January 2, 2022

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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

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.

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

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.

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.

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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To learn more about What Oregon Requires for a Business to Use Pacific Pride and CFN Cardlock Stations

To learn more about RV Vehicles and Pacific Pride or CFN cards

Recent proposed legislation could mean more or different tax handling fees or laws in the future. We will be following these stories as they come out. If you would like to know more – Oregon Legislature proposes an end to petroleum diesel

If you would like to learn a little bit more about biofuels – Every Question We Have Been Asked About Biodiesel & Every Question We Have Been Asked About Renewable Diesel

Got questions about Red Dyed Diesel? We have answers!

August 25, 2021

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On Site Refueling in Oregon

6 reasons to use Wet-Hose diesel and gasoline fleet fueling in Portland, Oregon.

The best strategic decision to reduce needless driver hours and keep your fleet on the route without excuses.

Mobile Onsite Fleet Fueling Service for diesel and gasoline available in Oregon and Washington.

If some days you have more work than drivers… Wet Hose Fleet Fueling is your solution!

There is a reason that fueling on-site and after hours is the preferred fueling method of growing fleets in the Pacific Northwest. The fleet refueling solution that solves the complex problem of dispatching in a world short of drivers and facing unpredictable traffic. Mobile Onsite refueling or “Wet Hose” fueling is a solution that will push more money to your bottom line and reduce stress on your drivers. Star Oilco can also merge our mobile onsite refueling service with our national Fleet Card system to give you one bill and easy reports for your fuel tax reporting by license plate and equipment number.

One bill for On Site Fueling and Fleet Cards, labor saving in town and low prices over the road.

Make your IFTA and PUC’s fuel reporting simple.

Secured fleet fueling while over the road. Simple labor saving fueling in your yard. Track equipment by license plate and equipment number on one invoice.

6 Reasons to Use Wet Hose or Mobile Onsite Refueling

On Site refueling or “Wet Hosing” is a preferred method for fueling these days. Fleets of all sizes prefer getting their fleet fueling delivered after hours in their yard. The reasons are numerous but at the top of the list, labor is the driving force behind it.

Shaving off even fifteen minutes of labor–which is one of the two highest costs for most fleets, right after diesel–can have a huge payback to the bottom line.

Streamlining their route without a consideration for fuel will pay back rapidly. With a simple change in what a driver has to consider at the start and finish of their day, efficiencies are immediately seen with wet hose fueling. Most of all, this is seen if you are pulling your drivers out of the productivity killing vortex that is truckstops. Truckstops may show a good diesel price but they are making it up when your drivers wait in line inside the store while on the clock.

Call Star Oilco if you have questions and want to examine the payback value of Wet Hose Refueling compared against your current vendor for diesel. You might be surprised how much it will save you in time, money and management effort.

Six reasons why you should consider wet-hose diesel fueling:

Driver Time – The most valuable resource your fleet owns.
- Truck drivers are a limited resource and they cost more than you can usually measure in money alone. Without calculating the lost productivity of your truck, you are paying over $10 each time your drivers stop for fuel. The out of route stopping, refueling, and getting back on the road time could be half hour of lost time. As the average fill up we see is under 50 gallons, fueling your own trucks will cost you $.20 to $.50 a gallon in labor costs alone.
One More Stop – Picking up productivity in your fleet.
- Getting drivers on the road and without a reason to be out of route pays back dividends. If you pay productivity bonuses, your most productive drivers will thank you as well. Even in fleets where pay is by stop, not based on hourly wages, the ability those few times a year when drivers are so busy they are bumping up against DOT work rules, they will thank you for the convenience of being ready to go the start of each shift and not having to worry about that one more stop on the way back to base. A few extra stops a year is often worth thousands of dollars to your bottom line–more than a cost of a tank of diesel.
Control Fuel Taxes – Track your taxes without chasing paper receipts.
- Pay the right taxes. We have audited and seen where mobile on-site refueling pays back thousands of dollars in savings. Typically from just this often unnoticed needless expense alone. In Oregon many small towns have add-on taxes of their own that hide out in your fuel bill. Portland, Oregon’s diesel tax is a $.10 a gallon (or more for weight mile). Regardless, you can avoid these taxes and nail down a totally known cost of fuel.
Control Your Type of Fuel – Ensure you are getting Premium Diesel, Dyed Diesel, or B20 Biodiesel.
- If you are trying to guarantee the highest performance in your fleet the quality of your diesel matters. To guarantee you receive Premium Diesel, ensure one point of responsibility for the diesel fueling of your equipment.
- Easily track what fuel went where for tax purposes. Wethose fueling provides the gallons moved by piece of equipment, license plate, and even VIN if that’s what you want it tracked by. Make fuel tax reporting easy and consolidated.
- If you are working to guarantee a low CO2 footprint for sustainability reasons. Wethose fueling services are a great way to simplify that effort. Commercial prices for B20 Biodiesel are often more competitive than retailers selling the fuel as premium product as well. Additionally, with a single fuel vendor you can track back the source of the fuel for CO2 or other footprint analysis. Know what your impacts are.
Easily integrates with cardlock and other fleet cards onto one bill.
- If you have a major hub with a critical mass of trucks in town, wet-hosing your fleet can pay back rapidly. Even if the majority of your fleet is over the road and out of town, on-site refueling can be a money saving proposition. You can also integrate it seamlessly with a Pacific Pride, CFN, Fuelman, Voyager or other fleet card program as well. Star Oil can provide a Pacific Pride or Fuelman card that will work over the road consolidating all your fuel into one bill. Star can also accept Fuelman, Comdata, WEX or Voyager and bill those fleet cards directly with onsite refueling. If your fleet uses one of these national fleet cards, call us to move to wet hosing. We bill directly to the card and license plate of each one of your trucks. (For further reading on corporate fleet card security features please read our article on Upgrade your Fleet Card’s Security Features.)
Cost Plus Diesel – Budget to know every day you are getting a good wholesale rate for your fleet.
- Star Oilco can connect your fleet to an agreed and easily verifiable cost plus supply agreements. Be it OPIS Average or Low Rack Plus agreements, we can guarantee you have a good wholesale price of fuel. You can also use B20 Biodiesel or Renewable Diesel fuels at a discount price to reduce your fleet’s emissions if that is a priority for you. Onsite refueling will provide a simplified fleet management experience for both your drivers and your Accounts Payable department. Call us if you want to talk about what this can do for your business. ( For further reading on the benefits of premium diesel and a wholesale partner for diesel, read our article on What is the benefit of Premium Diesel versus untreated diesel?)

Contact Star Oilco with any questions you may have about Wet Hose Fueling your fleet.

We are here to serve you and make Mobile Onsite Fueling simple.

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For more on Fleet Fueling Best Practices read these other Star Oilco articles:

Upgrade your Fleet Card’s Security Features

The difference between Portland, Oregon Diesel and the rest of Oregon.

