Ready for $4+ gas??

[BajaRon]

Really, the big problem is that America has decided to depend on other countries, most of them run by Muslim governments, dictators, and despots, for our energy.

As long as we depend on someone else to provide what we can't live without, we are going to be jerked around.

Blame whomever you like. But I say the real culprit is the American people who have consented to this current energy (or lack of) approach.

There is certainly plenty of blame to go around. But until we look at the root cause, we are destined to continue down the same road we're on today.

 

[NancysToy]

Price for regular here was $3.039 Saturday, $3.199 Monday, and hit $3.399 today. Diesel is only up a dime, to $3.559. It is what it is folks...enjoy the ryde!

 

[MouthPiece]

Guess I'll weigh in too. With what is happening "presently" and soon in the future, my money is on the speculators. (futures boys)

Additionally, as long as we have a government that insists on having policies that restrain "local exploration and extraction", but instead looks to foreign countries and leads everyone to believe that alternative methods for our needs are readily available, the rise in prices will continue.

Why are coastal states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Flarda restricting "shallow offshore drilling" when the Cubans (90 miles from Flarda) are actively seeking drilling?

Last, but not least, we have "other" foreign countries (China and India) that are now playing in the ball game for the need of oil. Hence and increase in demand. Guess what happens then?

Think "Green". When I hear that term, I hear me getting my wallet out.

Just my 2 cents.

Chris PE# 0004

 

[BajaRon]

I filled up my Ford Excursion diesel yesterday at Sam's Club in San Angelo, Tx for $3.399. Most of the stations were advertising diesel at $3.459 to $3.499.

I agree with most of what BajaRon says except that I'm not sure just where in the US we can't drill, certainly not here in west Texas. There is seldom a day that I don't see at least one rig pass my house and most of my rides on the Spyder I will see new locations going up and new wells going online. They are even drilling inside the city limits of Ft Worth, Texas and many of the suburbs around Ft Worth and Dallas although some, maybe all, of these may be gas wells instead of oil wells. I've been traveling to Dallas and Ft Worth for many, many years and never seen that before. It looks to me like, at least in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma, the drilling business is alive and well.

Cotton

You're right, there are still places in the US where you can drill. But most, if not all, of these are existing oil sources. We are replacing old wells that no longer produce with newer technology. So really, you're putting a new straw into the same glass.

When you drive through many of these areas you see a lot of wells sitting idle. That's because the old technology won't pump what’s left anymore.

The real oil is off the coast of California (can’t touch that), shallow water Gulf coast (can’t touch that) and huge deposits in Alaska and elsewhere on Federal land. Oil companies have mostly quit looking for oil in the US because they can’t drill for it if they do find it.

The recent big deal of the Federal government opening up thousands of square miles of offshore sites to oil drilling was a farce to get news headlines. They knew most people would not read past the first paragraph.

But these vast areas that were opened were carefully selected because they are known to have NO oil deposits. The much smaller areas that are either known to have vast oil deposits or suspected of having them are still closed.

We won’t get change unless we change the way we get.

 

[Raptor]

The cost of oil is determined by the Futures Market. The basic cost of oil starts from OPEC (what they will sell it for), then the Futures speculators play with the cost in the Futures Market.. The oil companies have little to no control of the price of oil. The oil processing plants have to pay what the market decides, process the oil, extract all products associated with the processing, then we have the gasoline to run our engines. If the oil companies cannot make a profit, they cannot operate. If you want to really look at someone to blame, look at our government that doesn't want to drill because of squirrels, flowers, birds, etc. So we are at the point now, where it's pay or walk. We got ourselves there.

So in answer to your question, if the Futures price went up last night, the pumps went up this morning. The oil companies have no control on the Futures market...the fat cat Futures investors do.

I think you are correct here. I was kinda getting on big oil yesterday but then did some research and came to the same conclusion that you have identified, Dudley. Basically there is no escape! :dontknow:

 

[BajaRon]

Price for regular here was $3.039 Saturday, $3.199 Monday, and hit $3.399 today. Diesel is only up a dime, to $3.559. It is what it is folks...enjoy the ryde!

