Star Oilco

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Star Oilco Speaks On Decarbonizing Heavy Duty Trucks 1024 768 Star Oilco

Star Oilco Speaks On Decarbonizing Heavy Duty Trucks

Decarbonizing Heavy Duty Fleets By Using B99 Biodiesel.

Mark Fitz joined the Clean Cities Coalition Mindful Mobility Tech Talk series for their High GHG Reductions webinar. Mark spoke on the benefits of B99 and how fleets can begin decarbonizing their emissions today!
On September 28th, 2022, three representatives were invited to speak on how they are not only saving large amounts of energy but are also having a big impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

B99 Biodiesel reduces CO2 footprint of a 105,500 GVW truck and trailer by more than half at a lower cost than petroleum diesel.

How Can I Utilize B99 or B100 for Decarbonizing My Own Fleet?

Star Oilco uses The Vector System developed by Pittsburgh-based Optimus Technologies. The Vector System allows upgrades for any medium or heavy-duty engine to operate on 100% biodiesel. This is the only EPA-compliant biodiesel engine system and can be installed in as little as 12 hours. Contact Optimus Technologies or reach out to Star Oilco locally to learn more about The Vector System.

Star Oilco’s Field Test

Star Oilco fielded the Optimus Technologies system on our 105,500 GVW truck and trailers.  We began with a single Freighliner truck and trailer operating a Cummins ISX as a trial.  This truck’s typical route was approximately 305 miles round trip from Portland, Oregon to Grays Harbor, Washington.

Over the last year and a half this truck has performed amazingly well. The only maintenance concern is swapping the fuel filters more regularly with every oil change.  Neither drivers nor our Elog system noticed differences in mileage and power.  On a few occasions a loss of power was experienced requiring an in between service fuel filter swap.

Follow the links below for more information on B99 Biodiesel and Star Oilco’s field test of the Optimus Technologies System:

B99 Biodiesel As A Heavy Duty Fuel

Biodiesel As A Heavy Duty Low Co2 Solution

This event is part of the Columbia Willamette Clean Cities Coalition’s Mindful Mobility Tech Talk series.  A series designed to educate and expand on the evolving trends in fleet technology relevant to fleets seeking to decarbonize their miles traveled.

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5 Strategies to Control Fuel Theft and Track Fuel Spending 1024 554 Star Oilco

5 Strategies to Control Fuel Theft and Track Fuel Spending

How to Control Fuel Theft and Track Fuel Spending in your Business.

With gasoline and diesel costs high, theft is on the rise.  Grab control of your fuel.

Set controls and protections on spending and save money by stopping fuel theft.

Star Oilco is an independent Franchisee of Pacific Pride

5 Strategies to lock down your gas card

Simple monitoring processes can mean thousands of dollars.   Every dollar needs to stretch a little more.  Control your fuel spending.

Protect your business by setting controls and monitoring systems.  As fuel prices have spiked up, it has become a big priority for many.  What was an inconvenience of internal fuel theft of a few hard to replace employees is becoming a very costly problem.  Below is a strategy of how to grab control of your fuel cards.

Use Star Oilco to secure yourself from that fuel theft while also saving on your cost of fuel over retail. Oregon and Washington have some of the highest minimum wages in the U.S.  As the minimum wage and regulations increase, so do the costs at retail gas stations. This is doubly so in Oregon, where you are paying the gas stations employee to fuel your tank and the employee to be there. We can save you money and significantly reduce your risk of fuel theft while also getting your drivers out of retail gas station lines.

Keep a Good Employee Honest

Just like your business experiencing the squeeze of high gas prices, so are your employees commuting to work.  Sometimes when things get tight an employee may make poor choices.  Maybe they use a company credit card to pay a bill, or they fill up their personal vehicle.  Simple controls on your fuel cards could eliminate these issues.  Losing a good employee because they made a bad decision can cost a company a lot of money. Remove the temptation and secure your fleet cards.

Fuel Cards Designed for the Customer Big or Small

Whether your an owner/operator or you are managing a large fleet of corporate vehicles using commercial cardlocks can help you save time and money.  Stand-alone commercial-only Pacific Pride and CFN sites in the northwest are a real resource for businesses. They speed up the labor associated with fueling and significantly lock down the chance fraud or theft will occur on your fuel card. Stand-alone sites limit access to convenience store items so employees won’t be tempted to spend time browsing and make purchases on the company credit card.  If you need even tighter control we can send an email every time your driver uses your Pacific Pride card and a CSV file with your transactions if you have a 3rd party tracking software.  In addition, your bill can be organized by vehicle or driver. Easily identify who, what and where your employees are filling up.

With Pacific Pride and CFN stand-alone commercial cardlock sites, there are other benefits beyond just the convenience. The biggest difference is that these commercial cardlock sites are built with security in mind. Retail stations are engineered to sell as many products as possible to those pulling up for gasoline. Commercial cardlock sites are designed for commercial users who seek the fastest fueling experience. That is a big difference between the two.

Who can get a Pacific Pride or CFN Fuel Cardlock Card?

All you need to access Pacific Pride sites in Oregon is a business license and use over 900 gallons of total fuel a year. CFN commercial cardlock sites have the same requirements. When you work with a company such as Star Oilco that can issue both you only need a total of 900 gallons – not 900 each set.  If you are a business using a commercial quantity of fuel, you qualify to self-serve gasoline and you can stop paying your employees to shop at the most expensive retail gas stations with the best mini-mart selection. Late night fueling becomes easier and less expensive and you can get them back on the road 24-7 and usually without a line to wait in.

 

What Do You Need for Fueling Cards in Washington or any other state?

If you drive into Oregon and want to use gasoline, you still need the same requirements as stated above. If you don’t need access to Oregon gas stations it is much easier to get a fuel card.

Top 5 Strategies to lock down your gas card from theft.

Regardless of what system you choose, use these best practices in your organization. Simple little changes to how you approach fuel cards will greatly reduce any opportunity for theft.

Get out of the gas line

Gas Card Strategy #1

TAKE INVENTORY OF YOUR GAS CARDS – Star Oilco can help with this with an annual review of all of your cards, the last time they were used, and who used them.   Know who has your cards! Every year take inventory of what cards you have and who is using them. A clear card policy implemented by Human Resources or your Dispatcher is a good way to track what employees (or vehicles) have what cards. Star Oilco performs an annual card audit in conjunction with our Oregon Fire Marshall audit.

We’ll gladly supply a list of cards that you have and when they were last used. We can line up a list of active cards with your employees and make sure there isn’t a lost or unused card out there. Using this list, pass a clip board around asking each employee with a fleet card to confirm they still have that card and initial a confirmation that the card is still in their possession. You would be surprised how individual cards can float between employees as it is easier than asking for a new card.

Gas Card Strategy #2

HAVE ACCOUNTS PAYABLE AUDIT YOUR TRANSACTIONS – Star Oilco can provide you with E-Receipts letting you know every time fuel is purchased by an email making it easy in real time.  Review your transactions regularly for strange transactions such as: multiple transactions per day on a single vehicle or card, switching fuel types, and refuels when your business isn’t open. Reviewing your bill, you’ll want to look for transactions that occur outside of normal business hours and days or if certain vehicles are fueling more than once a day these can be indications of theft. An additional indicator is if fuel is being bought outside of your service area. Some of the most common times of day for employee fuel theft are early morning on the way to work (before you open) or after the bars close after midnight.