Seven ways to stop fuel theft before it happens.

Eliminate Fuel Theft and Save Money

July 20, 2021

Use Pacific Pride Fuel Cards as a Management Tool https://staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pacific-pride-fuel-cards-as-a-management-tool-1024x428.png 1024 428 Star Oilco Star Oilco //staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/StarOilco-Logo-RGB-C-Lg-Simple.png July 20, 2021 September 12, 2024

Use Pacific Pride Fuel Cards as a Management Tool

Pacific Pride fuel cards. Stop employee fuel theft by using the Star Oilco Fuel Card solution.

The turn-key fuel card solution for small business seeking to stop employee fuel theft.

Star Oilco’s Pacific Pride card can give you control over when and where fuel is purchased.

Use Pacific Pride fuel cards as a management tool for your business. With rising gas prices and a shortage of drivers being a problem, secure your fleet cards to keep honest people honest. Remove the temptation and save money in your small business.

Use Preset fuel cards to control every gallon of fuel your employees buy.

Make managing drivers buying fuel a simple system that let your dispatch know in real time as fuel is purchased.

We promise the highest level of control for your small business. Star Oilco offers human support designed to make it easy for a small business. Our moto is to Keep it Simple. We help you deploy and manage your secure fleet card program in your business. You have enough to manage and don’t need another website to log into. We make it easy for you to know who bought what, when, and where — in real time — to better manage the buying decisions by your drivers. We will make sure you are successful.

You can use Star Oilco’s Pacific Pride card to:

Know who – the name of the driver purchasing and the vehicle they have
What fuels – control the products available to avoid costly premium gas purchases
Control gallons – the total gallons that can be bought at one time
Limit transactions – control the number of transactions a fuel card can have in one day
Time – predetermine the time of day that a fuel card can be used
Where – zip codes or states that a fuel card can be used in

The Star Oilco secure Pacific Pride card- The best option to knock out fuel theft.

Pacific Pride, CFN, WEX, Voyager and other fleet cards all have similar tools. We find that small businesses need one extra tool: a human being on the other side. Star Oilco helps make sure the total program is working. We assist in your team grabbing control of every drop, every dollar and every driver.

We are your partner in Fleet Card and Cardlock Card success.

Star Oilco makes sure you are successful in fielding a secure fuel card. We keep things simple and we make it easy for you. This is done with the obvious human element and best practices to complete the full value that a secured fuel card offers.

Call us and get to know what makes us different!

You tell us what you need and we’ll consult with you to get a working card program.

How Star Oilco secures your business from fuel thieves.

This is what we recommend for your non-management cards:

Secure your fleet card to a vehicle (attached to the license plate on the bill or place the fleet card on the key ring of the vehicle).
Designate your vehicle cards to only work in the state’s zip codes that you service during the times of day you operate as a business.
Give each driver a unique and secret PIN attached to their name (so when they use a card, their name appears on the bill next to the transaction).
Implement a “No Tolerance Fuel Theft Policy” with your Human Resource policy. Have every employee sign a contract with your business that they own their personal secret PIN and it is only for them to use. Star Oilco can provide a recommended policy for you to use. Then, if they share their PIN with someone else, they will be responsible for anything that happens. If theft is happening, it is a “No Tolerance” dismissal offense on the first occurrence.
Use the e-receipts to see in real-time fuel purchases. An electronic receipt is emailed to your Controller or Dispatcher to watch for off-policy fuel usage in real time, which allows your Dispatch or Management to respond the same day to questionable decisions around fuel cards.

Now, imagine how this works for your business in practice.

You can set up restrictions by days of the week, hours of the day or even by zip codes. If your business does not operate on weekends, turn off the fuel cards during the times you do not operate. If your fleet is never on the road before 7am and is back at home by 7pm every night, set up those time restrictions to make it that much harder for fuel theft to occur. If you need to update this, change something, order cards, etc., just call our office and we take care of that update for you.

With our e-receipts, your Dispatch will get an email every time fuel is purchased. You will see where, what, when and with whom this occurs. You can reinforce your company fuel policies at the local level the same day — No more waiting for the bill to see if a driver did something that cost you money. By seizing control of your fuel, your drivers will also respond to your new level of control as well. By having control and transparency of what your drivers do, they will require less management as they know you are watching.

Often the most controllable expense related with fuel is the fuel that might slip through a business due to unethical employees or outside theft. Fuel slippage is the industry term for unauthorized fuel taking. With Pacific Pride cardlock fuel, you can take control over fuel purchases and avoid the loss up front with card controls. Contact Star Oilco for a total fuel security solution for your business.

Seize control with Star Oilco’s corporate fleet card solutions.

Star Oilco will assign you a Card Administrator to help you be successful with this. Where other programs promise tools but don’t follow up, we follow up. We are here to make sure you are successful with our program. Human beings answer our phones and long term employees staff your needs being met.

If you have further questions about Pacific Pride and control of your fleet fueling, call us at 503-283-1256 or contact us using the form below.

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Star Oilco has a white paper outlining how you can secure your business from internal fuel thieves. To download this guide on fleet card best practices please go to www.NoMoreFuelTheft.com or message Star Oilco for help.

Star Oilco is a proud and independent Franchisee of Pacific Pride

June 11, 2021

Oregon and Self-Serve Laws at the Pump https://staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/65-oregon-and-self-serve-laws-at-the-pump-portland-1024x576.jpg 1024 576 Star Oilco Star Oilco //staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/StarOilco-Logo-RGB-C-Lg-Simple.png June 11, 2021 September 10, 2024

Oregon and Self-Serve Laws at the Pump

Why can’t I pump my own gas in Oregon?

In Oregon there are self-serve and full-serve counties. The more urbanized counties require an attendant serve you with gasoline.

(NOTE: If you operate a business in Oregon and want the ability to have commercial vehicles use a 24-7 card lock location here are the rules for getting a Pacific Pride or CFN cardlock card for self serve gasoline.)

Oregon is one of only 2 states that has laws against people pumping their own gas (New Jersey is the other). Oregon first put these rules into place back in 1951. At this time, lawmakers decided that only trained service station workers should be able to pump their own gas. (More info here) This made more sense at that time, since most states had similar rules. Gas station pumps didn’t have all of the safety features they do today. Pumps were also more complicated than an average person was prepared to use. For context, if you were dialing long-distance on your phone during this time you would speak to an operator and someone would physically connect you.

Red Highlighted Counties are Full Serve and Green Counties allow Self Serve Gasoline in Oregon.

Since 2015, some counties have allowed Oregonians to pump their own gas.

In 2015, Oregon relaxed some of the laws in 15 rural counties; those with less than 40,000 residents. From 6pm to 6am they allow self-serve at some fuel providers. This allows these stations to stay open 24 hours a day.

