gas prices...

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: eljefino
^ I am not seeing anyone discussing anything potentially positive about fuel prices.

Maybe because there are no positives to high fuel prices, potentially or otherwise.
Lots of positives to low prices though.


Let me rephrase, I am not seeing anyone discussing factors that could drive oil prices lower. Everyone is 100% doom and gloom. IMO the darkest hour is just before dawn.

Things won't be peachy-keen fantastic even if prices drop around 10-15%, but I feel that's going to happen.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: eljefino
^ I am not seeing anyone discussing anything potentially positive about fuel prices.

Maybe because there are no positives to high fuel prices, potentially or otherwise.
Lots of positives to low prices though.


Let me rephrase, I am not seeing anyone discussing factors that could drive oil prices lower. Everyone is 100% doom and gloom. IMO the darkest hour is just before dawn.

Things won't be peachy-keen fantastic even if prices drop around 10-15%, but I feel that's going to happen.


What would drive down prices? Make buyers take delivery...take crude oil off the commodities market just for a couple...

 

[Trav]

Quote:
I am not seeing anyone discussing factors that could drive oil prices lower

What i don't understand is why did they passed CAFE and other fuel saving measures in the first place.
Instead of being oil independent by conserving our finite resources for generations to come they allow oil companies to peddle this stuff to China depleting our reserves anyway.

We could have used it up ourselves at $1 a gallon, instead we are paying $4 a gallon and its going to be gone anyway.
We are supplementing the Chinese by selling them our oil while we go out and buy it from a group of criminals in the middle east.

Something really stinks here, we should be swimming in cheap fuel.
IMO every politician from the top down regardless of party is responsible and should be held accountable from crimes against the people they were elected to serve.

I am not going political here i'm just saying they have the power to legislate and regulate what these companies can and cant do, it seems to me anyway they prefer to do nothing or even worse let the people get screwed by turning a blind eye to the oil companies back door dealings with the Chinese.

Mods: If you deep this post to political, please edit/delete with my apologies, i tried to keep it within the TOS.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: Coprolite
It went down due to the crashing of the economy, not for political reasons.


LOL, I know that. This was a tong in cheek comment.

It's funny how NO ONE talks about the real cause for high oil prices, that is peak oil. One can have good economy or cheap oil. Pick and choose your favorite.

 

[91344George]

The fact is that we do NOT have a "free market" economy, at all.
Not even close.

As far as supply and demand...firstly there is PLENTY of supply, as there are hundreds of oil tankers sitting off our coasts and the coasts of other countries many deep waiting to off load, the fact is that they are being HELD DELIBERATELY at sea to artificially create a supply deficit.

Peak oil is nothing but a theory. We still don't even know with any certainly that oil is not a renewable resource.

I agree about folks severely cutting back en mass.

But we also need to curb speculation, what happened to the regulations that were being discussed in congress back in 2006 and 2007 or so?

 

[bruno]

Heard that one about the offshore tankers before and it was just as false then as it is now .

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Trav

We could have used it up ourselves at $1 a gallon, instead we are paying $4 a gallon and its going to be gone anyway.
We are supplementing the Chinese by selling them our oil while we go out and buy it from a group of criminals in the middle east.

It must make logistical sense. Maybe we're exporting through Pacific ports and importing through Atlantic ones. If we undid these arrangements the Chinese would just switch over to Saudi oil. Maybe Saudi oil has less sulfur; we care about that; China, not so much.
Quote:


Something really stinks here, we should be swimming in cheap fuel.


Well we're still importing 60-70% of our oil. Much of it from nice countries like Canada. The countries we'd like to tell to F.O. are probably only 5-20%, but we don't have the will to tell Sally Homemaker to trade down to a Versa, slow down, try a compact flourescent, nor to cut our uneasy ties with two-faced semi-friendly, semi-terroristic entities.

 

[91344George]

Originally Posted By: bruno
Heard that one about the offshore tankers before and it was just as false then as it is now .



I wouldn't say that the corporate media doesn't make inaccurate reports BUT considering that I saw these reports on everything from NBC, to Fox, Bloomberg, to even CNBC, I tend to believe them over a random poster on this site.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: eljefino

We could have used it up ourselves at $1 a gallon, instead we are paying $4 a gallon and its going to be gone anyway.
We are supplementing the Chinese by selling them our oil while we go out and buy it from a group of criminals in the middle east.

It must make logistical sense. Maybe we're exporting through Pacific ports and importing through Atlantic ones. If we undid these arrangements the Chinese would just switch over to Saudi oil. Maybe Saudi oil has less sulfur; we care about that; China, not so much.

Last figures that I saw, and it was a while ago, Oz produces approximately 90% of the oil that it used,and imports nearly 100% of it's consumption.

The stuff that we import is relatively rubbish, and high sulfur(if you googleearth the refineries, there are mountains of sulfur pellets), while our home drilled stuff is very clean (rumoured that with filtration, diesels can be run straight out of the ground at some sites).