Gas Card Strategy #3

ATTACH GAS CARDS TO VEHICLE KEYS – Star Oilco can provide you a turnkey program for this strategy with our fleet card program at no additional cost.  By assigning each vehicle in your fleet with its own card is a great practice that communicates this is a card for business and comes back to the business not their own wallet. Put your Fleet Cards on the key ring dispatched with the vehicle. Each driver is then assigned a number that can be used on any vehicle in the fleet. This way you know exactly who is using the card and which vehicle is being filled. To limit a risk of a stolen card, restrict individual card ownership to management and maintenance. Everyone else should have cards directly connected with a vehicles license plate, so it is obvious if that card goes missing.

Gas Card Strategy #4

SET THE GAS CARDS UP WITH LIMITS –  When you assign a card to each vehicle in the fleet you can set limits based on the vehicle. A gasoline vehicle only needs access to gasoline. If your tank size is 20 gallons, that card should be limited to 20 gallons per transaction. Continue to program your cards for the vehicles they are attached to. You can also restrict a card to ensure no one accidentally buys expensive premium or worse, puts the wrong fuel in the vehicle. Reducing the amount of time they can use a card a day limits exposure to theft. A vehicle that never drives more then 50 miles in a day shouldn’t need to fill up more then once a 24 hour period. This reduces the opportunity for theft and also makes theft obvious when the limits are hit. You can also add limits on zip codes, states, and times of days. If someone does steal a card, they would be limited by the time, location, and purchase amount, ensuring that your theft exposure is a few dozen gallons instead of thousands of dollars.

Gas Card Strategy #5

USE E-RECEIPTS TO MANAGE FUEL IN REAL TIME – It’s the 21st century so manage in real time. You can set-up cards to email you based on each card or, if you have one specific one you are are worried about, that card can be set to email you or your fleet management in real time. Better yet, if theft is occurring, you will see it immediately and be able to react. Not only will this lock down your gas card’s security, it will also allow you to address mistakes relating to efficiency. Owners and dispatchers also use this to see where the driver is and if they are where they said they were when they are fueling. Instant feedback and communication is critical to change bad behavior of drivers who mean to do well but may just have made a simple mistake.


Need to lock down your gas card from fuel theft?

Call Star Oilco, we can make it simple.

Star Oilco can help you field all of these best practices. Our motto is “Keep it Simple” and we are here to make this easy. Feel free to reach out and see what Star Oilco can do for your fleet to upgrade its fleet fueling security.

To download a white paper on these Pacific Pride fuel card security feature best practices, go to our Stop Fuel Theft page.

 

Star Oilco is an independent Franchisee of Pacific Pride

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Diesel Loaner Tanks for Construction 683 1024 Star Oilco

Diesel Loaner Tanks for Construction

WE LOAN DIESEL TANKS FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

DYED OFF ROAD DIESEL FUELING SERVICE BY STAR OILCO

Wethose Fueling for Construction

If you need diesel, kerosene, gasoline, biodiesel, or renewable diesel in bulk or as a wet-hose fueling service, we are ready for your project.  We also deliver Diesel Exhaust Fluid on jobsites. We won’t let your generators go down.  Daily routes for diesel fueling in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. 

Star Oilco serves the whole Portland metro area included the ex-burbs.  Our routes deliver to Salem, Oregon as well as Longview and Kelso, Washington.

Call and ask for our Dispatch to set up service today at 503-283-1256.

Off Road Dyed Diesel Delivery

All-dyed construction and generator fuel delivered by Star Oilco is premium diesel treated with Hydrotex PowerKleen. Star Oilco’s premium diesel is stabilized for long-term storage for the total up-time needs of construction fueling. There is an additional treatment of fuel microbiocide to kill and prevent growth of bacteria/algae in your diesel. Star Oilco can add Valvtect BioGuard to your fuel to stabilize your fuel for long term storage upon request as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction season is here.

Star Oilco still has loaner tanks immediately available for your job site, project or temporary fleet needs.  Make life easier and keep your team working hard. Get ahead of the rush and reserve your UL142 double wall loaner tank now.

Just let us know if you need a 12V pump (powered by your equipment’s battery) or a 110V plug in pump with your equipment set up.

Star Oilco has both 550 gallon and 275 gallon tanks with 110% containment meeting UL 142 for your next construction project.  Star Oilco can provide larger tanks if arranged with notice beforehand.  Larger tanks available for longer term project if needed.  We also provide remote tank monitoring on these tanks. These tanks meet fire code in Oregon and Washington for construction refueling and provide temporary storage of fuel on an ever-changing construction job site. Oregon and Washington fire code allow temporary double wall tanks for construction projects where an active permit has been pulled and needs diesel to complete.

Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel is 15 PPM
Please also remember that ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) is the standard of off-road dyed fuel now as well. New off-road equipment will need ultra low sulfur diesel given the modern emission systems required.  This is a recent change.

If you are renting newer equipment, it will have a need for ULSD and Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF). You will need to ensure that any fuel on a jobsite running newer equipment with diesel after treatment is ultra low sulfur diesel fuel. If you are operating your own tanks as you receive newer equipment, you will want to flush the fuel to make sure you get all the higher sulfur fuels out of it. All equipment from Star Oilco is drained as well as flushed prior to deliver as part of our set up.

If you are a contractor, project manager, or need a temporary tank for on-site fuel, we can help. In cases where you need an auxiliary tank, transfer fuel tank, an emergency back-up fuel supply, or even a long-term rented loaner tank for specialized equipment, Star Oilco can solve problems for you. For long-term projects, we can also work to get cardlock and other novel tracking solutions to secure your on-site fuel needs. Give us a call, we are here to help.

Kick the Can Card

Call our Dispatch at 503-283-1256 or tell us what you need in the following Contact Form.

We have loaner tanks immediately available. Open an account and get started today.

 

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Biodiesel as a Heavy Duty Low CO2 Solution 768 1024 Star Oilco

Biodiesel as a Heavy Duty Low CO2 Solution

Save money with Low CO2 Biodiesel in your heavy duty fleet.

In Oregon the state ensures there is a cost associated with the CO2 intensity of a fuel.  This is why Biodiesel is consistently lower cost than petroleum Diesel fuels on the West Coast.  Get ahead of this curve and ensure your fleet benefits.


Why B99 Biodiesel was used in the past?

Prior to 2007 emission systems on modern diesels B99 Biodiesel was commonly used by fleets.  The fact that Biodiesel is a domestic, renewable and low CO2 fuel with a benign tail pipe emission made it popular.  B99 was the preferred fuel of dozens of fleets in the Pacific NW.  After the EPA requirements starting in 2007 which added particulate traps, SCR, their dosing systems, and the general complexity of these clean diesel systems on modern diesels, B99 became problematic.  Specifically the Tier 3 and Tier 4 diesel emission systems had a habit of choking on high blends of Biodiesel approaching B99.  This issue has been solved by Optimus Technologies Vector System.

Why B99 Biodiesel is the solution for Heavy Duty Diesel fleets seeking a Low CO2 solution today?

The Optimus Technologies Vector System provides the solution by enabling two tanks of fuel.  One tank dedicated to the diesel or R99 Renewable Diesel and the other tank dedicated to B100 or B99 pure Biodiesel. These systems optimize the systems of your modern Diesel fleet while also optimizing the performance and realities of the emission systems.

Star Oilco at the National Biodiesel Conference in Las Vegas

Mark Fitz, the President of Star Oilco, was invited to speak in front of a bunch of soy bean farmers on the subject of decarbonizing Heavy Duty diesel fleets.  Below is a walk through of his view on where diesel fleets can go to cut their CO2 emission in half or more today. NOTE: Mark Fitz’s portion begins at 18 minutes.