In January 2018, this expanded to 24 hours a day for those locations that didn’t have a market or convenience store attached. (See list of counties here) The green areas in this map show where you can pump your own gas in Oregon. Although the coastal counties are limited to the 6pm to 6am times.

Covid-19 changed laws temporarily

On March 28th, 2020 to May 23rd, 2020 self-serve laws were temporarily changed. (source) This change was to help stations with sick employees or ones that were worried about becoming sick. Some stations opened up self-serve across the board, others allowed self-serve with attendants regularly cleaning contact surfaces between customers. Most sites reduced hours of operation to cover the shortage of employees and reduced need for gas.

What is the punishment for pumping your own gas?

The Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is responsible for enforcing this rule and they can fine the gas stations that violate this up to $500. There is nothing in the Oregon State Statues that imposes a fine on customers that pump their own gas.

The likely consequences for someone self-pumping at a retail station, would result in a customer being trespassed from the premises.

With only 2 states still requiring a pump attendant the question remains: Why does Oregon not allow customers to pump their own gas?

There are officially 17 reasons that Oregon requires a pump attendant. Read this article for more detail. These reasons can be condensed down to 3.

Safety – As a class 1 flammable liquid, some basic safety procedures should be followed. Since a cashier can’t watch all the pumps all the time, trained attendants are there. This also allows people to reduce personal injury or exposure to the fumes. In addition, attendants are likely to notice safety issues on a vehicle such as a low tire or faulty windshield wipers and such report to the driver to keep them safe. The law specifically mentions the weather we have in Oregon as a safety reason: the risk of slipping in the rain. Supposedly, all these benefits reduces insurance liability to the service stations.
Equable Treatment of Seniors & Disabled – A senior or a disabled person my find it harder to get out of their vehicle and perform the functions of pumping their gas. Because of this they would be forced to go to a full service station and pay a premium for this service, which isn’t equitable.
Jobs – This is the most commonly cited reason for continuing to employ service station attendants and is part of the statue. The cost that an attendant incurs per gallon wasn’t considered to be excessive especially since Oregon doesn’t have a sales tax. As minimum wages increase, this may change.

It should also be noted that a large percentage of Oregonians enjoy having someone else pump their gas.

There are still ways in Oregon that residents in all counties can pump their own fuel.

Diesel-Only Customers

Some retail stations allow customers to use the diesel pumps on their own. This can be spotty though. If you would like a more consistent ability to fuel your own diesel vehicle you can apply for a fuel cards at CFN or Pacific Pride cardlock locations. Customers can use one of these locations with a card and pump their own fuel. These cards are diesel-only and require no minimum purchase per year.

Fueling at a CFN or Pacific Pride Card lock location is a great option if you’re fueling vehicles such as a diesel powered Recreational Vehicle (RV), motor home, or you’re driving a truck pulling a boat or trailer.

The larger lanes and less crowded locations can save a lot of time and potential accidents. Many cardlock locations even include bulk DEF. These stations are used by commercial vehicles with larger tanks and the fuel tends to be used faster. As a result the fuel tends to be fresher at these locations as it cycles through more often. Retail stations with low diesel volumes can see issues with fuel when it isn’t used as quickly.

Many cardlock locations also provide choice of fuel B20 (B20 stands for 20% biofuel) to the standard B5 that Oregon requires. In addition, as renewable diesel begins to show up in Oregon the first fueling stations to likely see this fuel will be cardlocks.

Oregon has recently had legislation introduced that could change the type of diesel sold in Oregon. For updates on this we suggest you visit this page: Oregon Legislature proposes an end to petroleum diesel

Business Owners and Commercial Use Fuel

The primary way to access a commercial cardlock is if you’re a business owner. You also have to agree to can use 900 gallons of fuel in a year. You are eligible for a Pacific Pride and CFN commercial/corporate card that can include gasoline.

Some of the ways to prove you are a business owner are:

Federal ID #
Business License
Contractor’s License
Landscaping License
City Business License
Federal Income Tax Schedule C or F
Or any equivalent

For most locations the savings at the cardlock pump (you’re only paying your employee to pump gas, not the service stations employee) plus the time savings make these very attractive to small business owners and big business owners alike.

In addition, to the convenience that these company fuel cards bring, is that owners and managers can control how the cards are used and even when they can be used. (For more information click here).

For better or worse, Oregon continues to be one of the few places where most people aren’t allowed to pump their own gas. As technology advances and employees become more expensive things may change. But this is Oregon… who knows?

For more information or if you are curious about using a Pacific Pride or CFN cardlock location, feel free to let us know with a message below.

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March 26, 2021

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What’s in a “Keep it Simple Fuel Audit”

How do you compare different fuel card vendors?

You audit your fuel bill.

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.

The three verifiable costs in a gallon of fuel are:

The commodity cost of fuel (the wholesale and verifiable fuel cost itself),
The fuel taxes charged by the feds, state, and local governments on top of that, and;
The margin your fuel vendor puts on top of those two very transparent costs.

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.

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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March 14, 2021

Fleet Fueling in Portland, Oregon and Fuel Security https://staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/59-fleet-fueling-and-fuel-theft-security-1024x576.jpg 1024 576 Star Oilco Star Oilco //staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/StarOilco-Logo-RGB-C-Lg-Simple.png March 14, 2021 September 17, 2024

Fleet Fueling in Portland, Oregon and Fuel Security

How do you eliminate the management hassles of fueling your fleet in Portland, Oregon?

Use Star Oilco’s Total Solution fueling service.

Stop burning labor costs and dealing with management headaches trying to track fuel in vehicles. Let us simplify this for your administration. We can make that really simple with our Total Fleet Solution. Bulk, Wet-hose Fleet Fueling, and Pacific Pride cardlock when and where you need it.

Seize Control of your Fuel Costs. Save Money. Stop Slippage!

Star Oilco’s best practices when thinking about bulk fuel security at your facility.

Star Oilco is your Fleet Fueling Services Company with solutions to knock out fuel theft.

Mobile Fueling Service, Pacific Pride Cards, and connecting fuel to your HR Policy can save you thousands of dollars a year in the long run.

“Fuel Slippage” is an industry term for the fuel that you can’t account for in the actual course of business. A stolen tank of gasoline on a company fleet card or diesel saddle tank that came up empty without explanation. We are here to help stop slippage in your business.

We have strategies on how to protect yourself from internal theft, how to use prepaid and preset fuel card controls with employees, as well as securing yourself from external theft. This article is about protecting your fleet from physical fuel theft.

Fuel theft is on the rise in the Portland, Oregon area.

In Portland, Oregon with the rise of homeless campers all over our industrial areas, we have seen a increasing fuel theft. Star Oilco can help you knock out fuel theft. For as hard as fleets work to make a dollar, seeing it shrink from the bottom line due to criminal theft is an avoidable scenario. Think ahead, remove opportunity for thieves to steal, and create systems that keep honest people honest.

