BP addresses Opal concerns
Diesel vs hydrogen
July 25, 2006NSW – Vic regional tourism collaboration
July 25, 2006Positive feedback to radio interviews in Alice Springs area
Having read Eskay’s comment in reply to the PWF Roadhouses hold out on Opal fuel article – saying she wouldn’t use Opal again and the word around is that it isn’t good for your car – I got on to BP and spoke to Chandran Vigneswaren of the Opal Team. He said:
- Opal is an equivalent to regular fuel NOT premium;
- the team is now working on a premium version;
- independent testing done in 2004 showed no difference between Opal and regular fuel;
- all bowsers need maintenance eg replacement of seals. If the seals DO need changing then the switch Opal will make this obvious NOT damage the seals;
- last week Chandran did some radio interviews in the Alice Springs region as they had got wind of negative comments;
- it’s natural to be concerned about your vehicle and something new always brings some apprehension;
- end result – positive feedback;
- BP and the federal government continue with the rollout.
BP says the fuel is guaranteed to have no adverse impacts on motor vehicle seals.
“It’s covered, like all of our fuels are, by what’s called a BP fuels guarantee, which basically means that motorists should be confident that this fuel is suitable for use in all of their vehicles that currently use regular unleaded petrol,” says Chandran.
The Opal section of the BP website can be hard to find but there’s a lot of info there – check it out.
4 Comments
Very interesting to read your post on Opal. Here are a few thoughts and questions I’d like BP and/or the government to answer honestly. The comments below are also posted on my web log.
BP markets its BP Ultimate fuel using the following phrases:
Give your engine a power boost
BP Ultimate delivers power benefits compared to ordinary fuels
Upgrade your engine with BP Ultimate
Driving a vehicle fuelled with BP Ultimate can be like driving with a bigger engine …
BP Ultimate can take you further
BP Ultimate can help you achieve extra kilometres per tankful
On the issue of extra mileage, on another page BP says the following:
BP Ultimate really can help you get more kilometres out of your tank than regular unleaded.
Independent tests in a range of vehicles have shown that using BP Ultimate can reduce fuel consumption by up to 5.8% compared to cars using regular unleaded. Some customers may achieve larger improvements.
Although the benefits of BP Ultimate can be achieved almost immediately, the full effects become evident after continuous use. More mileage is derived from a cleaner engine, higher octane and reduced engine friction. Mileage benefits can increase or decrease depending on driving style and distance travelled.
As far as BP Unleaded 95 fuel (formerly BP Premium) goes, BP states on its website that this fuel is “… seasonally blended to help cars start easily, and because of the higher energy content, gives the potential for a reduction in fuel consumption all year round.” [my italics]
Admittedly BP does state Unleaded 95 is “designed to bring high octane and knock free performance to unleaded vehicles with a high octane requirement.” [my emphasis].
It could be argued that my vehicle (Mitsubishi Magna) does not have a high octane requirement. However, BP markets the product in its service stations as being good or even better to use in my car than regular unleaded.
And, as a person who has constantly filled up with Premium (Unleaded 95) or Ultimate, I have to say these fuels do increase my mileage. And I am very pleased with this aspect. I’m also pleased with the fact that my engine runs cleaner. My mechanic thanks me for using the product, he believes the higher octane fuels are extending the life of my car. Great. Fantastic. And being unleaded, it’s doing a little bit for the environment too.
Now we come to the petrol sniffing issue and the roll out of Opal fuel in the NT.
I am glad to hear that BP is working on a premium grade of Opal. However, what is the timeline for this product? My local BP servo says it’ll be a long while yet.
I’ve read and understand BP’s guarantee that Opal will not harm my vehicle.
But what about the decreased mileage from using Opal after years of using BP’s own higher octane fuels? In this era of rapidly increasing fuel prices, using Opal means my fuel costs actually increase as I have to fill up more often.
Which brings us to the ethical debate about Opal and petrol sniffing. Should those of us living in Alice Springs change over to Opal permanently in order to do our bit to help reduce petrol sniffing in our wider community?
Honestly? Unless the government makes Opal mandatory for the NT and removes access to other fuels completely, then whilst I have the choice of fuels I will continue to buy Premium grade unleaded or Ultimate fuel for my car.
Would I be happy if the government made the NT “Opal only”? No, but I would accept the decision. And I can’t help but wonder why this decision is not being made if the petrol sniffing issue is so bad – how do the petrol companies feel about this idea? Or would they stand to lose money?
Presumably due to its proximity to the Aboriginal community of Mutijulu, the tourist village of Yulara down at the Rock is an Opal only village. Sort of.
If you’re a resident of the village (e.g. you work at the resort and live on-site) you can apply to have access to Premium unleaded fuel at the Mobil fuel station (the only fuel station in the village). Isn’t this a bit risky? The black market trade in petrol in some of the indigenous communities is said to be rife. I cannot comment on that, but it does not surprise me that such a trade exists.
If Opal is as good as BP says it is, why then does Mobil in Yulara allow residents special permission to buy Premium unleaded?
I am just seeking to understand. Has BP failed in its marketing to convince Mobil Yulara and the Stuart Highway roadhouses of Erldunda and Kulgera of the benefits and profitability of Opal? Or is it simply recognition that Opal may be considered by many to be an inferior product, good fuel perhaps, clean fuel, but the other fuel types are so much better?
Chandran Vigneswaran – External Affairs, BP Australia said…
Your post certainly raises a lot of issues, and I will try to stick to the core of your query – “Why hasn’t BP introduced a premium or higher octane version of Opal, and when will they?”
In answering this it is worth first saying that Opal was only introduced by BP just over 1 year ago. In that short space of time many communities now have access to Opal and from anecdotal evidence it is having a positive impact.
BP along with the Federal Government and local communities have spent considerable effort in educating communities about the benefits of Opal. This has also meant working with roadhouses and fuel distributors to ensure that they are on board. This does take time, however we are certainly making significant progress.
In terms of a ‘premium’ version of Opal. This is certainly something that BP is investigating. This firstly requires the ability to formulate a product that contains low aromatics and a high octane without any performance or environmental issues. We are certainly looking at what we can do here – but it does take time.
Until we reach a solution there are of course always tradeoffs for what ultimately is a good solution for helping tackle petrol sniffing in the central desert regions.
I am currently in a situation where running Opal fuel from outback sources has damaged my engine to the point where it is cheaper to replace than to repair. BP is not interested in the situation and I am rather annoyed that I had no warning that the fuel creates a higher combustion temperature. This, I was told by many roadhouses and unfortunately I had no choice but to run on the Opal fuel because most places stock nothing else. BP has the test data but will not of course share it, so I am left to foot the bill having used their guaranteed fuel. Does anyone have other experiences like this?
Rupert- It is more likely that the state of your land Rover was such that the Opal wasn’t to blame, but rather the fact that there was poor heat control in regards to the coolant system and radiator.