 

Please reach out to Star Oilco if you have further questions about using B99 or other blends of Biodiesel to reduce your fleet’s operating cost while cutting CO2 emissions in half.

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How to save money with a commercial fuel card 1024 544 Star Oilco

How to save money with a commercial fuel card

Save money with a commercial fuel card by avoiding the credit card retail price and preventing fuel theft in your business.

How do you avoid the higher credit card prices at gas stations?

Buy Your Fuel at a Commercial Cardlock

Make sure that employee fuel theft is not robbing from your bottom line.

 

 

  • Buy Diesel from Pacific Pride and CFN Commercial Cardlocks over retail gas stations.
  • Use a secure Fleet Card that ensures that employee theft is locked down.
    • Make sure your company’s Fleet Card is secured for:
      • A Fleet Card attached to the individual vehicle with a secure identifiable PIN for each employee.
      • Only the times of day you operate.
      • Only the days of the week you operate.
      • Only the fuel products your vehicle uses.
      • A limited number of transactions a day to ensure if a card gets misused the amount is extremely reduced.
      • A real time “E-Receipt” that notifies you of fuel purchases in real time to better manage employees for your fuel costs.

Wholesale pricing at a Pacific Pride commercial cardlock.

 Take control of your fuel spend by buying wholesale instead of retail gasoline.

Over the last year fuel costs have jumped to record highs.   Retail gas and diesel prices in particular are high compared to wholesale market purchasing opportunities for fleets.  Retail posted prices for credit card purchases further increase the cost on your business.

Commercial gas station cards that direct your fleet to buy fuel at convenience stores cost far more than the posted price for fuel.  Many of these gas stations also price diesel fuel with the same mark up as premium gasoline. By getting your employees out of the retail fuel line save in several ways.

How do you save with Commercial Cardlock over a retail gas station?

PRODUCTIVITY – Get out of retail gas lines and self serve your fleet 24-7-365.

PURCHASE CONTROLS – Lock down your fleet cards by vehicle, fuel type, time of day, and Zip Codes to ensure a either a well meaning employee doesn’t buy the wrong product or  a stolen wayward card does not rob from your bottom line.

WHOLESALE AVERAGE BASED PRICING – Buy your diesel and gasoline from a verifiable wholesale index.  Pacific Pride Commercial Cardlock sites are all based from an auditable OPIS Average market index plus our agreed margin. Know what and why you are paying for fuel.  (NOTE: Star Oilco will gladly help you audit your current fuel purchase program)

FLEXIBLE – Star Oilco can combine our fleet card program with Mobile Onsite Fueling and our billing simplifies your fuel program management by consolidating all purchases by your license plates on one invoice. Our Mobile Onsite Fueling and Commercial Cardlock invoices are combined showing you all purchases on one invoice also available for export in a CSV file.

You will first of all pick up productivity, a lack of managerial control, as well as a system that conceals employee theft is tied to the cost of buying fuel.  Move your fleet fuel purchases to Pacific Pride’s network card and save per gallon as well by restricting the fuel purchases you would not want.

Now is the time to look at your total cost of fuel.

Let us help you audit your fuel program.

We will help you clarify your bill by showing what you pay, what’s in that cost of fuel, and how you can save going forward. We do this by concentrating on one fact: there are only three fees in the total cost of a gallon of gas or diesel.

How we approach buying commercial fuel with a gas card.  There are only three parts of your fuel cost.  Let us help you understand what you pay for fuel:

  1. The commodity cost of fuel (the wholesale and verifiable fuel cost itself),

  2. The fuel taxes charged by the feds, state, and local governments on top of that, and;

  3. The margin your fuel vendor puts on top of those two very transparent costs.

Fuel bill audit best practices

Tax time is a good time to revisit your policies and systems.

Let us audit your bill and catch inconsistencies and over charges.

We have a transparent way to analyze your fuel expense that breaks it down in an easily understood format. Our approach will demystify what you’re paying in fuel so you can grab control of your gasoline and diesel bills. Our mission is to ‘Keep it Simple’ and make fuel make sense. There are several types of expenses that get added to your cost of fuel.

Pacific Pride Fuel Security

At Star Oilco, we ‘Keep it Simple’ when analyzing fuel bills.

Today, two trends can be witnessed in the Pacific Northwest: fuel prices are all over the place, and wages are rising against that trend. This makes managing for a low cost of gasoline or diesel extremely hard given the labor that might be involved in chasing that price.

Add to that the fact that retail gas stations are keeping more margins than ever in retail fuel history. With minimum wages approaching $15 in parts of the Pacific NW, the cost of retail gas stations is rising faster than inflation.

Stand-alone commercial cardlock locations such as Pacific Pride and CFN help you save on your own labor, as well as avoid the higher retail cost. One additional feature is you can audit a commercial cardlock fuel seller against the commercial wholesale rack price. Retail sellers promising discounts are discounting from a posted price that is based solely on what they decide a good price can be. Today, that’s a historically high margin above wholesale cost price.

Dig into your bill for an understanding of what you are paying and what you are paying for. Let us demystify the fees, charges, and hard-to-understand line items of our competitors. It seems that many of our competitors, much like cell phone companies, want to give you a bill that is as complex as possible so it’s difficult for you to understand your cost of fuel.

We can clarify your bill by showing what you pay, what’s in that cost of fuel, and how you can save going forward. Commodity cost of the fuel, fuel taxes and the margin of the vendor make up every fuel bill.

Wholesale Fuel Cost + Taxes + Margin = Total Fuel Cost

These three costs can be audited and confirmed. When we quote a prospective customer, we take their existing fuel bill and break it down into a spreadsheet that is easy to understand thanks to these definable costs. Take your existing fuel bill. Choose a few locations that are most commonly used by your fleet. Usually just the two most-used sites are enough to gauge if savings can be gained by changing vendors. Focus on the cost there, as this simplifies your focus as a representative sample of your fuel expenses.

In a spreadsheet, make easy-to-read tabs for each fuel and location. Then gather the dates fuel was bought at each location. Place the date and the price per gallon paid in their own columns. Now you know your cost. In the next column, enter the wholesale price of fuel to compare. This is going to be pretty close to what your fuel vendor was paying for it on that day give or take a few pennies.

The commodity cost of fuel is established in the market. Though different size players have discounts, these discounts are usually pennies per gallon and aren’t substantial overall. You can request a 30 day free trial of the Oil Price Information Service or “OPIS” for your local wholesale market for fuel. Government bids often use this service as a transparent bid price for fuel. NOTE: If you are buying with a Pacific Pride or CFN fleet card that uses stand-alone 24-7 commercial cardlock sites, the price will be based on OPIS as well. If you want help with this, Star Oilco can provide you with a copy of OPIS.

After that, the next column is the fuel taxes on that fuel. In another column next to the wholesale cost of fuel, you place the local taxes associated with that fueling site. Your state will usually have a “Fuel Tax Group” or some variation of that name where the state’s website will list all state and municipal taxes.

After seeing the wholesale cost and fuel taxes charged, all that remain is the margin. Many fuel sellers will try to complicate this by passing costs through, but at the end of the day, this is still their markup regardless of what they call it. This enables you to really have a discussion on what price you are charged to use their fleet card.

Our next step is to determine the typical margin you are being charged. Take the real price you paid on a day. Your next column on the spreadsheet will be the following formula:
NOTE: Margin Charged is the result that should be in your new column.