The biggest preventive measure Star Oilco can provide is total control of what goes into and out of your fleet. If you have a bulk tank, a tank monitor and key control cardlock system is very affordable these days, guaranteeing inventory is kept to the gallon. If you have fleets on the road without a tank please consider using Pacific Pride secured cardlock fueling in combination with Mobile Onsite Refueling of your fleet in your yard.

Stop Fuel Theft: Best Practices for Portland, Oregon

To train your fleet consider the following best practices below:

1 – Educate your people on the dangers and evidence of fuel theft

Fuel thieves usually come back again and again. Make sure your whole team is aware of the mess fuel thieves usually leave behind. Transferring from a saddle tank to their vehicle or container leaves a mess. Also make sure they are aware of unsafe places. Unsecured yards, especially with homeless campers in diesel RV’s, are a prime environment to expose yourself to theft. If you are a refrigerated trailer fleet, make sure your drivers tell your clients that unattended reefer trailers are the favorite hunting ground for fuel thieves and a locking gas cap is not necessarily a deterrent.

2 – Install fences, lighting, security cameras, and work with the local police.

Vehicle yards are a popular target for fuel thieves, so make it as difficult as possible for them to get in unnoticed. Secure fencing and bright lighting make your yard far more visible from the road and less attractive to thieves. Security cameras can act as both a deterrent and an effective way to catch criminals if theft ever occurs. Also, make sure you report theft to the local police to ensure they are tracking activity. It can be discouraging given the scale of the problems in Portland right now, but the data matters. You never know when a fuel thief will get caught for some other crime and the evidence of pumping equipment and containers will tip off the police of the culprit.

3 – Fit bulk tanks with level monitors and inventory control systems.

Inventory control systems are extremely affordable now. Not only is it a convenient tool to track tank levels for your ordering purposes and provide proof that the tank is not leaking for local environmental regulators, it will also tip you off if an odd time of day is seeing fuel drawn. Inventory control systems have also become far more affordable than they were ten years ago. Key control for turning on power to your fuel dispensing system, which will track drivers, and the equipment they are fueling (license plate, equipment number, on-road, off-road, or tax exempt status) will keep you informed.

4 – Defensive parking, landscaping and crash protection.

If it is not easy for someone to get immediately next to the fuel tanks of your vehicles or bulk tank, it is that much harder to steal. Park vehicles in a way that protects and blocks access to someone trying to operate a pump to easily reach your fuel tanks. If you are using on-site refueling, your vendor can suggest some ideas that still enable them access to your saddle tanks without problem.

5 – Communicate with neighbors, vendors, and employees that theft is suspected or definitely occurring.

Many fleets have multiple vendors access their yard at night or over weekends. Make sure those vendors are on your team and on the look out. Tire and fleet fueling services should let you know if a loiterer appears to be in your area in the middle of the night. If a gate has been tampered with or a mess is obvious inside the yard, make sure they are letting you know earlier rather than later. Also, be aware during business hours. Fuel thieves will often scope a yard during the day to target later that night. Take note of anyone acting suspiciously around your yard, perhaps engaging them to find out what they’re doing. Don’t hesitate to ask them what they are doing either. Face to face contact can encourage them to find another place to be a criminal.

If you have any questions or want our perspective we encourage you to reach out.

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Advice is always free and helping is why Star Oilco is here.

For more reading on using securing your business from theft:

Star Oilco Fleet Cards to secure yourself from employee fuel theft at gas stations and cardlocks.

Seven ways to stop fuel theft before it happens.

Use Star Oilco Pacific Pride cards as a management tool.

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March 3, 2021

Every Question We Have Been Asked About Biodiesel https://staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/55-every-question-we-have-been-asked-about-biodiesel-star-oilco-portland-oregon-1024x768.jpeg 1024 768 Star Oilco Star Oilco //staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/StarOilco-Logo-RGB-C-Lg-Simple.png March 3, 2021 September 12, 2024

Every Question We Have Been Asked About Biodiesel

What is biodiesel?

Biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement that is reducing U.S. dependence on foreign petroleum, creating jobs and improving the environment. Biodiesel is commonly blended in a 5% to 20% component with petroleum diesel and can be found available at retail around North America as a blended fuel. Biodiesel is a low CO2, net energy positive fuel which depending on the feedstock it is made from can vary from a 30% to 80%+ reduction in CO2 emissions compared to petroleum diesel. Biodiesel is made from a diverse mix of feedstocks including recycled cooking oil, industrial non-food grade spent oils, animal fats, as well as virgin vegetable oils such as canola, soy, and corn oil. For more information see the National Biodiesel Board’s “Biodiesel Basics” page.

How is biodiesel made?

Biodiesel is most commonly made from taking an animal fat, used cooking oil, or a virgin vegetable oil and mixing it with an alcohol (such as methanol). This process is called transesterification and it creates two products glycerin and esters (usually methyl esters or alkyl esters which is the chemical name for most biodiesel). The crude biodiesel is then further processed to remove excess water and other impurities. The standards for commercially sold biodiesel in the US is ASTM D6751.

What does ASTM D6751 mean?

Biodiesel to be sold in the United States must meet an industry standard which is ASTM D6751. ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) D6751 is the specifications for B100 or 100% Biodiesel. Biodiesel is usually blended with diesel fuel for retail sale. This specification defines the properties of the biodiesel from the refiner prior to sale to the public. The properties include things like flashpoint, water content, oxidative stability, sulfur ppm (parts per million), and other specifics that this biodiesel needs to be at in order to hit these standards (Source).

Once a fuel is within all these properties it can be blended with diesel, which has its own ASTM standards, for more about ASTM D975 and other fuel specification concerns please see the Changes in Diesel Fuel – Technicians Guide for more and very in depth information.

Can biodiesel be used in normal diesel engines? / Which cars use biodiesel?

Regardless of where you are in the United States there is a reasonable expectation of purchasing biodiesel in your diesel fuel. Formally, B5 is supported by all major OEMs selling diesel engines in the U.S. In 2016, at least 78 percent of diesel vehicles supported B20 (Source). Regardless of what your owner manual says about biodiesel fuel, B20 biodiesel is a proven fuel and is automatically presumed for any new diesels on the road. In many parts of the United States B20 is a commonly found fuel at retail stations, commercial cardlocks, and national truck stop chains.

In the Pacific Northwest, where low CO2 emission policy is front and center, biodiesel can be expected to be found in every gallon of diesel sold in some form.

Oregon law says “All diesel fuel sold in the state must be blended with at least 5% biodiesel (B5) if that fuel is going to be used in vehicles. For the purpose of this mandate, biodiesel is defined as a motor vehicle fuel derived from vegetable oil, animal fat, or other non-petroleum resources, that is designated as B100 and complies with ASTM specification D6751. Renewable diesel qualifies as a substitute for biodiesel in the blending requirement” (Source). Oregon and Washington has plenty of retail and commercial cardlock locations selling above 5% biodiesel as the defacto fuel given the incentives as well as low CO2 mandates in Oregon.