Diesel is a 'Trash' fuel. They used to burn it in pits to get rid of it! I don't remember what the ratio is but you get a lot more diesel from a barrel of oil than you do gasoline. The poorer and cheaper the barrel of oil, the more diesel you'll get from it.

Taxes are much higher on diesel than on gasoline and that is part of the reason diesel has been higher than gasoline for awhile.

And the recent requirement to remove sulfur (more prevelent in the really cheap crude) has also contributed to the cost.

But I agree, though these real issues explain some of the pricing, diesel has been a mystery for some time.

 

[BajaRon]

I think you are correct here. I was kinda getting on big oil yesterday but then did some research and came to the same conclusion that you have identified, Dudley. Basically there is no escape! :dontknow:

There probably isn't any short term fix. But DRILL BABY DRILL would immediately have some impact, and longer term have a HUGE impact.

It's do that or things will get much worse. I don't seen any viable alternative to these two alternatives.

If you increase product there is nothing Wall Street can do but predict lower prices and the snowball begins to go the other way.

Of course, really long term we need to do something else. But government regulation is stifling real, out of the box innovation.

 

[ARtraveler]

Ah! another controversial subject. Gas here in Alaska just went up to 3.57 a gallon for regular--the day before it was 3.52. I drive vehicles that want premium--so that makes it 3.77 for me as of today. I understand that Alaska and Hawaii generally have the highest prices all the time. Remember--we have the big oil field at Prudhoe Bay and the big pipline that runs down to Valdez. It does not help pricing here in Alaska.
What makes me unhappy is the futures market which is so volatile. First Egypt goes down, then Libya goes down, result, the futures market spikes and the oil companies immediately raise prices. The product currently at the gas stations was paid for at previous prices--not future prices. When the market levels off, or prices drop, they are very slow to pass that on to the consumer. Every bad thing in the news seems to give the companies another excuse for raising the prices.
I don't have a problem with companies making profits--but look at the quarterly reports when they come out--Im guessing they will be very large on the income side because of all these price increases.
If Saudi Arabia gets into turmoil and goes down--you are probably going to see $10.00 a gallon gas eventually. I so hope that I am wrong--but it seems to be headed that way.

 

[Noral]

oil reserves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Total_oil_mean_08_0001.png

Take a look at our oil reserves :dontknow:

 

[Neez]

Of course, it's known that the Alberta tarsands contain almost as much oil as the Saudi reserves and Canadians are getting better at extracting the stuff. Yeah, I've heard the complaints about "dirty oil" from the touchy-feely crowd, but at the rate the big consuming countries use oil, the easy-to-get oil is getting scarce. Besides, it doesn't get much dirtier than a blowout in the Gulf and those aging rigs would worry me. Any time you Americans get tired of enriching the sheiks, you could give your friends, (the blue-eyed Arabs to your north), a call. We're open for investment too, eh?

 

[XLT]

I have been trying different things off the take out menu lately in preparation for our future (unless we change) ....like number 54- Subgum Wontons and 78- Lake Ting Tang Prawns in house green sauce. I'm going to Wallmart and buy a rice cooker tomorrow. As my last major purchase was Canadian I would like to try to buy American this time, but I don't think I will have luck as I don't think we manufacture those either. NOTE- when going deep in the menu - skip 54, it's as bad as it sounds and 78s is the same as special brown sauce only green , but costs $4.00 more a pint.

 

[Raptor]

Of course, it's known that the Alberta tarsands contain almost as much oil as the Saudi reserves and Canadians are getting better at extracting the stuff. Yeah, I've heard the complaints about "dirty oil" from the touchy-feely crowd, but at the rate the big consuming countries use oil, the easy-to-get oil is getting scarce. Besides, it doesn't get much dirtier than a blowout in the Gulf and those aging rigs would worry me. Any time you Americans get tired of enriching the sheiks, you could give your friends, (the blue-eyed Arabs to your north), a call. We're open for investment too, eh?

Heard that man! It's something that should have been done a long time ago. And that's all I have to say about that! I am hopeful that much better cooperation and collaberation will soon be a reality and not just an idea. :thumbup: You never know; if we put our heads together good things can happen!

