Morrison’s in Dinbych dropped its petrol prices on Monday night, as some supermarkets began cutting the price of fuel in response to cheaper international markets. Just when the gap between Rhuthun’s forecourts and the rest of the world was narrowing. It may take till the weekend for Rhuthun’s petrol to respond (if it does at all, of course).But whatever cuts in petrol prices there may be, it will most certainly be short lived. The prognosis remains stark. Rhuthun needs to come to terms with a post-oil economy that, in ten years, will be significantly different.
The worst pundits predict fuel rationing or other forceful fuel-reduction measures, such as even higher taxes, by as early as 2018. This is because worldwide demand for petroleum fuels will increase by between two and three per cent per annum at the same time as major oil fields will have passed their peak oil output. England's North Sea’s peak, for example, was 1999. Demand will outstrip supply as early as 2012, even with small new reserves potentially coming online. Pleas for OPEC to increase production to lower prices simply therefore don’t match reality.
Think how all this will affect us in Rhuthun. On Monday, we looked at the possibility of housing growth in villages. Is this irresponsible when on a verge of severe fuel restrictions?
We continually look to tourist visitors to buoy our local economy. How will they get here?
Our dispersed, car-oriented society means we travel away form Rhuthun, for work, for medical care, for shopping. Unless there is a significant change in lifestyle, we simply shall not cope. It’s not as if Rhuthun’s at the end of a railway line any more and even if by a miracle it was rebuilt, it wouldn’t take us over the Bwlch east-west, where we invariably wish to go—or from where our tourists come.
Peak oil and its associated crisis may not be palatable but it’s inevitable. Perhaps now’s the time to come to terms with this while we can, to live with it, for individuals to plan for it. Can we wait for Cardiff or London? Otherwise, it could hit Rhuthun harder, because ours is a smaller rural town and therefore potentially less sustainable.
Meanwhile, petrol prices in Rhuthun have not increased since 14 June 2008, having stabilised at £1.119 per litre (£1.329 for diesel). This in spite of prices increases elsewhere. This meant that the gap between Rhuthun and its supermarket neighbours had closed a little, till Morrison's made its cut of 4p off unleaded, down from its high of £1.179 to £1.139. As at yesterday, this currently means the gap per gallon has moved jumped from 9p to 18p.
Comparison of fuel prices as at 23 July 2008 (struck through prices as at 22 June 2008)
| Filling Station | Unleaded per litre | Diesel per litre |
| Rhuthun Esso | ||
| Rhuthun Texaco | ||
| Dinbych Shell | ||
| Dinbych Morrisons | ||
| Rhyl Sainsbury's | ||
| Rhyl Shell | ||
| Yr Wyddgrug/Mold Esso | ||
| Yr Wyddgrug/Mold Shell | ||
| Yr Wyddgrug/Mold Tesco | ||
| Loggerheads | ||
| Wrecsam Asda | ||
| Wrecsam Tesco |
Update: Esso now £1.179/£1.289 at 6 p.m. 24/7/08. Texaco unchanged
E&OE
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Petrol