Caltex’s magazine for employees, franchisees & resellers
Issue 46 Dec – Jan 09
Pricing: The tall tale that won't go away
The two line graphs show how Australian petrol prices have moved relative to the cost of petrol from Singapore refineries in the 11 months to the end of November 2008. The red line indicates pump prices in Australian cents per litre, the black line is US dollars per barrel.
The tall tale that won't go away
World oil prices soared this year – then crashed. Did petrol and diesel prices rise and fall in Australia in line with these? If not, why not? And how does fuel pricing really work? The Star reveals the truth.
Caltex climbs the safety ladder
Truck and tanker accidents have nearly halved. Major fuel spills are down by two thirds. And it’s happening at a time when the Caltex Petroleum Services (CPS) vehicle fleet has doubled in size.
Convenience stores of the 21st century
As convenience retailing undergoes changes around the world, Australia’s number one convenience retailer Caltex is introducing a different look, layout and product range with its new-style '21CC' Star Marts.
Caltex mixes it with the best
When Caltex New Product Development Executive Naomi Jackson visited the USA in October she was right in the heart of the convenience retail industry – both as an award winning ambassador for Australia and a keen observer.
Oil and business the coming challenges
Climate change policy and oil supply and demand will profoundly impact the business environment in years ahead, Managing Director Des King told a Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) lunch in Sydney recently.
From the Managing Director
Over the past year, prices of crude oil and refined petroleum products have experienced big swings upwards and downwards, showing volatility quite unlike anything we’ve seen in recent history.
As the cost of petrol and diesel soared to record highs, then plunged, it became clear many people were confused about why it was happening. They seemed uncertain about the relationship between pump prices, the cost of crude oil and the Australian dollar-US dollar exchange rates. When the cost of crude oil fell nearly 50 per cent, why didn’t the cost of petrol decrease by the same amount? As is often the case, oil companies were singled out for criticism.
As Caltex has said many times, and as many ACCC and other public enquiries have found, Caltex has never engaged in “profiteering” and never will. Our average profit over all the fuel we sell is typically between one and two cents per litre.
We would like people to understand how fuel pricing really works, that refineries are factories just like any other. To that end, in this issue of The Star we explain in detail the forces that drive pump prices in Australia and how they respond to internal prices. We hope readers find the insights informative and that the article will help dispel some of the persistent myths about how oil companies like Caltex actually operate.
I would also like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season and prosperous new year – and to thank all Caltex employees, franchisees and resellers for their hard work and support. Your contributions have made a big difference and have helped to position us for a year of substantial progress.
Des King