 

[Lifeisadaydream]

Here's two great sites that break these costs down. Here is a state by state breakdown of all taxes http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/upload/State_Motor_Fuel_Excise_Tax_Update.pdf
Here is a listing of current regional prices and how the prices break down.
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp
And lets not forget oil is traded in dollars. The value of the dollar is falling, so prices have to rise to maintain the current value.

 

[patIreland]

gas

Thats for nothing, here in ireland 6.30 euro per gallon =$8.20 approx

 

[M2Wild]

BajaRon....you are so correct!!!! It's not big oil companies...it's big governments... we need to "Drill Baby Drill"

It's the unrest in middle east. They do the killin and we do the payin.:cus:

 

[hevnbound]

The oil companies are doing OK. Here are some excerpts from 4th Quarter profit reports:

Exxon Mobil (XOM) earned $9.25 billion in the last three months of 2010, its most profitable quarter since the record third quarter of 2008.

AMSTERDAM - Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's largest oil company, on Thursday reported that fourth quarter profit more than tripled from a year earlier as oil prices rose and the company boosted production.

HOUSTON — Exxon Mobil, the largest American oil company, reported a 53 percent increase in its fourth-quarter profit on Monday, helped by an improving world economy that has increased energy demand and crude prices.

Chevron Corp.'s fourth-quarter net income jumped 72% as rising fuel demand lifted oil prices and produced a sharp turnaround in its refinery business

 

[GloryRyders]

:dontknow: If their is one bright side to all of this it's that Missouri has about the cheapest gas in the nation right now :2thumbs: so if you are comming to Spyderfest, at least you will think that you are getting a bargin everytime you fill up.:roflblack:

 

[woodchuck]

Gas prices

The oil companies employ tens of thousands of people and work very had at what they do. After it's all said and done they make about $0.04 per gallon for their efforts.

States make between $0.06 and $0.32 per gallon (average is about $0.20 per gallon). This is 1-1/2 to 8 times what the oil companies make off a gallon of gas.

The Federal government makes over $0.18 per gallon (about 4-1/2 times what the oil companies make).

These government agencies don't explore, drill, pump, refine distribute, or operate any stations. They just collect. And these amounts don't include typical local taxes of $0.03 - $0.10 per gallon.

In New York, if you took out the tax you'd be paying about $0.59 per gallon less. If you quit paying the BIG OIL companies you'd be paying just $0.04 a gallon less.

So where does the rest of the money go? To employees, corporate taxes (which is another big haul for government and shows up as increased prices at the pump because companies do not pay any tax, they just collect it from you and I for the government), then there is the expense of company operations and a big chunk to the Arabs for product since we can't drill here in the US.

It's easy to blame the oil companies, but being easy is really about as far as that will go.

Did you know that the Federal government, as well as most states and local governments, raised the tax rates on fuel in January?

If you had a business, wouldn't you expect to make at least as much off of it as the government did?

Your story don't hold water with me. How come when the price of gas goes up the big oil company's post record profits.:clap: Not from 0.03 cents per gallon as you state. :spyder:They are making a lot more than that. I can't buy that.

 

[ataDude]

No where do you mention what the actual profit margins are. Do you have that information?

The oil companies are doing OK. Here are some excerpts from 4th Quarter profit reports:

Exxon Mobil (XOM) earned $9.25 billion in the last three months of 2010, its most profitable quarter since the record third quarter of 2008.

AMSTERDAM - Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's largest oil company, on Thursday reported that fourth quarter profit more than tripled from a year earlier as oil prices rose and the company boosted production.

HOUSTON — Exxon Mobil, the largest American oil company, reported a 53 percent increase in its fourth-quarter profit on Monday, helped by an improving world economy that has increased energy demand and crude prices.

Chevron Corp.'s fourth-quarter net income jumped 72% as rising fuel demand lifted oil prices and produced a sharp turnaround in its refinery business

 

[boborgera]

I guess after all the speculation as to why the price of gas is going up, The fact remains is that we have no control over it.
So if it go's to 4 or 5 dollars a gal we'll just belly up to the pumps gripe and pay it.:gaah:Remember in 73 when the word was gas would be going to a dollar a gal,
Most people back than said if that happens they'll stop driving, Yea Right like that happen!!