(Cell with the ACTUAL PRICE PAID) – (Cell with the WHOLESALE COST) – (Cell with FUEL TAXES) = MARGIN CHARGED

If you line up all the days for MARGIN CHARGED and average those (select a cell at the bottom of the column and type “=AVG” and select the data in the MARGIN CHARGED column), you will find the average margin. Usually this is about the same on every one of the sheets for the type of fuel you are buying. Diesel and gasoline margins are typically different. Retail gas stations, in particular, will treat diesel like a premium product so don’t be surprised if those margins are over $.40 a gallon in some places.

If you want help with this, call us!

We will empower you with the knowledge of what your vendor is charging you and determine if it is a fair price for the service. Beyond that, there should be no other costs. If your vendor has other costs (fees, invoice charges, etc.), we’ll show you what those really cost per gallon so you understand your true cost fuel.

Star Oilco makes this clear and easy to understand. Let us know if we can help.

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For more on what is required to self serve gasoline as a small business in Oregon.

For more on Fueling Solutions developed for small businesses dedicated to managing a fleet and drivers for local Delivery. 

Call for service.

 

 

 

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7 Ways to Stop Fuel Theft Before it Happens 1024 556 Star Oilco

7 Ways to Stop Fuel Theft Before it Happens
STOP FUEL THEFT

IN YOUR BUSINESS TO REALLY SAVE ON YOUR COST OF DIESEL AND GASOLINE

Save money by managing  your diesel and gasoline fleet cards. Know who, how, and where fuel is bought.

In the new world of diesel and gasoline over $5 you need a strategy to control where and how fuel is bought by your business.

Controlling your fuel expense can be time consuming and vital for any business. We recommend approaching it from a Human Resource management perspective.

Seize control of the use of fuel cards with real time feedback:

  • Who is buying
  • What type of fuel
  • Where it’s bought
  • When are they buying

Set a clear standard and make sure you put controls on your fleet cards to ensure you keep honest employees from doing something that requires discipline.  Below are some of the best practices for controlling your fleet’s fuel purchases.

7 Ways to Stop Fuel Theft Before it Happens

Why Pacific Pride and CFN Fleet Cards?

Often we are asked how to save money on fueling a small business fleet.  Usually the biggest cost isn’t the pennies you save per gallon, but the gallons you can save by stopping theft.  To save money on gasoline, make sure you aren’t paying for thieves to use your small business fuel cards.

Every fuel business seeks to avoid fuel slippage – the loss of fuel due to theft, waste or buying the wrong and/or more expensive fuel product. How can you secure the slippage, once and for all?  These steps not only help with managing employees, but they can help you spot unusual purchases from stolen or skimmed cards. Skimming is when thieves hide a device that copies cards information and pin information. Thieves then clone the card and can attempt to use them in other locations.  Using fuel cards vs Credit cards can save owners thousands of dollars.  Employees have less access to non-authorized purchases and thieves can’t use fuel cards to purchase other items.

Star Oilco can help you establish a program to eliminate fuel slippage that includes an easy-to-use management process and enforcement of a “No Tolerance Fuel Theft Policy.”

Star Oilco has a simple and effective approach designed to empower you to easily manage your fuel cards.

Cardlock and secure fleet cards have been around since the 1970s and oddly enough, our competitors fail to field them properly. Star Oilco is here to help and would like to give you some simple and efficient practices to eliminate fuel slippage. We have an easy to implement strategy to lock down your cardlock and fleet cards in order to knock out the opportunity for fuel theft in your business.

Fuel cards assigned to the vehicle not the person

By attaching the fuel cards to the vehicle and not the human being, you immediately break the driver’s belief that the company is providing fuel to them and not the company vehicle.

That’s why we recommend you attach the fleet card to the vehicle key chain and NOT in a driver’s wallet. For additional security, employ a Corporate Fleet Card that is secured by a PIN.  Star Oilco recommends either Pacific Pride or CFN, both of which are in the Fuelman Network. Star Oilco will provide you with a keychain designed to hold up to two fleet cards.

Each Person has a secret PIN

Use a “Floating PIN” system where every member of the team has a secret PIN that is only to be used by them.

We recommend attaching fuel cards to the vehicle key chain and having each driver use their own secret PIN to purchase fuel. With this secret PIN, Star Oilco’s Fuel Cards track their name with every fuel purchase. Their name will appear next to the transaction on the bill and on an E-Receipt confirming who bought what, when, and where. This personalizes all fuel usage. Many companies already have a secret PIN policy around time cards and clocking in and out of work. This Best Practice stacks well with that.

Enforce a "No Tolerance Fuel Theft"

Implement and enforce a “No Tolerance Fuel Theft Policy” that every employee must sign.

Policies vary but should generally include language that requires the use of a fleet card for fuel purchases, states that PIN use is tracked by employee, confirms that employees are held accountable for any wrongdoing associated with their PIN and acknowledges that fuel theft will lead to immediate termination.  Star Oilco’s approach documents and provides evidence as well as real time knowledge for you to respond and ensure a fuel theft culture doesn’t grow in your business.

If you have fuel thieves in your business, make sure you document it at a Human Resource level.  In many states a first time a fuel thief is caught they may still qualify for unemployment when dismissed.  A No Tolerance Fuel Theft Policy when you on-board a new employee protects your from thieves getting away with it at the expense of your business.

Set-up E-Receipts for purchases

Use E-Receipts to reinforce your fuel policy.

An E-Receipt is a real-time email showing who bought what fuel, when and where, as it happens. Make sure this E-Receipt is going to several levels in your office, where employees are paying attention to what your drivers are doing.  If your fleet knows that their fuel purchases are completely transparent, they will think twice before doing something convenient for themselves over what the company needs. When a driver buys the wrong product, or was getting fuel out of route, you can follow up immediately to reinforce your fuel policies without waiting for a bill to show up at the end of the month. This is a great tool to spot additional transactions that may not be coming from your employees.  “Get an email every time your fleet stops for fuel” is another article that talks about this if you would like more information.

Limit hours and locations for Usage
Star Oilco can limit your fuel cards to work only during your business hours and/or within your territory.

Whether your territory is an entire state or limited to specific zip codes, you can define where your fleet can get fuel and where they cannot. And to avoid late night or early morning fuel theft, consider disabling your fuel cards during specified periods of the day or week, so that your cards don’t work when you don’t want them being used. This can easily be done as you need it by either contacting Star Oilco and asking us to do it for you, or by logging into your online Pacific Pride / CFN portal to set these restrictions yourself.  Cards with limits are less attractive to thieves the more you can limit the usage the less appealing your card is for skimming thieves.

Limit the amount of fuel per purchase

Set up your cards to only allow for a certain quantity or specific grade of fuel.

Consider limiting the volume of fuel purchased to match the size of a vehicle’s tank. Also, limit the number of transactions per day as well. That way, if for some reason that card gets stolen and someone has a working PIN, their theft is thoroughly limited.

Review your bill - Annual audit at least

Ask your vendor to review of all the cards and PINs you’ve used throughout the year.

Star Oilco seeks to do this annually. As per the state of Oregon (where Star Oilco is located), we receive a Fire Marshall audit every year and as they audit our cardlock records, we do the same and review every card and PIN for that year. You should do this too and Star Oilco can help. We recommend turning off all cards that are not being regularly used, which also allows you to adjust other details as needed. If you would like more information about this ‘What’s in a “Keep it Simple Fuel Audit”’ tells a little more about how we can review your current bill and simplify what you’re spending, where you’re spending it and give you tips on how to save some money.

Why use Commercial Cardlock over a retail gas station fleet card?

Commercial Cardlock locations in the CFN and Pacific Pride network are designed for business.  Fast and easy in and out to save your business on labor as well as far more competitive prices especially on diesel.  In Oregon where self serve gasoline is limited there are rules to using fleet cards at stand along cardlock locations.  Here are the rules involved with getting a Pacific Pride or CFN commercial cardlock card which enables you 24-7-365 access to stand alone commercial fuel stations.

