BP says goodbye to LPG

Titch LS · January 27, 2016

If you run your car on LPG here's some not so good news; I understand that BP is pulling out of the British LPG market altogether, but will still keep operating on the Continent. And judging by today's visit to a BP garage on the M1 to tank up, I found that to be all too true. The pump I once used was now a standard petrol/diesel pump. I thought something was up just a few weeks ago when I pulled into a more local BP station near to my village. It was the same story as today, --- no LPG pump where there used to be one. So, for me it's Shell stations only from now on. The two new Morrisons around my way don't sell LPG either, only petrol/diesel. Looks like the squeeze has started on LPG in this country. If you have a local independent supplier you're lucky, but the only problem then will be when travelling much further afield. Now, much more planning will be needed when visiting or passing through those far away places. For us LPG users, if Shell copy BP we're all stuffed. Could ONLY happen in Britain. Enjoy while you can.

mikeyv · January 27, 2016

Bit of a worry.

That said, some BP garages charged rip off prices.

rayaans · January 27, 2016

Makes sense seen as though petrol is cheaper than bottled water though and with cars becoming increasingly fuel efficient

Titch LS · January 27, 2016

That just shows what a rip-off bottled water is then. Petrol here is still very expensive compared to America for instance. I think the push for diesel (now being regretted on health grounds), is one cause for BP pulling out of the LPG market here. Not enough profit in LPG for that greedy shower. LPG has never had the whole-hearted backing of our so-called 'green' government either. It would rather back Diseasel.

Bluesman · January 28, 2016

That's an old story that's been around for several years and they haven't done it yet, even if they do there are thousands of other petrol stations that still supply LPG and then there are all the others that supply it which are not petrol stations.

SHELLDRAKE · January 28, 2016

I always get my L.P.G. at asda @ 49ppl and their petrol is 99ppl, other station around here charge between 56- 59ppl (mostly SHELL)

Titch LS · January 28, 2016

Mike, it might be an old story but it's obvious it's now beginning to bite. If you stay local you'll be ok. But you wait, in the future, because of BP, you will be on a long journey on a motorway somewhere and you won't be able to find any LPG when you need it. You'll have to switch over to double-the-price petrol or make an inconvenient detour. When I changed my car to gas I didn't expect to mucked about by an oil company as big as BP.,i.e. customers can 'go hang'.

dave1 · January 28, 2016

There are an awful lot of LPG/Autogas suppliers in UK where you can fill up. Even rural Lincolnshire has a lot of suppliers. The following might be useful to owners of cars using LPG.

http://www.drivelpg.co.uk/i-have-lpg/where-can-i-purchase-fuel/

As for BP "mucking you about" Brian I think that you will find they still have many outlets supplying LPG and any they have stopped selling LPG from will be on purely commercial grounds.

Bluesman · January 28, 2016

2 hours ago, Titch LS said:

Mike, it might be an old story but it's obvious it's now beginning to bite. If you stay local you'll be ok. But you wait, in the future, because of BP, you will be on a long journey on a motorway somewhere and you won't be able to find any LPG when you need it. You'll have to switch over to double-the-price petrol or make an inconvenient detour. When I changed my car to gas I didn't expect to mucked about by an oil company as big as BP.,i.e. customers can 'go hang'.

You worry to much. When I had my first car modified I was told it wont last, your engine will blow up, if your in an accident your car is more likely to blow up, all of which was based on nothing, there are thousands of LPG filling point and in all the 16 years I have been LPG I have never been without a filling point for LPG. I am paying 44p at the moment which is still way under half of petrol prices. I have traveled all over this country, north south east & west I have also travelled all over Europe, France, Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain and I have probably missed a couple out and I have always found LPG without a problem. It is a lot easier to find in some Continental countries. So I am not worried. One of the reasons that BP are showing sales in a downward slide is they are far to expensive.

PaulyLS400 · March 11, 2016

On 28/01/2016 at 4:08 PM, dave1 said:

There are an awful lot of LPG/Autogas suppliers in UK where you can fill up. Even rural Lincolnshire has a lot of suppliers. The following might be useful to owners of cars using LPG.

http://www.drivelpg.co.uk/i-have-lpg/where-can-i-purchase-fuel/

As for BP "mucking you about" Brian I think that you will find they still have many outlets supplying LPG and any they have stopped selling LPG from will be on purely commercial grounds.

Great link - thanks

Verbout · March 11, 2016

Looking at the link provided I can count about 20 petrol station that are immediate to me, half of that number I use.

Everyone has an LPG pump.

A little alarmist Brian, more a rant than a fact

Titch LS · March 12, 2016

Not alarmist at all. No one is saying that LPG is going to become completely unobtainable, just that BP's pulling out of the British market will make life more inconvenient in the coming days for people making long journeys throughout the country, particularly on motorways. Two BP petrol stations near me have already stopped supply LPG which has made life a bit more inconvenient. Obviously if you fill up at a local (non-BP) supplier and potter around your local area you won't be bothered about whatever BP decides to do.

