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Posted by D Sherman [72.47.153.24] on Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 19:25:55 :
In Reply to: Out of curiosity... posted by Bob in North GA [75.90.51.203] on Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 16:58:10 :
Diesel "should" be cheaper because it's easier to make. It used to be a simple distillate fraction rather than having to be cracked, alkylated (?), additive packages added, etc like gasoline. I think there are two main reasons it's not cheaper now. One is supply and demand. Demand for diesel is up, demand for gas is down. The US actually exports refined gasoline by the shipload.
The other is that the new EPA regs have made diesel a much more complicated product than it used to be. Now and then I run across some really old fuel oil, probably from the '60s or maybe the '70s, and it's almost as dark as crude oil. It smells different and it even feels different. It obviously has more sulfur in it, but there are probably other chemical differences as well. I use the stuff in my M35s and D4 and it seems to burn fine. The low-sulfur regs, particular, drove up the price of diesel.