Gas prices officially breach 3.00

[BlueCelisWhite1]

Wife just called and said gas prices in our area was $3.06 this morning.

The other day I bought a 1998 Volks Jetta, loaded and in awesome condition but with high miles. Parked my gas guzzling SUV that got about 12 miles to gallon and now am getting about 25-28 with this volks.

Instead of 80.00 to fill tank Volk fills for 20 ish now I dont feel like Im taking it in the read so much at the pump. Its a bit differant getting use to such a smaller vehicle but wallet is bigger so that helps.

So this summer It will be Volks and Harley for transportaion. Harley gets a good 38 MPG.

Now just need to convince wife to hang up her gas guzzling SUV for somehting more economical.

Ive never been one to compalin or be disgruntled about paying taxes but always have professed a negative attitude paying so much at the pump.

Its really rediculous IMHO.

Should Oil companys be capped on their profits?

[plantbuilder]

currently paying over 4 dollars us per gallon

[ViRedd]

"Should Oil companys be capped on their profits?"

The oil companies are beholden to millions of shareholders. Cap profits and you cap retirement accounts with the result of hurting millions of investors, mostly Americans, economically. The oil companies make around nine cents profit off of each gallon sold. The majority of those profits are reinvested in exploration and new tecnology. The federal governement makes over 18 cents per gallon "profit" in the form of taxes and the states make even more. So, if anyone is gouging, its the government. New York State tacks on another 44 cents per gallon, if you can belief that. So, who are the greedy ones here? I say its the politicians who speak out of both sides of their mouths. On one hand they want to cap prices, pass punitive tax disinsentives to "punish" the oil companies and through their retoric make out the CEOs of big oil to be the bad guys. On the other hand, the politicians continue to gouge us with more taxes, amounting to WAY more than the oil companies make. To institute any plan that disrupts the free market, will in turn, disrupt the free flow of oil. Gas lines, anyone? ;)

Vi

[Batman]

Vi~ while I agree with your assertion that the taxes are rediculpus for a gallon of gas, I disagree with your belief that the poor old oil companies aren't the major gougers.

we all know that big oil has always prospered, they have never hurt for bucks... but in these days of claiming huge losses in order to justify price increases, to only turn around and declare RECORD PROFITS in this day and age, is criminal.

[Lothar of the Hill People]

It'll all be OK. W is investigating. :rolleyes:

[Batman]

This made news in England.. I never saw anything like this in the US media, have you..? Lets see now Vi~ if your position was right, we should see gas go down now, no..? I mean if they get a more than $2 break per barrel, we should see lower prices at the pumps. We'll see. :rolleyes:

Oil prices tumble on fuel report.

Crude oil prices have tumbled by more than $2 a barrel after a government report showed that US petrol reserves have increased.

Concern that gasoline supplies would not be able to meet demand during the summer holiday months has been one of the factors underpinning record prices.

New York light crude shed $2.33, or 3.1%, to $72.28. London's main contract Brent crude slid $1.99 to $72.65.

That slide helped push US gasoline prices more than 4% lower.

'Trimming travel'

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday that gasoline stocks in the US rose by 2.1 million barrels last week.

Analysts said that the increase, the first since February, may have been down to consumers driving less because of higher petrol prices.

"I think high prices, without question, are starting to have an effect on demand," said Bill O'Grady, an analyst at AG Edwards.

His comments were echoed by Mark Routt, an analyst at Energy Security Analysis, who said that there "is evidence that American drivers are making some adjustments as a result of high prices".

"People are trimming discretionary travel, and choosing options other than driving to get places when they have that choice," he said.

However, the EIA said that geopolitical tensions and concerns about a clash between the US and Iran over the latter's nuclear programme are likely to underpin oil prices in coming months.

[inline6]

Around here we are at a steady 2.87-.95 and by looking around you would never tell that price is having an impact on drivers in my area. People are still truckin around in their absurdly wasteful v-8s, gunning it everywhere at that. Majority of people where I live drive trucks/suvs that dont get more than 15mpg, rediculous imo. And these people still bitch about being at war, well we are at war for the gas you are wasting like running water.

Its like when the hurrucane came around my parts and gas skyrocketed then fell once more gas finally got back in the city, then a few months later its back to those outrageous prices, the gouging is really out of hand. We have no choice but to pay and they know it so why not charge what they think its worth. Kinda like some weed dealers in my town....oh i got it cheap but its worth this much so im goin to double my normal profits at the expense of others. Hopefully, Americans will make some adjustments in order to help this situation and thier dependance on foriegn energy but its gonna take forever to see something actually turn around.

[OneLegUp]

ahhh economics and accounting 101..

First some facts..

The oil consumption of China and India combined equals that which the world consumed in total 10 years ago.

