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ExxonMobil Dodges "Hot Fuel" Issue, Group Charges

Do new pump labels in California acknowledge a rip-off?

August 10, 2007

The stickers, warning that the energy content of a gallon of fuel varies with its temperature, acknowledge that consumers are being ripped off, said the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.

According to FTCR, the stickers are a strategy to fend off "hot fuel" lawsuits and allow the ripoff to continue. However, the foundation noted that either a current class action lawsuit or federal legislation to require temperature compensation of retail fuel could force oil refiners to fix the problem.

"ExxonMobil, America's most profitable corporation, owes drivers more than a cheap sticker in tiny print," said Judy Dugan, research director of FTCR and its OilWatchdog.org project. "The company has funds that it uses to help dealers with infrastructure, and which could be used to buy nozzles that adjust fuel volume for higher temperatures."

Newly introduced legislation in the Senate, by Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, would require gasoline and diesel to be sold adjusted for temperature, giving motorists a fair gallon's worth of energy for their money.

"Consumers and lawmakers are increasingly aware that there is a thumb on the scale when they buy gasoline, even though they have no fairer alternative for purchasing it," said Dugan.

"The Senate's hot fuel bill is a warning oil companies, refiners and distributors of gasoline that they can either make gasoline sales honest themselves or be forced by the courts or government to do it."

Gasoline, especially in the summer, expands as its temperature rises. But fuel is sold by volume at a benchmark of 60 degrees, so drivers are paying for "ghost gas," the lost energy content of a gallon at any temperature above 60 degrees.

At other parts of the supply chain, the gasoline is sold temperature-adjusted, meaning slightly more gasoline is provided at higher temperatures.

Ghost Gas

The year-round temperature of fuel at the pump in California averages 74.5 degrees, and higher in summer. The national average is 64.7 degrees, according to a study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. At $3.00 a gallon, and with fuel at 75 degrees, motorists may lose 50 cents or more per tankful to "ghost gas."

ExxonMobil said that it would put stickers on its pumps at stations in California and Arizona. A survey of six stations in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, however, found the stickers only at Exxon-owned and franchised stations, not at independently owned but branded Exxon and Mobil stations.

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