Can biodiesel be used for heating oil?

Yes. Biodiesel has been effectively used as a heating oil for over 20 years. In fact an in-depth report by the Sustainable Energy Technologies Department Energy Conversion Group shows that blends up to B50 can be used without needing to change or adjust your settings. Read our blog for a summary of this report.

Can biodiesel be mixed with conventional / regular diesel?

Most biodiesel that is sold is as a blended form with petroleum diesel. In a blend, the “B” stands for the amount of biodiesel that is included in the product. For example, B20 would be 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel. Biodiesel can also be combined with renewable diesel – a blend of B20 would be called B20/R80 diesel.

Can biodiesel be used in diesel generators?

Yes. In fact, Oregon is one of several states that require biodiesel be blended into all diesel fuels. That means this fuel has been used successfully in the fuel supply for years. As with any fuel that can sit for extended amounts of time, we recommend you take proper precautions, such as using additives, to ensure your fuel is ready to be used when needed. If this is a concern, please contact us – we would love to talk to you about your storage needs.

Can biodiesel be made from animal fat?

Yes, biodiesel refers to (according to the National Biodiesel Board) a methyl ester made from chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol to produce fatty acid esters. This is called transesterification. The lipids could be sourced from many different types of oils, such as vegetable, soybean or animal fat based oils/tallows. For a deeper dive into some of the different types of feedstocks, read our blog.

Can biodiesel be used in airplanes?

Yes and no. There have been several tests using biofuels but fuel for aircrafts is different than regular diesel. Fuel gels at a plane’s flying altitude so aircrafts can’t use regular diesel or biodiesel. Several tests with biofuels have proven successful. Read more about the use of biofuels in the future.

Can biodiesel freeze?

Gelling is the term used for diesel fuel starting to freeze. The paraffin present in diesel starts to solidify and at lower temperatures, it can start to solidify and crystallize. Some blends of biodiesel at B20 and higher will gell at a higher temperatures than petro diesel. During the winter months, it’s important to use additives that combat this or use lower percentages of biodiesel for your fuel. In low enough temperatures, even petro diesel will freeze.

Can biodiesel replace oil? / Can biodiesel replace diesel / fossil fuels?

At this time, no. While the quality of the fuel for biodiesel and renewable diesel is as high as the petrodiesel we have today, the production of these fuels can’t meet the demand that is needed. This has to do with available feedstock and infrasturcture to recycle usable wastes.

The long answer to this question, though, is YES. As technology advances, there may be a time that all fuel is derived from waste and plant crops instead of petroleum.

For an idea where the market is going and how much fuel we are using here is a little bit more information on current usage.

In the early 2000’s, the biodiesel market was about 25 million gallons. In 2016, the market had grown to 2.8 billion and it’s still increasing. The on-road diesel demand is 35 billion to 40 billion gallons. The industry goal is to be producing 10 percent of the transportation market by 2022 (Source).

Which biodiesel is best?

Biodiesel that meets the ASTM D6751 is the best. While making your own biodiesel isn’t hard, keeping the fuel filtered and free of excess water is challenging. Finding a reputable provider that uses fuel that meets specs and also filters and treats your fuel like Star Oilco helps ensure you’re using the best fuel possible.

Which is biodiesel plant/crop? What crop/plant produces/yield biodiesel?

Any plant that produces an oil can be used to produce biodiesel. The plants and crops that are most likely to be used, would produce a lot of oil for the amount of work that goes into growing them. Some of the experimental crops are ones that grow in areas that don’t produce quality food, like Camelina sativa. A member of the mustard family, it grows well in poor soil and harsh conditions and doesn’t displace crops that produce food.

Here are the blogs we have posted so far about some of the biodiesel feedstocks that have been tested and used.

Feedstock: Babassu oil & Beef Tallow
Feedstock: Borage Oil & Camelina Oil
Feedstock: Algae Oil & Canola Oil
Feedstock: Castor Oil and Choice White Grease
Feedstock: Coconut Oil and Coffee Oil
Feedstock: Evening Primrose Oil and Fish Oil
Feedstocks: Hemp Oil & High IV and Low IV Hepar
Feedstocks: Jatropha Oil, Jojoba Oil, & Karania Oil
Feedstocks: Lesquerella Oil & Linseed Oil
Feedstocks: Moringa Oil & Neem Oil
Feedstocks: Palm Oil & Perilla Seed Oil
Feedstocks: Poultry Fat & Rice Bran Oil

Which is better: biodiesel or diesel?

Biodiesel has advantages of producing lower emissions, providing lubricity to the moving parts and being produced in the United States.

Diesel is more abundant, is easily created from crude oil, and has a lower gel point.

Which is better depends on what you are looking for.

Which states mandate biodiesel?

According to AFMP (American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers):

Minnesota: Has a B2 requirement year round (September 2005) and a summer requirement of B20 (May 2018).
Oregon: Requires a B5 reguirement year round (July 2007).
Washington: Requires 2% of the diesel sold in Washington to be biodiesel (December 2008). This can be substituted with Renewable Diesel (July 2009).
Pennsylvania: According to AFMP, “2% biodiesel for on-road compression ignition engines one year after annualized in-state production reaches 40 million gallons, 5% biodiesel (100 million gallons), 10% biodiesel (200 million gallons), and 20% biodiesel (400 million gallons)” (July 2008). Renewable diesel can substitute for up to 25% of this requirement, in addition to heating oil and off-road diesel (May 2011)
New Mexico: Requires B5 for all diesel vehicles (July 2012).

Which countries produce biodiesel? / Which countries use biodiesel?

Biodiesel is produced around the world, led by the U.S., Brazil and Germany.

The US produced 6 billion liters in 2017 or about 1.6 billion gallons. This website has the exact numbers for 2017, 2018 and some of 2019 production of biodiesel in the U.S.

Biodiesel in the US is largely made from soybeans at this time.

Will biodiesel damage my engine? / Will biodiesel damage my car?

Biodiesel can be used in any car or engine that is using diesel. Biodiesel is a solvent this means that it may start cleaning the tank or pipes that previously just used petroleum fuel, for this reason fuel filters may clog initially.

How will biodiesel help save money?

It depends! If the price of a barrel of crude rises to a high level, biodiesel can be cheaper. In addition, if RIN’s are available (basically a credit for using biodiesel), they can lower the price of biodiesel and make it less expensive to use and purchase.

How will biodiesel help reduce pollution?

Petrodiesel uses crude oil, which is trapped CO2 from ages past. When it is burned, it releases this CO2 back into the air. When you use biodiesel, you’re using CO2 that is being captured by the growing plants or the waste. This is current CO2 you aren’t adding to the net sum in the environment.