We wanted them to join the "real world"...they have...and they are helping to drive up prices.

As to the cost per barrel. The familiar mantra is it costs them oil companies appx. $20 a barrel in the US to extract the oil... True but that accounts for only 40% of our consumption..ergo we must import the balance of 60% at the open market prices.

So while you may have the $20 barrels you also have $70 barrels that bring you to an average of $50 a barrel.

Point is they are constantly cost averaging their inventory...

But we're not through. Good corporate minds must always look at what it costs to replace any inventory to be the basis for their pricing. They will basicly throw out the $20 a barrel at this time because it's an anomoly to the market conditions and is their reward for having invested.

You may not like it... I know I don't but that's the facts... and no one felt sorry for the oil companies and wild catters when oil was $12 a barrel.. wild catters were going under all over the place..

But can't they give us a price break?

If they did that..some scum bag lawyer would be suing them for violating their duty to the shareholders to bring forth the best return for their investments...

and price controls...ask Hawaii how well they worked for the last 8 months.. they worked so well..they stopped the price controls..

and should I go into how many refineries have come on line in the last 10 years.. 0............ 20 years 0... 30 years 0

Then you have various regualtory commissions telling oil companies what the blends can be at certain times of the year in certain parts of the country. I believe they are called designer blends and the number seems to be around 30. Now to make designer blends you have to shut down a refinery and retool for that blend..... all of which causes delays and drives up pricing...

Then they have to figure out how much of the designer blend to make at a certain time..for a certain market..........

Point in all of this..don't blame the oil companies for doing their shareholders a service...look to us for buying gas guzzling SUVs... look to us for wanting to flit around hill and dale... look to us because we don't want to be bothered so we give our kids cars to go school with only 1 kid to car..rather than as I did walk there... look around you..how many times you go to the store for one item that could have waited...really it could have...

We are to blame folks.....

*** I'd find one blend that works for the worst regions for pollution controls and that would be the standard for the country..some areas would pay more than they have historically...tough shit...

[Old Toby]

A big part of the SHARP rise in prices is that Exxon, ect... are in the futures market. They are now paying the price that they said they would when they bought the future options........they are making money every way possible. We need to do like Bolivia and have the Government take over the Oil companys. (just to piss off Vi ;) )

Some of it's pure Capitalist rape and some of it is ME centered global consumer world paradigm.
I spent a weekend with Jack Herer last year, I'm more sure than ever that Hemp could power America.

Old Toby

[LordOvertoke]

E85 ethanol.

look for the "Flex" ensignia on the newer vehicles.

look at Brazil for a model in how it should be done.

LO

[Brick Top]

Wife just called and said gas prices in our area was $3.06 this morning.

The other day I bought a 1998 Volks Jetta, loaded and in awesome condition but with high miles. Parked my gas guzzling SUV that got about 12 miles to gallon and now am getting about 25-28 with this volks.

Instead of 80.00 to fill tank Volk fills for 20 ish now I dont feel like Im taking it in the read so much at the pump. Its a bit differant getting use to such a smaller vehicle but wallet is bigger so that helps.

So this summer It will be Volks and Harley for transportaion. Harley gets a good 38 MPG.

Now just need to convince wife to hang up her gas guzzling SUV for somehting more economical.

Ive never been one to compalin or be disgruntled about paying taxes but always have professed a negative attitude paying so much at the pump.

Its really rediculous IMHO.

Should Oil companys be capped on their profits?



I did something similar. I parked my SUV and have a 1993 Sentra I drive most of the time. It was actually a present from my old business partner. I had a 1990 Ford F-150 4x4 and a 2000 Montero and was complaining about mileage. One day he gives me the Sentra so I got rid of the F-150 and seldom use the Montero now.


If you cap oil company profits it will cause investors to put their money elsewhere. That will mean to make up for the loss of operating capital gas prices would have to be raised. So no, don

[BlueCelisWhite1]

We have been buying our gas at Sams Club lately. Seems their prices if you are a member runs around .11 cheaper than all other stations in our area. Gas around here is 2.97 and at Sams its like 2.86 what a bargain eh??

[Roscoe]

*** I'd find one blend that works for the worst regions for pollution controls and that would be the standard for the country..some areas would pay more than they have historically...tough shit...

So imposing federal regulations can be a *good* thing?
I think so. But not in this case. That would be just trying to prolong a slow death. Fossil fuel is as dead as the dinosaurs who created it.

The Brazil experiment is eloquent because it utilizes its strengths of cheap labor and vast fields of sugar cane. We have the same kind of potential.
But it will take those damnable federal regulations to get the ball rolling.

We should also fund a program similar to Kennedy's space race but with the purpose of developing alternate energy sources. Hydrogen, ethonol, wave, wind, even nuclear.