Welcome to Pump Talk

With gas prices and fuel efficiency being hot topics discussed in many parts of the world, my colleagues and I looked for an oil and gas company that might be talking with consumers through a blog. We didn't find one, so we created our own. 

Through this blog, my fellow blog authors and I hope to engage in an open, interactive yet informal dialogue with you and everyone else who has thoughts, questions, opinions, etc. on gas pricing and fuel efficiency. 

If you're interested in the back story, please read About this Blog. 

If you are interested in some of the 'behind-the-scenes' stuff, keep reading. 

Pump Talk is one of only a handful of corporate blogs in existence today.  And while we were able to borrow some best practices from other corporate bloggers both in Canada and around the world, a lot of it was created from scratch.  So consider what you see today as merely the starting point.  It will grow and get better.  Given that, I offer you some thoughts on how we got here.

1. As you can see in the bios, all blog authors are Petro-Canada employees in the communications department.  We understand that some will immediately cry "spin doctors!", but give us a chance.  We're interested in the topics and talk about them for a living.  If you see us slipping into 'corporate speak', just let us know.
2. We have a Comment Policy, Terms & Conditions and other legal stuff prominently displayed on the blog.  We have tried to balance being open and interactive, with the fact that we are blogging for Petro-Canada, a regulated and publicly-traded company.   Rather than make you guess, we wanted to state our approach up front.   
3. We'll be monitoring comments.  Not much science here.  Our YouTube experience last year was pleasant, but many comments came sprinkled with offensive language.  I'm no prude, but this site is for all ages.  We'll keep things moving as quickly as possible to encourage discussion.
4. We actually launched two blogs...one in English and the other in French and have posted a Language Policy.  We looked, but weren't able to find another Canadian corporation or media outlet that had already addressed some of the challenges of blogging in more than one language.  Our approach is therefore built out of respect for both official languages.  We hope others will get involved and increase the amount of French content we can link to.   

Any feedback on the various pieces I've discussed is welcome.  This is the starting point in an ever-changing online world.  Help us figure out how to evolve and improve.  Just post a comment, or e-mail us.

So that's it.  As this blog is probably one of 100 thousand that will be started today, we're glad you're here and hope you keep coming back.

Comments

[Mario Parise]

As a marketer (and big fan of Kate Trgovac, who pointed out this blog from My Name Is Kate), congrats on joining the discussion! I'm not sure I'll have much to say about as prices, but I think it's fantastic that you're opening up your communications like this. Bravo!

[Christine]

This is a great idea. I look forward to seeing how this discussion unfolds. I do hope that your blog won't attract just folks who feel that prices are too high. I personally think that they should be tripled. I don't think that people realise how valuable this non-renewable energy is.

[Don Schwartz]

I live in Calgary, and am acutely aware of the high price of gas here. on a recent visit to Ottawa, I was astounded to see prices in Ottawa were between $0.13 and $0.17 LOWER than in Calgary. I checked the prices just before leaving Ottawa, and again upon my return here, and the price discrepancy was unchanged. How on earth can that be justified?

[Jon Hamilton]

Thanks Don. I'll look into that particular case, but this question is asked often. It usually boils down to four factors: taxes, competition and consumer choice, the amount sold, and the type and location of stations.

For a more detailed information on these factors, check out:

http://www.fuelfocus.nrcan.gc.ca/fact_sheets/gasprice_e.cfm

[Rob Campbell]

The price of gas is affected by many things, but mostly refining capacity.
The cheapest gas in Canada is almost always found in southern Ontario. The most expensive fuel is usually found on the Prairies, and in northern BC and the worst of the worst places to buy gas is Atlantic Canada.

Fuel Ghoul outlines the perfect storm and the rise of $4.00 gallon gasoline.

http://roberrific.typepad.com

[Natalie Brandon]

I am troubled by high gas prices but even more troubled by the impact to our environment from fossil fuel extraction. This is especially becoming a problem in Canada with the oil sands development occurring in Alberta. I'm worried about this and eager for an alternative that won't be so harmful for our environment.

[Sam]

why is petro canada supreme gas 0.12 cents more than regular gas while others are only 0.11 cents more than regular gas?