As for regular pollutants, here is a chart that shows what using biodiesel does compared to conventional diesel. There is a significant reduction to pollutants that are expressed through the exhaust.

How long will ecodiesel last? / How long can biodiesel be stored?

Diesel, including biodiesel, does go bad after awhile. Diesel fuels adhering to ASTM specification should be safe for storage up to a year without additional treatment and testing. If you are storing diesel for long term use, it is a good best practice to treat the fuel with a biocide and oxidative stabilizer to ensure that the fuel stays within specification and nothing will begin to grow in your fuel tank. The biggest enemy of long term diesel storage is water and dirt entering the fuel through a tank vent. As temperatures change, a tank will breath, pulling in air and moisture from outside. Keep your fuel within specification by ensuring there is no water in the tank and that outside contaminants can’t get into a tank.

Where biodiesel is used? / Where is biodiesel used in the world?

Biodiesel use is encouraged by many countries and usage has increased greatly since 2001. This graph from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that the U.S. used 2.1 billion in 2016 or about 22% of the total amount of biodiesel used that year. Wikipedia lists 31 countries and explains the amount of biodiesel they use each year.

Where to buy biodiesel?

If you live in Oregon, every gas station has at least 5% biodiesel. Cardlock locations throughout the states have stations with biodiesel blends. For other locations, this site is a great resource.

Where can biodiesel be used?

Legally, it can be used anywhere although some biodiesel derived from palm oil is restricted in certain countries.

When / where was biodiesel invented?

The definition of diesel is a liquid that uses compression and oxygen to ignite without the use of a spark. Rudolf Diesel created the diesel engine in Germany. The design for engines first used coal dust suspended in water and later vegetable oils, such as peanut oil. These fuels were later abandoned when petroleum became abundant and cheaper to produce.

Where does biodiesel fuel come from?

In the United States, the primary source for biodiesel is soy beans. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the feedstocks break down as such:

Soybean Oil – 52%
Canola Oil – 13%
Corn Oil – 13%
Recycled feedstocks – 12%
Animal Fats – 10%

Even with Soybean oil as the primary source, the remaining meal is used to produce food for animal feed. For more information on feedstocks of biodiesel, here is an ongoing blog we have been working on to examine the resulting fuels produced by the various feedstock.

Where are biodiesel plants?

Here is a list of sites in the United States.

When did biodiesel begin?

The original diesel engine ran on peanut oil, so technically biodisesel was first used in the 1890s. Most oils in the 1800s were from bio stocks. It wasn’t until petroleum became abundant and thus cheaper that biofuels and oils were abandoned for this cheaper source.

When does biodiesel gel?

The feedstock determines when biodiesel will gel. The most common feedstock is soy, which has a cloud point of 0°C (32°F) for B100. Petroleum diesel has a cloud point of -45°C (-49°F) to -7°C (19°F) (Source). Cloud point refers to when the paraffin begins to crystallize and the fuel looks a little cloudy.

Biodiesel and petrodiesel is usually blended and this lowers the cloud point of biodiesel in the fuel considerably. In addition, additives are frequently added during cold weather that further lowers the cloud point.

When is biodiesel day celebrated?

National Biodiesel Day is March 18th, which is also Rudolf Diesel’s birthday. August 10th is International Biodiesel Day, a celebration of Rudolf Diesel’s prime model running for the first time on August 10, 1893.

Who invented biodiesel?

The diesel engine is defined by “any internal-combustion engine in which air is compressed to a sufficiently high temperature to ignite diesel fuel injected into the cylinder, where combustion and expansion actuate a piston.” Until petroleum was developed as a cheaper alternative, animal and vegetable oil was used. One of the first fuels used in the diesel engine was peanut oil, and thus biodiesel was born.

Can you use 100% Biodiesel even in the winter?

The answer is YES. While biodiesel has a lower cloud point then petroleum diesel there is a technology by Optimus Technologies called the Vector System. This allows a truck to start on regular diesel until it gets up to temp and switch over to run on up to 100% biodiesel. The City of Ames, Iowa is one success story of this technology. (Story Here)

November 30, 2020

Prepaid and Preset Fuel Cards Strategies for Small Business https://staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/50-prepaid-and-preset-fuel-cards-strategies-for-small-business-1024x683.jpg 1024 683 Star Oilco Star Oilco //staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/StarOilco-Logo-RGB-C-Lg-Simple.png November 30, 2020 September 17, 2024

Prepaid and Preset Fuel Cards Strategies for Small Business

Use Commercial Cardlock exactly like a Prepaid Credit Card as a strategy for eliminating fuel theft in your business.

Name: Star Oilco
Address: 232 NE Middlefield Rd., Portland, OR, 97211, United States
Telephone: 503-283-1256
Price range: $$

Are you really just looking to eliminate your fuel theft risk?

With the recent economic slowdown, now is the time to field new management tools. Let us help your business seize control of your fuel buying. Know when and where fuel is bought by your employees.

Credit cards are a bad tool for this. Use the card controls and e-receipt function of Pacific Pride Cardlock fleetcards to have the same control as a Pre-Paid Visa or Mastercard but without the card charges and higher prices of fuel (get our White Paper on how to use fleet cards to stop fuel theft).

Keep control, save money, and stop would be fuel thieves.

Avoid expensive Credit Card fees while getting commercial pricing and the built in security you deserve.

Solve problems with Star Oilco preset fleet card program.

There is a growing industry of prepaid credit card programs being marketed to fleet operators as a solution to fuel management. The bigger advertisers are Bento for Business and Net Spend, which provide Visa or Mastercard credit cards with controls to protect the issuer of the cards. If you are asking yourself ‘what are the advantages of a prepaid card for fleet fueling’ the answer is simple. Control.

What separates Star Oilco from a pure prepaid credit card is that we are total control to ensure only fuel is purchased with the card and that a commercial price can be found avoiding retail stations in many markets. We definitely agree that prepaid credit card programs can be effective — if managed properly. But there are draw backs to credit cards versus a restricted and programmed corporate fleet card.

The biggest of these being your business has to pay full retail credit card pricing for your fuel. Add to that the opportunity to misuse a credit card isn’t removed and a gas station can often sell anything your employee puts on the card with fuel. Wouldn’t it be better to lock purchases down to the specific products your fleet needs?

The Star Oilco Card has all the features of a prepaid credit card at a far lower cost. The Star Oilco Pacific Pride card has a fuel only purpose and fleet-specific protection.

Star Oilco’s fleet card program provides the same controls as a prepaid Visa or Mastercard but with the added benefit of being fuel- and fleet-focused.

Star Oilco’s approach is security-minded and designed to offer your Dispatch, HR, and Managers total clarity of what is happening daily with fuel. Like a Prepaid Visa or Mastercard, Star Oilco’s fuel card programs control transactions per day, time of day or by zip code and can add other restrictions for use, such as an e-receipt, to provide a real-time alert every time a card is used.

