In a corner of the United Kingdom where winter is measured as much in oil tanks as in degrees, the cost of keeping a home warm has turned upward again. Latest Consumer Council figures show a 300-litre fill averaging £239.77, after a brief respite that had brought prices to their lowest since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Such swings are the quiet echo of a larger geopolitical upheaval, now felt in ordinary kitchens and cold hallways across Northern Ireland, where the price of warmth rises and falls with forces far beyond the border.
Home Heating Oil Prices Rise Again in NI as Petrol Holds Steady
In a corner of the United Kingdom where winter is measured as much in oil tanks as in degrees, the cost of keeping a home warm has turned upward again. Latest Consumer Council figures show a 300-litre fill averaging £239.77, after a brief respite that had brought prices to their lowest since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Such swings are the quiet echo of a larger geopolitical upheaval, now felt in ordinary kitchens and cold hallways across Northern Ireland, where the price of warmth rises and falls with forces far beyond the border.
The price of filling a home oil tank in Northern Ireland has turned upward again. The latest Consumer Council figures put the average cost of 300 litres at £239.77, more than £8 above the figure recorded a week earlier. The rise comes after a welcome pause, when heating oil had slipped to its lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. That conflict and the sanctions that followed have sent energy costs swinging, and those swings reach directly into what families here pay to keep warm.
Larger orders tell the same story. A 500-litre fill now averages £375.76, up just over £11 in a week. Only last month that figure had dipped below £400 for the first time since the invasion began, and although it remains under that mark, the direction has reversed. For the largest tanks, 900 litres now averages £661.08.
At the pump the mood is calmer. Diesel eased to 157.9p a litre, while petrol held steady at 143.5p. Where a driver fills up still matters a great deal. Dungannon offers the cheapest diesel at 150.9p, while Bangor charges 164.9p, and Ballyclare recorded both the lowest and highest petrol prices in the figures.
For now, the question is whether the heating oil rise deepens or fades in the weeks ahead, as energy costs continue to fluctuate.
The price of filling a home oil tank in Northern Ireland has turned upward again. The latest Consumer Council figures put the average cost of 300 litres at £239.77, which is more than £8 above the £231.64 recorded a week earlier.
The increase follows a period of relief. Heating oil had fallen to its lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, a conflict whose sanctions on Vladimir Putin's country set off sharp swings in international energy costs. Those swings fed directly into what households here pay to keep their homes warm.
The larger orders tell the same story. A 500-litre fill now averages £375.76, a weekly rise of just over £11. Last month that quantity dipped below £400 for the first time since February 24, 2022, the day the invasion began. The current price remains under that mark, but the direction has reversed.
For the biggest tanks, 900 litres will cost an extra £16.74 compared with the previous week, bringing the average to £661.08.
The picture at the pump is different. Diesel continues to ease, with the average now 157.9p per litre, down from 158.7p the week before. Petrol has not moved at all, holding at 143.5p.
Where a driver fills up still makes a considerable difference. The cheapest diesel in the figures is in Dungannon, at 150.9p. In Bangor, drivers face 164.9p, a gap of 14p per litre between the two towns.
Ballyclare appears in the petrol data at both extremes. Prices of 138.7p, the lowest recorded, and 149.9p, the highest, were both found there, an 11.2p spread within a single town.
The thing to watch is whether the heating oil rebound continues in the coming weeks, as energy costs keep fluctuating. Diesel and petrol, for now, are moving little or edging down.
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War & Conflict