due to the presence of a high proportion of light hydrocarbon fractions. It generally has a low wax content. Light crude oil receives a higher price than heavy crude oil on commodity markets because it produces a higher percentage of gasoline and diesel fuel when converted into products by an oil refinery.
This article describes the use and availability of biodiesel in various countries around the world.
Hydrocarbon Oil Duty is a fuel tax levied on some fuels used by most road motor vehicles in the United Kingdom; with exceptions for local bus services, some farm and construction vehicles and aviation, which pay reduced or no fuel duty.
Petroleum pricing in Prince Edward Island is regulated by the Prince Edward Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission, the regulatory arm of the Government of Prince Edward Island. The commission is commonly shortened to the "Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission and is usually referred to by its acronym "IRAC".
National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) is part of the Ministry of Petroleum of Iran. NIORDC was established on 8 March 1991 and undertook to perform all operations relating to refining and distribution of oil products.
The usage and pricing of gasoline results from factors such as crude oil prices, processing and distribution costs, local demand, the strength of local currencies, local taxation, and the availability of local sources of gasoline (supply). Since fuels are traded worldwide, the trade prices are similar. The price paid by consumers largely reflects national pricing policy. Most countries impose taxes on gasoline (petrol), which causes air pollution and climate change; whereas a few, such as Venezuela, subsidize the cost. Some country's taxes do not cover all the negative externalities, that is they do not make the polluter pay the full cost. Western countries have among the highest usage rates per person. The largest consumer is the United States.
The United States federal excise tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel fuel. Proceeds from the tax partly support the Highway Trust Fund. The federal tax was last raised on October 1, 1993, and is not indexed to inflation, which increased 111% from Oct. 1993 until Dec. 2023. On average, as of April 2019, state and local taxes and fees add 34.24 cents to gasoline and 35.89 cents to diesel, for a total US volume-weighted average fuel tax of 52.64 cents per gallon for gas and 60.29 cents per gallon for diesel.
The main fuel tax in Australia is an excise tax, to which Goods and Services Tax ("GST") is added. Both taxes are levied by the federal government. In Australia the GST is applied on top of the fuel excise tax. In some cases, businesses may be entitled to exemptions or rebates for fuel excise tax, including tax credits and certain excise-free fuel sources.
In Canada, motor vehicles are primarily powered by gasoline or diesel fuel. Other energy sources include ethanol, biodiesel, propane, compressed natural gas (CNG), electric batteries charged from an external source, and hydrogen. Canada, like most countries, has excise taxes and other taxes on gasoline, diesel, and other liquid and gas motor fuels, and also taxes electricity at various administrative levels. Most provinces and territories in Canada also have taxes on these motor fuels, and some metropolitan areas such as Montreal, Greater Vancouver, and Victoria impose additional taxes.
The Canadian province of Quebec became the first in Canada to introduce a carbon tax. The tax was to be imposed on energy producers starting October 1, 2007, with revenue collected used for energy-efficiency programs including public transit. The tax rate for gasoline in Canadian currency was 0.8 cents per litre, or about $3.50 per tonne of CO
2 equivalent. The tax was also applied at 0.9 cents per litre of diesel fuel; 0.96 cents per litre of light heating oil; 1 cent per litre of heavy heating oil; 1.3 cents per litre of coke used in making steel; 0.5 cents per litre of propane; and $8 per tonne of coal. The proceeds were paid into a Green Fund, which will provided the resources for the implementation of the provincial climate change plan. A complete list of measures and details can be found in the official plan (2006-2012): Quebec and Climate Change -- A Challenge for the Future.
The petroleum industry in India dates back to 1889 when the first oil deposits in the country were discovered near the town of Digboi in the state of Assam. The natural gas industry in India began in the 1960s with the discovery of gas fields in Assam and Maharashtra. As on 31 March 2018, India had estimated crude oil reserves of 594.49 million metric tonnes (Mt) and natural gas reserves of 1339.57 billion cubic metres of natural gas (BCM).