Unlike a Prepaid Visa or Mastercard though, we gear the security features to follow a vehicle — not a human being.

We set the controls to match the reality of the vehicle that needs gas, diesel, propane, maintenance or a hotel. Instead of a card issued to a human, it follows the company vehicle. Your drivers and employees are held responsible for a secret PIN that will show up in e-receipts, reports and invoices by their full name. The cards follow the keys of your vehicles and remain controlled by your Dispatcher and other Managers.

Star Oilco’s fleet cards are focused specifically on fleet needs.

Realistically, fleets face employee turnover. Hassling with babysitting a credit card budget each day while still giving an employee a credit card they can spend on anything isn’t a real solution. We are focused on the fuel need of fleets and have features prepaid credit cards do not.

CONTROL ALL FUEL BUYING BY:

-RETAIL SITES OR COMMERCIAL ONLY

– SPECIFIC FUEL TYPE

– GALLONS PER TRANSACTION

– TRANSACTIONS PER DAY

– TIME OF DAY

– PART OF TOWN (Zip Code)

The biggest difference: We have prepaid controls without having to tie up your cash in a prepaid program.

As fuel prices change, your ability to use a credit card (not to mention their terms!) can change without notice. Our terms stay the same, and for credit worthy businesses, we are thinking of you in terms of gallons not a arbitrary dollar number. The biggest example is the reality of volatile fuel prices.

Fueling a fleet is a gallon game, not a dollar budget.

With a prepaid credit card, you will always have to examine your monthly fuel budget. The real downside to this occurs when prices spiral above $3 a gallon. At that point, you not only have to increase your credit exposure (and possibly tie up cash in a deposit dependent on the terms of the card) but the likelihood of theft increases as well.

A Star Oilco Pacific Pride or CFN fleet card operating on the Fuel Man network sets your limits by the approved products, the gallons per day and a number of transactions per day. This limits your exposure to theft not in an arbitrary and ever changing dollar figure but the actual fuel a driver needs.

Another reality about fuel: Retail fuel sellers hate paying a credit card processing fee.

They pass that on with a “credit” price. So not only does a prepaid card tie up your operating cash flow in a deposit, you’ll pay a higher price for the fuel you buy. It is also estimated that moving from a retail gas station and convenience store fueling method to a commercial Pacific Pride or CFN site will save you ten minutes per fueling transaction. Being a commercial only island there are smaller lines, saving you measurably on driver labor.

Pacific Pride and CFN also have stand alone 24-hour/7-day/365-year access commercial fueling sites with high flow diesel. For operations running all hours, commercial access is a profound improvement over retail. These sites are priced not from a retail credit card price but a wholesale plus basis. This is a quantifiable and transparent way to negotiate a fair and competitive price for fuel.

If you want to look at Star Oilco’s approach to fuel cards, call us at 503-283-1256 or leave a message in the form below.

We look forward to helping you secure your fleet fueling easily while saving money on your total cost of fuel.

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Star Oilco is a proud Independent Franchisee of Pacific Pride

with over 30 years of experience in solving fuel security issues for our customers.

For more please see the following other blog posts:
Seven ways to stop fuel theft before it happens.

HR strategies to combat fuel theft – Upgrade your fleet card security.

On-site fueling as a labor saving strategy.

Oregon Self serve laws for retail and commercial gasoline.

August 24, 2020

On-Site Refueling in Oregon https://staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/80-on-site-refueling-in-oregon-768x1024.jpeg 768 1024 Star Oilco Star Oilco //staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/StarOilco-Logo-RGB-C-Lg-Simple.png August 24, 2020 September 12, 2024

On-Site Refueling in Oregon

Wet Hose Fueling and Mobile On-Site Diesel Delivery in the Pacific Northwest.

If some days you have more work than drivers…

Mobile On-site refueling or “Wet Hosing” is a solution that will push more money to your bottom line and reduce stress on your drivers. Star Oilco can also merge our mobile onsite refueling service with our national Fleet Card system.

One bill, labor saving in town and secured fleet fueling over the road.

Top Five Reasons to Use Wet Hosing for your Fleet Diesel Fueling

On-site refueling or “Wet Hosing” is a preferred method for fueling these days. Fleets of all sizes prefer getting their fleet fueling delivered after hours in their yard. The reasons are numerous but at the top of the list, labor is the driving force behind it.

Shaving off even fifteen minutes of labor–which is one of the two highest costs for most fleets, right after diesel–can have a huge payback to the bottom line.

If your fleet is consistently on overtime or short that one extra hour of legal driver time, picking up fifteen to thirty minutes per truck a few times a month can be a huge opportunity. On top of that fleet fueling, your diesel can also save considerably just by controlling where you pay your fuel taxes (Oregon PUC is tax exempt on the fuel bill, while Washington cardlock and truck stops are paying nearly $.50 a gallon in Washington diesel road tax). Though you are paying IFTA, why pay the tax earlier than you need to.

Call Star Oilco if you have questions and want to examine the payback value of Mobile On-site Refueling compared against your current vendor for diesel. You might be surprised how much it will save you in time, money and management effort.

Five Reasons your fleet should use Mobile On-site Refueling:

Driver Time – The most valuable resource your fleet owns.
- Truck drivers are a limited resource and they cost more than you can usually measure in money alone. Without calculating the lost productivity of your truck, you are paying over $10 each time you allow your drivers to stop for fuel. Just the out of route, stopping, and getting back on the road time will put refueling your own trucks at a half hour of lost time. As the average fill up we see is under 50 gallons fueling your own trucks will cost you $.20 to $1 a gallon in labor costs alone.
One More Stop – Picking up productivity in your fleet.
- Getting drivers on the road and without a reason to be out of route pays back dividends. If you pay productivity bonuses, your most productive drivers will thank you as well. Even in fleets where pay is by stop, not based on hourly wages, the ability those few times a year when drivers are so busy they are bumping up against DOT work rules, they will thank you for the convenience of being ready to go the start of each shift and not having to worry about that one more stop on the way back to base. A few extra stops a year is often worth thousands of dollars to your bottom line–more than a cost of a tank of diesel.
Save on the Cost of Diesel
- Today the price of diesel at gas stations, truck stops, and other retail options is high compared to wholesale rack averages. It is not uncommon for our customers to get an extreme labor savings with Mobile Onsite Fueling while also saving on the cost of diesel at the end of the month. If you are using a credit card to buy fuel, the added Credit Card pricing of diesel is usually $.10 or more cents a gallon. Cut out the retail mark up on fuel and get a cost plus deal with a true wholesale diesel seller delivering into your yard after hours.
Easily Integrates with cardlock and other fleet cards onto one bill easily.
- If you have a major hub with a critical mass of trucks in town, wet-hosing your fleet can pay back rapidly. Even if the majority of your fleet is over the road and out of town, on-site refueling can be a money saving proposition. You can also integrate it seamlessly with a Pacific Pride, CFN, Fuelman, Voyager or other fleet card program as well. Star Oil can provide a Pacific Pride or Fuelman card that will work over the road consolidating all your fuel into one bill. Star can also accept Fuelman, Comdata, WEX or Voyager and bill those fleet cards directly with onsite refueling. Call if your fleet uses one of these national fleet cards and you want to move to wet hosing billed directly to the card and license plate of each one of your trucks. (For further reading on corporate fleet card security features please read our article on Upgrade your Fleet Card’s Security Features)
Cost Plus Diesel – Budget to know every day you are getting a good wholesale rate for your fleet.
- Star Oilco can connect your fleet to an agreed and easily verifiable cost plus supply agreements. Be it OPIS Average or Low Rack Plus agreements we can guarantee you have a good wholesale price of fuel. On-site refueling will provide a simplified fleet management experience for both your drivers and your Accounts Payable department. Call us if you want to talk about what this can do for your business. ( For further reading on the benefits of premium diesel and a wholesale partner for diesel, read our article on What is the benefit of Premium Diesel versus untreated diesel?)