If you would like to learn more fill out the following form.

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What does a business need to use Pacific Pride or CFN in Oregon? 1024 931 Star Oilco

What does a business need to use Pacific Pride or CFN in Oregon?

How to Get a Pacific Pride fuel card in Oregon

If you have ever wondered what was required to use a stand alone commercial cardlock location in Oregon – we have answers.  Any user of diesel can self serve diesel at a Pacific Pride or CFN cardlock.  If you need gasoline for a commercial purpose in Oregon and buy over 900 gallons a year you can pump your own gas at a Pacific Pride commercial cardlock.

Proud provider of Pacific Pride and CFN Fleet Cardlock CardsStar Oilco is an Independent Franchisee of Pacific Pride

Pacific Pride and CFN stand-alone cardlock sites allow commercial users to self serve gasoline 24-7 with security you can not get at any retail station.

Get your employees out of gas lines and ensure control over what they buy.

 

Pacific Pride and CFN are the most secure and convenient ways to buy commercial fuel.

Corporate gas cards are extremely attractive to thieves.  If you are a large purchaser of fuel, having a clear system in place to secure your employee’s fuel buying will be the single most critical component to control your cost of fuel. If you have a small fleet of even one vehicle every purchase can mean the difference of a profit or loss for that day.  Controlling where, when, what fuel, and how much they can buy at some point will be the biggest cost saving strategy you can have. Otherwise fuel theft will creep.

Use Pacific Pride commercial cardlock so your business has twenty-four hour access to fuel.

Star Oilco fleet card program has a clear and simple system to enable your business to seize control of fleet fuel purchases.

If you have a fleet operated by employees and face regular turn over in your business, you are exposing your business to fuel theft. You have to ensure these vehicles can get fuel, while not endangering your bottom line to thieves either inside or outside of your business.

Pacific Pride and CFN fuel cards are designed for small business fleets in mind. They are gas or diesel fleet card options focused on eliminating theft in your operation. They are designed to protect small businesses from fuel theft and give management control over when, where, and what is bought. However, Oregon has limits on self-serve in urban areas. Therefore, there are rules associated with using unattended fleet cards, or “cardlock” fueling, as it is commonly called.

Using Commercial Cardlock in Oregon is a solution to both fuel theft and lost driver productivity.

Whether you are a large dispersed fleet or a small business with a fleet of one.  We can secure your fueling needs from theft. Send any questions you have our way.

Use of a fleet card dedicated for service at a commercial cardlock is the best way to secure your fleet from fuel theft. This will guarantee you seize control of your fleet fueling. For this reason, in Oregon where self-serve is not the standard way of fueling, far more stand-alone 24-7 cardlock locations are available under the Pacific Pride and CFN brands. In Oregon, gasoline is not legally dispensed without a few safety precautions required by Oregon state, so there are other factors a business needs to consider in using it.

Oregon law does not allow self-serve gasoline along the I-5 corridor.  Diesel is legally allowed for self-serve, but gasoline as a Class 1 flammable liquid is not. “Class 1 Flammable Liquid” means any liquid with a flash point below 25 degrees Fahrenheit.  Note: Diesel fuel is not a Class 1 flammable liquid.  Therefore the Oregon fire marshal has rules restricting the use of commercial cardlock gasoline for individual uses. For commercial uses, Pacific Pride, CFN, Comdata, Voyager and other commercial cardlock networks are allowed for businesses in Oregon.  If you are a fleet operator or an individual outside of Oregon, these requirements do not apply in your home state, but if you substantially operate in Oregon, the state fire marshal will have an expectation of these rules applying to you.

Pacific Pride Fueling Network Provider

What are the rules for using commercial cardlock in Oregon?

  • Business usage is required for gasoline cardlock fleet card use in Oregon (not any other state).
  • If you are using solely diesel, commercial cardlock is available to everyone (individuals and businesses).
  • If you are planning on fueling gasoline vehicles, you must have a business license (or prove it’s for commercial use).
    • NOTE: Self-serve laws have changed and allow for rural Oregonians outside of the Willamette Valley to use cardlock for self-serve in parts of Oregon. Call Star Oilco for more information on this.
  • To access gasoline at cardlock in Oregon, you must be able to prove that you use over 900 gallons of fuel a year.
  • To access gasoline at cardlock in Oregon, someone in your business must also take a Oregon Fire Marshal Safety Test.
    • NOTE: Message Star Oilco below for a copy of the Oregon Fire Marshal Safety Test.

If you have questions about Pacific Pride or other cardlock systems please don’t hesitate to contact Star Oilco with any questions you may have. Star Oilco has a long tradition of making cardlock easy for businesses large and small. In particular, we specialize in helping you secure fuel usage to eliminate fuel theft and reduce any chance or opportunity for thieves.

Star Oilco Logo with Phone numberPacific Pride Franchise Logo

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For More on Using Fleet Cards and Cardlock Cards as a Management Tool:

For more on using a cardlock card as a Pre-Set Fuel Card similar to a prepaid credit card please read this article. 

Star Oilco recommends that fleets use a “Zero Tolerance Fuel Theft Policy” as an Human Resource tool to document that fuel theft is a firing offense on the first event. For more information and an example of a “Zero Tolerance Fuel Theft Policy” please see this article.

If you are interested in using a secure Commercial Cardlock card with Wet-Hose Refueling together as a fuel buying and labor efficiency strategy, here is an article on improving your fleet fueling efficiency. 

For a downloadable white paper on how to eliminate fuel theft in your business please see www.NoMoreFuelTheft.com for this shareable PDF.

about-diesel-fuel
What is Heating Oil? 1024 512 Star Oilco

What is Heating Oil?

In the Pacific Northwest heating oil is diesel.

Star Po;cp Crest

New heating oil customers often ask us, “What is heating oil?” Heating oil is diesel fuel and there are several grades and types. For Star Oilco our standard heating oil product is a ultra low sulfur diesel with a 5% biodiesel blend in order to meet Oregon mandates for off-road diesel fuel. That way our heating oil trucks can also serve construction fueling, emergency back up generators, and other common off-road diesel uses.

Star Oilco has a simple Heating Oil FAQ available.

For full on fuel nerds though, check out this more in depth deeper technical dive below.  If we leave anything out please don’t hesitate to ask for those seeking a nerd-level understanding of heating oil, kerosene and bioheat.

There are three typically grades of heating oil you can order.

Number 1 Diesel

Number 1 diesel is also called Kerosene or Stove Oil. This fuel has a lighter specification than typical heating oil which enables it to burn better in a “pot burner” or wick heater. Kerosene has its own specification as the fuel used by wick heaters. Kerosene is typically Number 1 diesel but not all Number 1 diesel’s are kerosene due to the need to be taken up by a wick heater. Any biodiesel content in a kerosene product WILL NOT work in a wick kerosene heater. So be very aware of confirming that your kerosene has never come into any contact with a biodiesel blend of fuel.

Red Number 2 Diesel

Red dyed diesel also called Heating Oil, Dyed Diesel, Off-Road Diesel is the default heating oil fuel. The fuel is dyed red to denote no on-road fuel taxes are attached to it. When you call and ask for heating oil, this is the fuel you are requesting. Clear or Green Number 2 Diesel is the fuel sold at retail gas stations and truck stops. That fuel will also work in your furnace, you just are paying for on-road taxes attached to that fuel.

