(Oh to be in England {with its ready supply of North Sea petrolium!})

Yeah, you'd think proximity to the source would help, wouldn't you? Newfoundland has offshore petroleum and we have the highest oil and gas prices in the country. (Still not as high as the UK but it's all relative.) One of those mysteries of economics - I guess they can make more money selling it elsewhere, so we have to import our gas from the mainland.