Contact Star Oilco with any questions you may have.

We are here to serve you and keep the process simple.

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March 20, 2020

Fueling support for those on the road https://staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/77-fueling-support-for-those-on-the-road-1024x682.jpg 1024 682 Star Oilco Star Oilco //staroilco.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/StarOilco-Logo-RGB-C-Lg-Simple.png March 20, 2020 September 12, 2024

Fueling support for those on the road

Are you worried about finding fuel?

If a gas attendant gets sick you may find gas stations closing or worse employees working while they are sick.

Construction workers, delivery drivers and first responders still need fuel and still need to be able to get to work.

Cardlock cards are an excellent way to solve this dilemma, no attendants – helps with social distancing and 24/7 access means that even in emergencies the sites are open.

Star Oilco is an independent Franchisee of Pacific Pride

We are all dealing with an extraordinary set of experiences right now. Those that are on the road may see less access to fuel stations as gas station employees get sick or decide to not work. Food, cleaning products, and medicine are even more important right now. If your on the road delivering these items you need to be sure that you have fuel. The solutions is Pacific Pride fuel cards.

There are also those at home right now looking to save money when they can open again. One of the fastest ways to save money is limit your drivers and employees on what they can buy. Credit cards can be abused and it may be weeks later before you know it happened.

Protect your business by setting controls and monitoring systems. With less time to monitor individual employees you can 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, and this is easy to do by setting controls on your 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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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. If they are where they said they were when fueling. Instant feedback and communication is critical to change bad behavior of drivers. They may mean to do well but just 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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Cardlock

Oregon Diesel Taxes Explained

How Oregon Diesel Taxes Are Calculated

Oregon Fuel Taxes in a Nutshell

Off-road diesel

On-road diesel (auto diesel)

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

Oregon Fuel Taxes for a Layperson

On-Road Diesel (Auto Diesel)

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

Off-Road Dyed Diesel

Oregon PUC Permit

IFTA – International Fuel Tax Agreement

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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On Site Refueling in Oregon

6 reasons to use Wet-Hose diesel and gasoline fleet fueling in Portland, Oregon.

The best strategic decision to reduce needless driver hours and keep your fleet on the route without excuses.

Mobile Onsite Fleet Fueling Service for diesel and gasoline available in Oregon and Washington.

If some days you have more work than drivers… Wet Hose Fleet Fueling is your solution!

One bill for On Site Fueling and Fleet Cards, labor saving in town and low prices over the road.

Make your IFTA and PUC’s fuel reporting simple.

6 Reasons to Use Wet Hose or Mobile Onsite Refueling

Six reasons why you should consider wet-hose diesel fueling:

Driver Time – The most valuable resource your fleet owns.

One More Stop – Picking up productivity in your fleet.

Control Fuel Taxes – Track your taxes without chasing paper receipts.

Control Your Type of Fuel – Ensure you are getting Premium Diesel, Dyed Diesel, or B20 Biodiesel.

Easily integrates with cardlock and other fleet cards onto one bill.

Cost Plus Diesel – Budget to know every day you are getting a good wholesale rate for your fleet.

Contact Star Oilco with any questions you may have about Wet Hose Fueling your fleet.

We are here to serve you and make Mobile Onsite Fueling simple.

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Use Pacific Pride Fuel Cards as a Management Tool

Pacific Pride fuel cards. Stop employee fuel theft by using the Star Oilco Fuel Card solution.

Star Oilco’s Pacific Pride card can give you control over when and where fuel is purchased.

Make managing drivers buying fuel a simple system that let your dispatch know in real time as fuel is purchased.

You can use Star Oilco’s Pacific Pride card to:

The Star Oilco secure Pacific Pride card- The best option to knock out fuel theft.

We are your partner in Fleet Card and Cardlock Card success.

How Star Oilco secures your business from fuel thieves.

Now, imagine how this works for your business in practice.

Seize control with Star Oilco’s corporate fleet card solutions.

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Oregon and Self-Serve Laws at the Pump

Why can’t I pump my own gas in Oregon?

In Oregon there are self-serve and full-serve counties. The more urbanized counties require an attendant serve you with gasoline.

Red Highlighted Counties are Full Serve and Green Counties allow Self Serve Gasoline in Oregon.

Since 2015, some counties have allowed Oregonians to pump their own gas.

Covid-19 changed laws temporarily

What is the punishment for pumping your own gas?

With only 2 states still requiring a pump attendant the question remains: Why does Oregon not allow customers to pump their own gas?

There are still ways in Oregon that residents in all counties can pump their own fuel.

Diesel-Only Customers

Business Owners and Commercial Use Fuel

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What’s in a “Keep it Simple Fuel Audit”

How do you compare different fuel card vendors?

You audit your fuel bill.

The three verifiable costs in a gallon of fuel are:

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

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

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

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

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

Wholesale Fuel Cost + Taxes + Margin = Total Fuel Cost

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

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Fleet Fueling in Portland, Oregon and Fuel Security

How do you eliminate the management hassles of fueling your fleet in Portland, Oregon?

Use Star Oilco’s Total Solution fueling service.

Seize Control of your Fuel Costs. Save Money. Stop Slippage!

Star Oilco’s best practices when thinking about bulk fuel security at your facility.

Star Oilco is your Fleet Fueling Services Company with solutions to knock out fuel theft.

Mobile Fueling Service, Pacific Pride Cards, and connecting fuel to your HR Policy can save you thousands of dollars a year in the long run.

Fuel theft is on the rise in the Portland, Oregon area.

Stop Fuel Theft: Best Practices for Portland, Oregon

To train your fleet consider the following best practices below:

1 – Educate your people on the dangers and evidence of fuel theft

2 – Install fences, lighting, security cameras, and work with the local police.