Bioheat or Biodiesel Heating Oil

“Bioheat” is a blend of biodiesel and petroleum diesel to make a lower emission and lower CO2 heating fuel.  Typically Bioheat is Number 2 Heating Oil with a 20% blend of biodiesel or higher in it. It is a drop-in fuel for your heating oil furnace. There is no change other than routine maintenance is required. It is a cleaner burning fuel with a significant drop in CO2 emissions associated with your heating oil fuel consumption.  If you would like more information on biodiesel as a heating oil you can follow this link.

B20 Biodiesel Heating oil provider

Where do heating oil companies get their fuel?

In the Portland, Oregon market, diesel is fungible. Everyone buys or is expected to mix their fuel from each other in some way. Primarily this is due to the Portland/Vancouver market receiving most of its fuel down the Kinder Morgan-operated Olympic Pipeline. Which means all the refiners transporting fuel are mixing their product in transit. Additionally, there are shared terminal locations, which also have co-mingled owned diesel products.

Every refiner is typically expecting to mix their diesel and gasoline products. The difference is in the care a vendor takes to filter the fuel, using additives and continuously check their fuel quality. If you are buying at the absolute lowest price possible, know that there is an incentive to skip any added value of quality assurance.

Star Oilco buys our diesel products from a variety of vendors. The source refiner typically being either BP, Shell, Marathon(formerly Tesoro), Phillip 66, or a number of other refiners.

Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington are not unique in in having fungible diesel and heating oil fuel specifications. Through its Pacific Operations unit, Kinder Morgan operates approximately 3,000 miles of refined products pipeline that serves Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Texas. With roots dating back to 1956, it is the largest products pipeline in the Western U.S., transporting more than one million barrels per day of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel to our customers. The company-owned terminals also provide additional services, such as liquid petroleum product storage and loading facilities for delivery trucks.

The heating oil and biofuel blends Star Oilco sells its customers

Heating oil is essentially off-road diesel. You can legally use a higher sulfur content for boilers and heating systems than you can off-road equipment and back-up generators. Regardless, we sell the lowest sulfur fuel available and optimize our fuel to be as versatile to our customers as possible. Construction equipment, back up generators and a host of others systems use off-road diesel, as do heating oil systems. Star Oilco sells the same diesel fuel specification for all of our off-road uses.

We also blend this fuel with biodiesel for our customers that want higher blends of low CO2 biodiesel fuels and heating oil. Star Oilco carries nothing but ultra low sulfur diesel fuels. In fact, our minimum blend of biodiesel is a B5 biodiesel blend (5% biodiesel and 95% petroleum diesel) and we also offer B20 (20% biodiesel blend) and B99 (99% pure biodiesel) for our customers.

About Diesel Fuels Specifications 

In the United States, diesel fuel is controlled according the American Society for Testing and Materials Standard D975-97. This standard describes a limited number of properties that diesel fuels must meet. It should be noted that the requirements are all performance-based, meaning they do not mandate the composition of the fuel, only the specific performance related requirements demanded of a fuel for a diesel engine. The requirements of D975 are described below.

ASTM Specifications for Diesel Fuel Oils (D975)*

*More info on ASTM specifications

Diesel fuel is characterized in the United States by the ASTM standard D975, which identifies five grades of diesel fuel. We are only going to talk about the two most popular commercially diesel fuel used — No 1 and No. 2 diesel. The ASTM D975 standard is made up of a series of different tests that check the characteristic ranges of a fuel to confirm it is adequate to operate in your equipment.

In simple terms, they are checking for specific gravity, the vapor point (when it turns into a gas), the flash point (when it catches fire), the dirt content, water content (how much microscopic entrained water) and a host of other requirements diesel must meet in order to be legal to be sold for use in your engine.

Grade No. 1-D and Ultra-Low Sulfur 1-D:

This is a light distillate fuel for applications requiring a higher volatility fuel to accommodate rapidly fluctuating loads and speeds, as in light trucks and buses. The specification for this grade of diesel fuel overlaps with kerosene and jet fuel, and all three are commonly produced from the same base stock. One major use for No. 1-D diesel fuel is to blend with No. 2-D during winter to provide improved cold flow properties. Ultra-low sulfur fuel is required for on-highway use with sulfur level < 0.05%. 

Grade No. 2-D and Ultra-Low Sulfur 2-D:

This is a middle- or mid-grade distillate fuel for applications that do not require a high volatility fuel. Typical applications include high-speed engines that operate for sustained periods at high load. Ultra-low sulfur fuel is required for on-highway use with sulfur level < 0.05%.

Biodiesel Fuels for Heating Oil

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel produced from oil seed crops, used cooking oil, and/or animal fat waste. It is chemically similar to petroleum diesel, and is produced by combining the oil stock with catalysts and then heating it. Biodiesel is not the same as vegetable oil or SVO (straight vegetable oil) and can be used in any diesel engine.

Biodiesel and biodiesel blends significantly reduce tailpipe emissions, especially carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and particulates (black smoke). ASTM D975 standard, as of 2008, allowed up to 5 percent biodiesel to be blended into the fuel. This is the called B5 — the ‘B’ stands for biodiesel and 5 stands for up to 5 percent biodiesel.

B6 to B20 – ASTM D7467-17:

Diesel blends up to 20% and more than 6% are referred to as B20. Biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel than petroleum diesel. Using biodiesel can help reduce the amount of harmful emissions released into the air. Emissions such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other compounds found in diesel exhaust. Read the ASTM D7467-17 standards.

B99 & B100 –  ASTM D6751-15ce1:

These are fuels made of up to 100% biodiesel. Due to environmental regulations, most retailers will carry a maximum of B99. The standards for B99 and B100 are identical. Unlike gasoline, biodiesel can gel at cold temperatures. This can cause stress on fuel pumps and fuel injection systems, or can clog filters or even become too thick to pump to the engine. B99 has a higher temperature gel rate – meaning that it begins to cloud and thicken at higher temperatures – than conventional diesel.

“The cloud point of soybean biodiesel is about 34°F (1°C), whereas the cloud point for No. 1 diesel is about – 40°F (-40°C) and for No. 2 diesel between -18°F (-28°C) and +20°F (-7°C).” (Biodiesel Cloud Point and Cold Weather Issues) The solutions for cold weather involve additives and lower blends to ensure continuous operations. Read the ASTM D6751-15ce1 standards.

FURTHER READING ON DIESEL FUEL:

For a question and answer format about heating oil please see: Every question Star Oilco has been asked about Heating Oil

Here is an article about: an In-depth look at Biodiesel as a heating fuel 

Read about Star Oilco’s approach to Fuel Quality Assurance: Star Oilco – Precision Fuel Management

Read about dealing with biological growth in your diesel tank: Bioguard Plus 6 biocide treatment for diesel

Get Chevron’s Technical Manual to Diesel Fuel (essentially an easy to read text book on diesel): Chevron’s Fuel Technical Review

Get a white paper from Donaldson Filtration on tier 4 engines and fuel cleanliness: Donaldson on Tier 4 Engine Fuel Contamination

Read more about Donaldson Desiccant Breathers for bulk diesel tanks: Why use a Donaldson Desiccant Breather for a bulk diesel storage tank.

delivery-driver-fueling-solutions-star-oilco-portland-oregon
Delivery Driver Fueling Solutions 1024 683 Star Oilco

Delivery Driver Fueling Solutions

Delivery Drivers are more in demand than ever.

The world has changed.

People are discovering the benefits of having food, groceries and everyday products delivered right to their door.

If you are a delivery driver or you have a fleet of drivers, the ability to have access to 24/7 fueling stations, controlling your expenses, and protecting yourself from fraud is important.

