Coronavirus: Crisis sees NI price of heating oil and petrol plummet

David Blevings, spokesman for the NI Oil Federation, said oil prices are falling sharply on the back of decreasing demand and increasing stocks.

“With most countries introducing isolation tactics and closing non-essential businesses we are starting to see signs of distress in the oil market with stocks surging and demand falling sharply,” he said.

“The price drop started several weeks ago following a breakdown in talks between Russia and OPEC. OPEC were allegedly attempting to introduce a supply cut to the global oil market but Russia has said no and may have embarked on a price war with the Saudis.

“We have since seen global oil markets being pushed downwards on the expectation of less demand for oil products due to the economic slowdown as a result of the Covid-19 virus.

“The good news is that this reduction in global crude oil prices is feeding into lower refined product prices which in turn influences the wholesale price.

“Since January we have seen a reduction in prices of over 22% on the average retail price of 900 litres of heating oil. If the global cost of oil continues to fall this will inevitably feed into lower retail prices for home heating oil and road fuels which is excellent news for consumers in Northern Ireland.

“While price is one factor in choosing your distributor we would always advocate that consumers should use distributors that have a recognised customer charter in place offering a framework for delivery standards and clear complaints procedure.

“All NIOF members have signed up to a customer charter which is supported by the Consumer Council,” he added.

AA public affairs spokesman Luke Bosdet said the difference between NI and other parts of the UK regarding forecourt prices right now “is startling”.

He added: “I put it down to Asda fuel stations in many of your [NI] cities and major towns, and the Consumer Council being such an effective watchdog.”

He said Northern Ireland diesel is down to 113.94p per litre while unleaded is down to 108.13p.

According to the weekly fuel retail prices for March 30 this makes Northern Ireland notably cheaper than any other UK region, he said.

He said the current situation saw “the biggest weekend fall in recent times” with “much more expected” as wholesale costs “point to £1 a litre average”.

Average petrol pump prices plunged by more than 4p a litre over the weekend, knocking £2 off the cost of filling a tank. Before the weekend, petrol averaged 118.33p a litre. By Monday, it had crashed to 114.01p. Diesel has also dropped heavily, from 120.41p to 118.31p a litre after the weekend. Much greater falls are expected, he added.