Review Your Fuel Usage
We start by reviewing your annual fuel consumption, delivery patterns and anticipated requirements. This helps establish whether fuel hedging is commercially appropriate for your business.
Commercial Fuel Price Management
Fuel Hedging &
Fixed Price Fuel Contracts
Take greater control of your business fuel expenditure. Our fuel hedging solutions help high-volume fuel users secure pricing for future requirements, manage market volatility and protect operating margins.
Greater Budget Certainty
Protect Operating Margins
Reduce Price Volatility Exposure
Suitable for businesses using 300,000+ litres annually, with particularly competitive opportunities for those consuming 500,000 litres or more.
Discuss Fuel Hedging
Tell us about your business fuel requirements and our team will be in touch.
Interactive Fuel Price Calculator
What Could a Change in Fuel Prices Mean for Your Business?
Adjust the sliders to see how a movement in fuel prices could affect your annual expenditure.
100,000 L
2,000,000 L
Volume you would consider fixing annually.
1p/L
30p/L
Illustrative increase or decrease per litre.
Example:
A business using 600,000 litres annually
might hedge 400,000 litres.
Illustrative Price Exposure
£20,000
Discuss Your Fuel Requirements
A 5p per litre movement across 400,000 litres represents £20,000.
If Prices Rise
A suitable fixed-price arrangement could protect against £20,000 of additional gross expenditure.
If Prices Fall
You could pay £20,000 more than the equivalent floating price.
Important: Illustrative gross exposure only, not a savings forecast or quotation. Assumes uniform price changes across the selected volume. Actual outcomes depend on timing, contract terms, fees and taxes. Fixing a price may cost more if market prices fall.
Understanding Fuel Hedging
What Is Fuel Hedging?
Fuel hedging is a way for businesses to manage future fuel costs by agreeing pricing for a proportion of their anticipated fuel requirements.
Rather than purchasing all fuel at constantly changing market prices, your business can secure an agreed price for a defined volume and period, typically between six months and three years.
This gives fuel-intensive businesses greater certainty over one of their significant operating costs, helping them to plan expenditure, protect margins and price future work with confidence.
Many businesses choose to hedge only part of their expected consumption, retaining flexibility for the remainder of their fuel requirements.
Fuel hedging is about cost certainty and risk management — not predicting whether fuel prices will rise or fall.
Plan With Confidence
Greater certainty over your fuel costs. Better control of your business budgets.
How Fuel Hedging Works
A Straightforward Approach to Managing Fuel Costs
Fuel hedging doesn't have to be complicated. We help your business understand its requirements, agree a suitable pricing arrangement and plan future fuel expenditure with greater certainty.
Choose Your Hedged Volume
Decide how much of your future fuel consumption you want to protect. Many businesses hedge a proportion of their requirements rather than committing their entire annual usage.
Agree Your Contract
The agreed volume, fixed price and contract duration are confirmed in advance. Arrangements typically cover between six months and three years, depending on your requirements.
Receive Fuel as Normal
Fuel deliveries continue throughout the agreement, with contracted volumes drawn down over the agreed period. This provides predictability without disrupting your normal business operations.
You Don't Have to Hedge Everything
Many businesses choose to hedge around two-thirds of their anticipated fuel requirements. This can provide a useful balance between protecting future costs and retaining flexibility for changing demand or market conditions. The right proportion will depend on your business.
Is Fuel Hedging Right for Your Business?
How Much Fuel Do You Need to Use for Hedging to Be Worthwhile?
Fuel hedging is generally most suitable for businesses with significant, predictable fuel consumption. While arrangements can be considered from around 300,000 litres annually, larger volumes typically provide access to more competitive pricing and greater commercial value.
300,000L
Starting Point for Fuel Hedging
Businesses consuming approximately 300,000 litres of fuel per year may be suitable for a hedging arrangement, depending on their expected requirements, contract duration and the available pricing.
500,000L+
Where Greater Value Can Be Achieved
For businesses consuming 500,000 litres or more annually, the opportunities become particularly attractive. Larger fuel commitments can provide greater negotiating strength and access to more competitive hedging prices.
Example: A Construction Company Using 600,000 Litres Annually
Consider a construction or civil engineering business operating its own fuel storage tank, supplying diesel to plant, machinery and commercial vehicles across its operations. With annual consumption of approximately 600,000 litres, fuel represents a substantial operating cost.
600,000L
Estimated annual consumption
400,000L
Illustrative volume hedged (two-thirds)
200,000L
Remaining annual volume at market prices
The Business Case for Fuel Hedging
Why Businesses Choose to Hedge Their Fuel Costs
For businesses with substantial fuel requirements, even relatively small changes in the price per litre can have a significant impact on annual operating costs.
