This graph illustrates the wide regional variations in the prices (US dollar per Litre) of different oil products for 2008.
However, these price variations are not due to differences in crude oil prices, but to varying levels of taxation in the major consuming nations. The blue portion of the bar graph above shows how much of the price of each litre of oil goes to oil producers; the yellow portion represents what goes to cover the industry margin; and the red portion presents the amount that goes to national government taxes.
The graph indicates that tax levels range from relatively low levels in the USA to very high levels in many European countries. In the UK for example, the government generated substantially more from taxation than what OPEC Member Countries received from the sale of their oil.
Source: OPEC