Star Oilco is an independent Franchisee of Pacific Pride

Cardlock access to fuel all day every day

A new year and delivery seems to be here to stay.  Do you have a way to fuel your delivery drivers and protect your costs at the same time?

The ability to have products delivered and a way to fuel those that are delivering is more important than ever.  Delivery drivers are needed more and more today.  Turnover is high, and and trying to control spending can easily become a full time job. If you’re on the road delivering  you need to be sure that you have fuel and a way to control purchases at the same time.  The solutions is Pacific Pride fuel cards.

New delivery drivers and employees mean new risks – control those risks with Fuel cards.

The world is shifting towards businesses that can deliver to the customer versus those in traditional retail.  If you need to control these expenses its important to have systems in place.  Don’t put yourself at risk by handing out Credit Cards to new employees. Instead use Pacific Pride fuel cards and set limits for your drivers and employees on what they can buy, when, where and how much.  Credit cards can be abused and it may be weeks later before you know it happened.  With fuel cards you can get an email in real time as each transaction is used.

Protect your business by setting controls and monitoring systems.  If your business is picking up, there is less time to monitor individual employees.   Set up systems that control waste and extra expenses, while giving employees the fuel they need to move your equipment.  If your business is slowing down you will need to tighten your belt and watch every expense.  The same controls can be used on your cards to monitor and adjust the fuel expenses.

All you need to access Pacific Pride sites in Oregon is a proof that you are a business and use over 900 gallons of total fuel a year.  CFN commercial cardlock sites have the same requirements. If you are a business using a commercial quantity of fuel, you qualify to self-serve gasoline and you can stop paying your employees to shop at the most expensive retail gas stations with the best mini-mart selection. Late night fueling becomes easier and less expensive and you can get them back on the road 24-7 and usually without a line to wait in. (If you want more information about business requirements see here)

Combine Fueling Cards and On-Site Fueling

If you have a fleet of vehicles that park at a yard every night on-site fueling might also be an option.  This service, also called wet-hose fueling, can help cut costs associated with drivers by reducing the amount of time they are fueling and not delivering product. With larger fleets this can save significant time and expand your capacity for product distribution.  At Star-Oilco we can combine both for a more comprehensive solution.  If you would like to know more about On-Site Fueling options here is the link.

What Do You Need for Fueling Cards in Washington or any other state?

If you drive into Oregon and want to use gasoline, you still need the same requirements as stated above. If you don’t need access to gasoline in Oregon, it is much easier to get a fuel card. (check out those requirements here)

Top 5 Strategies to lock down your gas card from theft.

Get out of the gas line

Gas Card Strategy #1

TAKE INVENTORY OF YOUR GAS CARDS – Know who has your cards! Every year take inventory of what cards you have and who is using them. A clear card policy implemented by Human Resources or your Dispatcher is a good way to track what employees (or vehicles) have what cards. Star Oilco performs an annual card audit in conjunction with our Oregon Fire Marshall audit.

We’ll gladly supply a list of cards that you have and when they were last used. We can line up a list of active cards with your employees and make sure there isn’t a lost or unused card out there. Using this list, pass a clip board around asking each employee with a fleet card to confirm they still have that card and initial a confirmation that the card is still in their possession. You would be surprised how individual cards can float between employees as it is easier than asking for a new card.

Gas Card Strategy #2

HAVE ACCOUNTS PAYABLE AUDIT YOUR TRANSACTIONS – Review your transactions regularly for strange transactions such as: multiple transactions per day on a single vehicle or card, switching fuel types, and refuels when your business isn’t open. Reviewing your bill, you’ll want to look for transactions that occur outside of normal business hours and days or if certain vehicles are fueling more than once a day these can be indications of theft.

An additional indicator is if fuel is being bought outside of your service area. Some of the most common times of day for employee fuel theft are early morning on the way to work (before you open) or after the bars close after midnight.

Gas Card Strategy #3

ATTACH GAS CARDS TO VEHICLE KEYS – Assigning each vehicle in your fleet with its own card is a great practice. Put your Fleet Cards on the key ring dispatched with the vehicle. Each driver is then assigned a number that can be used on any vehicle in the fleet. This way you know exactly who is using the card and which vehicle is being filled. To limit a risk of a stolen card, restrict individual card ownership to management and maintenance. Everyone else should have cards directly connected with a vehicles license plate, so it is obvious if that card goes missing.

Gas Card Strategy #4

SET THE GAS CARDS UP WITH LIMITS –  When you assign a card to each vehicle in the fleet you can set limits based on the vehicle. A gasoline vehicle only needs access to gasoline. If your tank size is 20 gallons, that card should be limited to 20 gallons per transaction. Continue to program your cards for the vehicles they are attached to. You can also restrict a card to ensure no one accidentally buys expensive premium or worse, puts the wrong fuel in the vehicle. Reducing the amount of time they can use a card a day limits exposure to theft.

A vehicle that never drives more then 50 miles in a day shouldn’t need to fill up more then once a 24 hour period. This reduces the opportunity for theft and also makes theft obvious when the limits are hit. You can also add limits on zip codes, states, and times of days. If someone does steal a card, they would be limited by the time, location, and purchase amount, ensuring that your theft exposure is a few dozen gallons instead of thousands of dollars.

Gas Card Strategy #5

USE E-RECEIPTS TO MANAGE FUEL IN REAL TIME – It’s the 21st century so manage in real time. You can set-up cards to email you based on each card or, if you have one specific one you are are worried about, that card can be set to email you or your fleet management in real time. Better yet, if theft is occurring, you will see it immediately and be able to react. Not only will this lock down your gas card’s security, it will also allow you to address mistakes relating to efficiency. Owners and dispatchers also use this to see where the driver is and if they are where they said they were when they are fueling. Instant feedback and communication is critical to change bad behavior of drivers who mean to do well but may just have made a simple mistake.

Work with a business that wants you to succeed and has the tools to protect your fuel expenses.

Use Star Oilco to secure yourself from that fuel theft while also saving on your cost of fuel over retail.  Oregon and Washington have some of the highest minimum wages in the U.S.  As the minimum wage and regulations increase, so do the costs at retail gas stations. This is doubly so in Oregon, where you are paying the gas stations employee to fuel your tank and the employee to be there. We can save you money and significantly reduce your risk of fuel theft while also getting your drivers out of retail gas station lines.

Whether your an owner/operator or you are managing a large fleet of corporate vehicles needing fueling commercial cardlocks can help you save time and money.  Stand-alone commercial-only Pacific Pride and CFN sites in the northwest are a real resource for small business. They speed up the labor associated with fueling and significantly lock down the chance fraud or theft will occur on your fuel card. Stand-alone sites limit access to convenience store items so employees won’t be tempted to spend time browsing and make purchases on the company credit card.  In addition, there are less people at the site and less chance of a coming into contact with someone that is sick.

Need to lock down your gas card from fuel theft?

Call Star Oilco, we can make it simple.

Star Oilco can help you field all of these best practices. Our motto is “Keep it Simple” and we are here to make this easy. Feel free to reach out and see what Star Oilco can do for your fleet to upgrade its fleet fueling security.  If your fueling just one vehicle or your dealing with corporate fueling for 100’s of vehicles, we can help you set up an account.

With Pacific Pride and CFN stand-alone commercial cardlock sites, there are other benefits beyond just the convenience. The biggest difference is that these commercial cardlock sites are built with security in mind. Retail stations are engineered to sell as many products as possible to those pulling up for gasoline. Commercial cardlock sites are designed for commercial users who seek the fastest fueling experience. That is a big difference between the two.