Fuel hedging provides an opportunity to manage that uncertainty by securing pricing for an agreed proportion of future consumption.
Rather than attempting to predict the direction of fuel markets, businesses can focus on managing financial risk, protecting profitability and planning with confidence.
Greater Budget Certainty
Knowing the agreed price of a proportion of your future fuel requirements makes financial forecasting easier. This can support more accurate budgets, cash flow planning and cost management over an extended period.
Protect Operating Margins
Unexpected increases in fuel prices can erode profitability, particularly for businesses working to fixed contract rates. Hedging can help protect margins by reducing exposure to rising fuel costs on the contracted volume.
Price Contracts With Confidence
For construction firms, hauliers and other businesses tendering for longer-term work, greater visibility over future fuel expenditure can help when preparing quotations and agreeing fixed-price contracts.
Spend Less Time Monitoring Prices
With pricing agreed for contracted volumes, there is less need to continually monitor fuel markets or seek new quotations for every delivery. Your team can spend more time managing day-to-day business operations.
What Happens If Fuel Prices Fall?
Fuel hedging is designed to provide price certainty rather than guarantee the lowest possible price. If market fuel prices fall below your agreed fixed price, you may pay more for the contracted volume than you would under a variable-price arrangement. That's why we believe hedging should be considered primarily as a business planning and risk management tool rather than simply a way to save money. The financial implications depend on the terms of your agreement.
Real-World Fuel Hedging Example
Fuel Hedging in Practice: An Agricultural Buying Group
While fuel hedging is primarily about managing risk and improving cost certainty, favourable market conditions can also deliver substantial financial benefits.
Greater Cost Certainty for Agricultural Fuel Buyers
One of the agricultural fuel buying groups supplied by Compass Fuels entered into a fixed-price fuel arrangement covering approximately 36,000 litres per month.
By agreeing its future fuel pricing in advance, the group gained greater visibility over a significant ongoing operating cost, helping members plan their fuel expenditure with more confidence.
Approximately 18 months into its two-year agreement, the group had benefited by an estimated £82,000 compared with purchasing fuel at floating market prices over the same period.
With another six months remaining on the agreement at the time of reporting, this example illustrates how fixed pricing can protect businesses when market prices move above their contracted rate.
Estimated Benefit Against
Floating Market Prices
£82,000
Approximate financial benefit reported after 18 months of the agreement.
36,000L
Approximate monthly
contracted fuel volume
24 Months
Total agreement duration
18 Months
Period completed when
benefit was reported
6 Months
Remaining contract term
at that point
The Real Value Is Knowing Where You Stand
This example demonstrates the potential value of securing fuel costs before market conditions change. However, the wider benefit of hedging is the ability to plan, protect budgets and manage commercial risk without relying on predictions about future fuel price movements.
Historical customer example supplied by Compass Fuels in October 2026. Figures are approximate and reflect reported market conditions at the time. Fuel markets can move in either direction, and fixing a price may result in higher costs if market prices subsequently fall. Past outcomes do not guarantee future savings.
Industries We Support
Which Businesses Benefit From Fuel Hedging?
Fuel hedging can be particularly valuable for organisations with substantial, predictable fuel requirements or long-term customer contracts. We work with businesses across fuel-intensive industries to help manage future fuel expenditure.
Construction Companies
Construction businesses running large fleets of plant, machinery and site vehicles can benefit from more predictable diesel costs, particularly when delivering fixed-price projects over extended periods.
Civil Engineering
Infrastructure contractors and civil engineering firms often operate fuel-intensive equipment across long-running schemes. Hedging can help protect project budgets against unexpected increases in fuel prices.
Haulage & Logistics
Transport operators purchasing significant quantities of road diesel can use fixed-price arrangements to improve cost forecasting and help protect margins on contracted distribution work.
Agriculture & Farming
Larger agricultural businesses and fuel buying groups may benefit from fixing a proportion of expected fuel requirements, helping manage expenditure across seasonal operations and changing market conditions.
Manufacturing & Industry
Manufacturers with consistent fuel requirements for heating, processes or equipment can use fuel price management strategies to improve longer-term operating cost visibility.
Large Fleet Operators
Businesses operating multiple depots, commercial vehicle fleets or centralised fuel storage can benefit from greater consistency in their fuel purchasing and financial planning.
Commercial Fuel Price Management
Which Fuels Can Be Considered for Hedging?