Bluesman · March 12, 2016

10 hours ago, Titch LS said:

Not alarmist at all. No one is saying that LPG is going to become completely unobtainable, just that BP's pulling out of the British market will make life more inconvenient in the coming days for people making long journeys throughout the country, particularly on motorways. Two BP petrol stations near me have already stopped supply LPG which has made life a bit more inconvenient. Obviously if you fill up at a local (non-BP) supplier and potter around your local area you won't be bothered about whatever BP decides to do.

I never use BP no matter where I am in the country or Europe so it wont make a bit of difference to my life. BP have consistently priced LPG higher than any other suppliers and so never got to build up a regular LPG customer base. LPG is a price sensitive product and that is something BP has never managed to incorporate in the business model. My best guess at BP filling stations is that the large number of customers they serve are business account customers and they don't care what the price is as they don't pay the bill. BP? NO LOSS. My SatNav has all the LPG stations installed in it so its easy when you are in an unknown area to find someone who sells it.

dave1 · March 12, 2016

Totally agree with Mike. There are plenty of LPG Autogas outlets throughout the country. Whilst it may be slightly inconvenient for you, no doubt you will soon get into a new routine of not looking for BP outlets. Also regarding motorways, BP are not the only suppliers to these highly expensive outlets.

Titch LS · March 12, 2016

Mike, I do see your point, but my main gripe is that for me, on long motorway journeys I'm going to be inconvenienced because I will no longer be able to pull into a (admittedly expensive) BP Service Area and fill up, but have to waste time and fuel hunting around for the nearest LPG pump miles away from my home area. Even if I do have sat nav to help me, I'm still being inconvenienced,.

Titch LS · March 12, 2016

Oh well, seems like you all are happy with the situation regarding BP, I'm not. Let's just leave it at that shall we?

mikeyv · March 12, 2016

We only have one LPG pump in Eastbourne, not the cheapest either, and one a few miles away near Hailsham.

The Hailsham one is a BP garage, but I believe the LPG pump is not BP, as there is a sign on there saying something about not being included in some BP scheme.

They also do the cumulative 1p per litre off card, going up to 10p/litre before starting again.

The next station is 20 miles away in Brighton, so we are not well served down here, and can ill afford to see any more close.

Bluesman · March 12, 2016

6 hours ago, Titch LS said:

Oh well, seems like you all are happy with the situation regarding BP, I'm not. Let's just leave it at that shall we?

I don't mind a little inconvenience when I am saving the sorts of money you do running on LPG. If I go somewhere I haven't been before and I know I will need to refill the LPG, I spend 5 mins having a look on the internet to see what there is around. 5mins? I don't mind sacrificing that.

Bluesman · March 12, 2016

5 hours ago, mikeyv said:

We only have one LPG pump in Eastbourne, not the cheapest either, and one a few miles away near Hailsham.

The Hailsham one is a BP garage, but I believe the LPG pump is not BP, as there is a sign on there saying something about not being included in some BP scheme.

They also do the cumulative 1p per litre off card, going up to 10p/litre before starting again.

The next station is 20 miles away in Brighton, so we are not well served down here, and can ill afford to see any more close.

You have a few Calor Gas suppliers that also supply LPG in and around Eastbourne, have you tried those?

Verbout · March 12, 2016

Are people under the impression you can only get LPG at a petrol filling station?

mikeyv · March 13, 2016

5 hours ago, Bluesman said:

You have a few Calor Gas suppliers that also supply LPG in and around Eastbourne, have you tried those?

There is one on the way to Hailsham that supposedly supplies autogas, but doesn't.

Before I moved from Wales, I rang a few Calor and Flogas outlets that supposedly did autogas, only to find they didn't, and the one Flogas that did, decided it wasn't worth bothering with, and closed the pump just before I moved.

When I last looked on the relevant websites, I couldn't find any others, including flogas, although the pump in Eastbourne, polegate services, is, I believe, supplied by Flogas.

I don't mind travelling to Hailsham, as the garage is right next door to a Marquis motorhome and caravan outlet, so I take a gander in there at the same time.

I do the same as you Mike, and check lpg map for where to stop for gas, before setting off on a long trip up north.

However, I now ring the garage/outlet before visiting, having pulled off the motorway to get gas on two occasions, only to find the garages had stopped doing lpg.

A nice up to date site would be a help, as the current ones don't seem to be very well maintained.

Bluesman · March 13, 2016

11 hours ago, Verbout said:

Are people under the impression you can only get LPG at a petrol filling station?

No, I get mine from a Color Gas dealer in the village near to me and have done for years.

MJG · March 13, 2016

Slightly off topic, how come there is no E85 pumps in the England? It looks great for making more power!

Australia and America seem to have E85 on their pumps and can achieve much higher bhp on remaps just by switching fuel :(

mikeyv · March 13, 2016

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/ethanol-promises-e85-and-fuel-economy-page-7

Googled e85 and found the above, which may explain it.

Titch LS · March 13, 2016

MJG, British petrol does now contain ethanol (E85) just like America and Australia, but as our government is more sneaky than theirs it has allowed the oil companies not to disclose this fact. Basically, the public have been hoodwinked. This is because Ethanol is not the wonder fuel you think it is. It is much more corrosive than petrol (ie it's a powerful oxidant) and its long term use can cause car components to fail prematurely. Only newer cars are built to take this into consideration.