To download a white paper on these Pacific Pride fuel card security feature best practices, go to our Stop Fuel Theft page.

 

Star Oilco is an independent Franchisee of Pacific Pride

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Oregon Diesel Taxes Explained 1024 685 Star Oilco

Oregon Diesel Taxes Explained

How Oregon Diesel Taxes Are Calculated

As of January 1st, 2022 Oregon is raising Fuel Taxes to $.38 a gallon. (source) The prices in this article have been updated to reflect that.  There will be another $.02 a gallon fuel tax increase set in 2024 as well.

Oregon is unique in its handling of diesel. All fuel isn’t used or taxed the same in the state of Oregon. First off, there is no sales tax for any fuels. The taxes that are charged for diesel are divided into 3 categories: dyed diesel, PUC use and everyday road use or “auto diesel.”  The big difference in pricing is how the diesel is used and the size of the vehicle using the diesel.

 

Oregon Fuel Taxes in a Nutshell

Off-road diesel

If a vehicle is burning diesel “off-road” like a back-hoe, agricultural use, generators or similar use, the fuel is not taxed by either the federal government or Oregon State. This fuel is also dyed red to show it is for off-road use only. If you use dyed red off-road diesel fuel in an on-road vehicle and you get caught, the state of Oregon can and will likely fine you $10,000. Yes, we have seen them do this in recent history.

On-road diesel (auto diesel)

If your vehicle is below 26,000 gross vehicle weight, Oregon charges a per gallon vehicle tax.  This tax is paid at the gas pump, is collected by the retail or commercial cardlock location, and you do not have to consider any additional taxes other than buying on-road fuel.

On-road diesel (P.U.C. diesel)

If your vehicle is above 26,000 gross vehicle weight in Oregon, you pay a weight mile for your vehicle’s state diesel tax.  This cost per mile depends on your registered vehicle weight with Oregon. It is anecdotally assumed at the top weights over 80,000 lbs of gross vehicle weight, this tax is equivalently more than double the per gallon cost of auto diesel bought at a retail location.  This class of diesel usage requires extra P.U.C. filings and vehicles over 26,000 GVW have special P.U.C. plates denoting their class as it relates to diesel fuel tax.

Oregon Fuel Taxes for a Layperson

A small motorhome that would use On-Road Diesel

A small motorhome that would use on-road diesel

On-Road Diesel (Auto Diesel)

The easiest one to understand is on-road diesel, also known as “auto diesel.” Most non-truck vehicles driving on streets, roads, and highways around Oregon fall into this category for use, or as you can see in this picture, a smaller motor home or RV (recreational vehicle).  This fuel is the one you see at a pump at a retail station. Its price includes federal tax, state tax and any applicable local taxes.

Current auto diesel taxes in Oregon for vehicles under 26,000 GVW (gross vehicle weight):

  • Federal tax rate is $.244 per gallon
  • The state tax rate is $.38 per gallon

In addition to these, local municipality and cities have their own taxes that can be added to the price of fuel. To make it even more complicated, some cities charge a different tax amount based on time of season; specifically Newport and Reedsport who charge a few more cents during the summer months. Currently the highest additional taxes are in the city of Portland, Oregon at $.10 per gallon. Source.

Example:
Fuel price at the pump is listed at: $2.989

  • Federal                =$.244
  • State                    =$.38*
  • Portland             =$.10

For a total of                =$.724 per gallon in taxes

The actual cost per gallon would be $2.265. This includes the OPIS (Oil Price Information Service) wholesale price, transportation costs, and the margin the retail station adds to pay its bills (usually $.15 to $.40 depending on the provider).

*January 1st, 2022 Oregon State Tax fuel went up to $.38 per gallon for Oregon Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax. Oregon Use Fuel Tax also went up to $.38 a gallon.

 

Dyed Diesel also called Red Diesel is used for vehicles that don't drive on public roads.

Dyed diesel, also called red diesel, is used for vehicles that don’t drive on public roads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off-Road Dyed Diesel

Dyed diesel, also called farm diesel, marked fuel, or red diesel, is a fuel that has an added dye in the mix. The dye, usually solvent red 26 or solvent red 164, doesn’t cause any change in the operation of an engine versus using regular clear diesel. The dye marks the taxable status of the fuel.

This fuel is intended for only off-road equipment and vehicles. Farm equipment, construction vehicles and any other vehicles that don’t drive on public roads can use this fuel. In addition, any engine or oil heater that burns diesel is allowed to use dyed diesel. Those that have heating oil delivered are purchasing dyed diesel.

The benefit of this fuel is that you save state, federal, and city or municipal taxes. Acquiring this fuel as a customer usually requires access to a commercial fueling station or hiring a fuel company to deliver the fuel. This is likely to prevent accidental use of this fuel in an on-road vehicle. Anyone found using dyed diesel in an on-road vehicle will be fined. Fines are either $10/gallon or $1000 per violation, whichever is greatest (Source). To ensure that diesel users aren’t abusing this fuel, police officers can “dip” a tank; usually by sticking a clear tube into a tank and verifying the color of the fuel.

Oregon PUC Permit and IFTA for vehicles over 26,000 GVW

Oregon PUC Permit and IFTA for vehicles over 26,000 GVW

Oregon PUC Permit

While PUC stands for “Oregon Public Utilities Commission”,  it is the Oregon Transportation Department who regulates fuel taxes and PUC plates.

PUC plates are required by vehicles over 26,000 GVW. Oregon PUC Permit or heavy motor vehicle trip permit refer to vehicles that are at this weight and up to 80,000 GVW. They also include an Oregon PUC card number and a log book that shows fuel usage. View Table “A” tax rates.

These vehicles are only required to pay the federal tax at the pump. They are then required to log the mileage they drive and pay an amount based on weight, number of axles and miles. The heavier the vehicle, the more wear and tear on the road, so the higher the tax.

Oregon per Mileage fuel tax for vehicles between 26,000 lbs and 80,000 lbs.

Source : Oregon Department of Transportation 

The fees are applied for a whole trip. Say a truck is scheduled to drive 100 miles round trip to deliver watermelons. A vehicle driving 100 miles that weighs over 44,000 but less than 46,000 would be charged $0.0907 per mile or $9.07. Trucks that are driving a full load of product and an empty load back pay for the total miles of the trip, including the miles they are driving empty. In the above example, even if half the miles were at the 26,001 rate for the return trip, the taxable rate is the full load price.

Any commercial vehicle that is over 80,000 GVW would use the Table “B”, which is similar but includes different pricing based on the number of axles, not just weight.

Oregon per Mileage fuel tax for vehicles between 80,000 lbs and 105,500

Source: Oregon Department of Transportation

As the vehicles get heavier, the amount of axles used change the price. In the chart, 5 axles at 81,000 miles is $0.2115 a mile and a vehicle with 9 axles and the same weight is $0.162 a mile.

For any additional questions about the PUC plates, tax rates and trucking information in Oregon, please contact ODOT at 503-378-5849.

IFTA – International Fuel Tax Agreement

IFTA is for the same vehicles over 26,000 GVW if they drive into more than one state or into Canada. This helps simplify the reporting process of taxes, refunds and mileage for vehicles that travel in more than one state. These commercial motor vehicles are required to file quarterly with their base jurisdiction and the amount of taxes that they might have paid at the pump is recorded. Then they either pay the difference or receive a refund if they overpaid. Prior to IFTA, trucks would need a permit for every state they operated in.

 

Star Oilco is a supplier of Fuel for NW Oregon and SW Washington. If you have questions about fueling your fleet or your construction site we would love to talk to you.

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