Compass Fuels supplies a wide range of commercial, industrial and specialist fuels. For businesses purchasing significant annual volumes, we can discuss the potential for fixed-price arrangements based on the fuel required, anticipated consumption and available contract terms.
White Diesel (DERV)
For transport operators, haulage fleets and commercial businesses purchasing large volumes of road diesel, a fixed-price arrangement may help improve cost forecasting and protect operating margins against adverse price movements.
Explore White DieselRed Diesel (Gas Oil)
Agricultural businesses, eligible off-road operators and fuel buying groups with substantial gas oil requirements can explore ways to manage future expenditure through longer-term fuel pricing.
Explore Red DieselHVO Renewable Diesel
Businesses operating compatible fleets, machinery and generators on HVO may wish to explore longer-term pricing options alongside their sustainability and operational planning. Availability is subject to the proposed agreement.
Explore HVO FuelIndustrial Heating Oil
Factories, manufacturing facilities and commercial premises with predictable industrial heating requirements can discuss whether longer-term pricing arrangements are available for their chosen heating fuel.
Explore Industrial Heating OilMarine Gas Oil (MGO)
Marine operators, workboat fleets and businesses with regular marine fuel demand can enquire about potential price management options, subject to product suitability, required volumes and contract availability.
Explore Marine Gas OilPurchasing Multiple Fuel Types?
If your business purchases a combination of commercial fuels across one or several locations, speak to our team about your total annual requirements. We can review your volumes and discuss which products may be suitable for fixed-price arrangements.
Fixed-price and fuel hedging arrangements are subject to product eligibility, market availability, required volumes and individual contract terms. Not all fuel types necessarily qualify for the same arrangements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fuel Hedging: Your Questions Answered
Considering a fixed-price fuel agreement? Here are answers to some of the questions businesses commonly ask about fuel hedging, eligibility and managing future fuel expenditure.
What is fuel hedging?
Fuel hedging is a way for businesses to manage exposure to future changes in fuel prices. An arrangement can provide an agreed price for a defined volume over a specified period, helping businesses plan expenditure and reduce uncertainty.
How much fuel do I need to use to qualify for hedging?
Fuel hedging arrangements can generally be considered for businesses using approximately 300,000 litres annually. Opportunities can become more commercially attractive at 500,000 litres or more.
Suitability depends on the volume being committed, the required contract duration and available market terms.
Can I fix my diesel price for 12 or 24 months?
Depending on market availability and your requirements, arrangements may be available over periods ranging from six months to three years, including 12-month and 24-month terms. The available pricing and conditions will be confirmed before entering an agreement.
Do I need to hedge all my annual fuel consumption?
Not necessarily. Many businesses prefer to protect only part of their expected fuel requirements. Hedging around two-thirds of forecast usage can provide a balance between price certainty and flexibility, although the appropriate proportion depends on individual circumstances.
What happens if fuel prices fall?
If market prices fall below your agreed price, your contracted fuel may cost more than purchasing at the prevailing market rate. Fuel hedging should therefore be viewed primarily as a risk management tool rather than a guarantee of financial savings.
What happens if I use less fuel than expected?
The consequences depend on your agreement. Some arrangements may include minimum volume commitments or financial obligations if contracted volumes are not taken.
We recommend reviewing realistic fuel forecasts before agreeing a hedged volume and understanding the terms for under-consumption.
Are there upfront fees or additional hedging costs?
Charges and payment requirements depend on the structure of the proposed agreement and the hedging provider. Any applicable fees, deposits or other commitments should be confirmed before proceeding.
Can I hedge fuel for several depots or sites?
Businesses with fuel requirements spread across multiple locations can discuss their combined consumption with Compass Fuels. Whether volumes can be included within one arrangement will depend on the agreement and delivery requirements.
Which fuels can be considered for hedging?
Businesses purchasing significant volumes of white diesel, red diesel and other commercial fuels can discuss potential fixed-price arrangements with our team. Eligibility for HVO, industrial heating oil and marine gas oil will depend on product-specific availability and contract terms.
Still Have Questions About Fuel Hedging?
Speak to Compass Fuels about your annual fuel requirements and whether a fixed-price arrangement could work for your business.
Take Control of Your Fuel Costs
Ready to Plan Your Future Fuel Costs With Confidence?
If your business consumes 300,000 litres or more annually, speak to Compass Fuels about how a fixed-price fuel arrangement could help you manage expenditure, reduce uncertainty and protect operating margins.
No obligation. Our team will review your requirements and discuss whether fuel hedging could be suitable for your business.