Apparently we get more for the export than we pay for the import...well that's the story.

Also helps justify our fuel prices not following the US price when US price is falling. They wheel out some Singapore index, or other measure to justify our price rises, until the U.S. price starts up again, and we use that.

 

[javacontour]

You are making the assumption our economy needs to continue the way it is.

Things will change. Folks may not like the changes. But the bottom line is things are going to change.

You can adapt or you can gripe and complain. But even if you gripe and complain, pretty soon, you'll still have to adapt.


Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: javacontour
So if you don't like the price, don't buy. That will do a lot more than complaining on some message board.


If it were only that simple. In case you haven't noticed, our entire economy relies completely on commerce. Until someone can devise a way for people to travel to where they need to go, and for goods to get to the retailers without using fossil fuels, I'm afraid we're at the mercy of the oil barons. Sure, people could cut back by making fewer trips and driving more fuel efficient vehicles, but people have been doing that, in fact, U.S. demand is lower today than it's been in years, and look where it's gotten us...we're headed towards record high gas prices. The oil industry does manipulate the market and they will do whatever it takes to keep the record profits rolling in...

 

[Shannow]

I agree that adaptation is necessary, it's going to cost as a fortune in increased taxes, and rural people will suffer greatly.

Before my time, the people that I worked with could catch a train from town to the power station, to the township that the power station was near,and on to the next town beyond that (and reverse), as a commute.

Heck, youcould even have a holiday taking the train to close to your destination.

That was stopped in the 80s, and replaced with busses, which were in turn stopped...and now there's a carpark full of cars.For leisure, there's no option but driving 40-60 miles.

Meanwhile, Sydney gets the trains and busses, and looks like a carpark the majority of the mornings and evenings...

$1.50/L regular, $39/day parking, and people still commute one person per car.

Crunch comes, they can hop on a train/bus, and the Govt can buy a few more carriages from China in the blink of an eye.

Those of us in the sticks need the infrastructure rebuilt while we pay through the nose for fuel.

Those WAYYY out in the sticks, who have to drive 600 miles to attend a hospital that provides chemo are royally done over.

 

[Ausfahrt]

Originally Posted By: 91344George


Peak oil is nothing but a theory. We still don't even know with any certainly that oil is not a renewable resource.

 

[friendly_jacek]

yap, most people live in a denial despite obvious evidence. Same with climate change.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Like Trav said, something is very stinky.

Supply is HIGH and demand is LOW. This normally allows for lower prices.

But we are exporting oil. Simply ludicrous, and easily addressed with a stiff tariff.

If refined here it should be distributed here. We can't become a green economy overnight. People who believe that alternative energy sources can support this country are in at least as much denial as any of us oil mongers!

 

[45ACP]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
yap, most people live in a denial despite obvious evidence. Same with climate change.


This goes both ways.

Now, a different question. What is "Blue Petroleum?" Isnt there some kind of push to make energy resources sustainable instead of "we use them up then they are gone, then what?"

When i was in grade school i kept hearing there was only enough oil, a NON-renewable resource (though you wouldnt think that if you looked around,) to last another 50 years.

I also heard oil came from decomposing dinosaurs. Thats a lot of dinosaurs.

 

[Y_K]

Where did you get this demand is low thing, guys? Global demand is way up. USA is still relevant, but less so. Get over this US-centric view of the world, but keep exceptionalism intact for me, please. Study in Dialectics for you.

Jacek, on that Climate Change Religion: there is not enough data to make it truly scientific. Even paleo data is inconclusive. There are short cycles and there other cycles. NOAA director was warning several previous administrations that we are about to exit two 'good cycles' and enter 2 other one overlapping each other. 10-15 years ahead of Katrina he was talking about it coming. Great opportunity for the governing ones to screw governed sheep yet another time. New Age is dying, so they take over with the CCC - Climate Change Church with the new bishops lining up.

 

[friendly_jacek]

What is probably happening now is strategic oil reserves are being filled up in a rapid rate ahead of possible Iran war. Especially China is growing the reserves. Last time they did that was before Olympics in 2008, that did wonders for oil prices too.

 

[LAGA]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Like Trav said, something is very stinky.

Supply is HIGH and demand is LOW. This normally allows for lower prices.

But we are exporting oil. Simply ludicrous, and easily addressed with a stiff tariff.

If refined here it should be distributed here. We can't become a green economy overnight. People who believe that alternative energy sources can support this country are in at least as much denial as any of us oil mongers!

Let`s look at it this way. The U S gives the oil companies billions in tax cuts and subsidies. They use that money to buy foreign oil, refine it here, and export it at a profit. Nice

 

[PZR2874]

Won't be long before someone starts refining their own oil on their own land and the EPA stepping in to "give the chorizo" to people for trying to "get by".

And I have noticed the gas is getting [censored] and [censored] sitting in the tanker for weeks before it's dumped for delivery. Even though some may not agree, but why would they bring it in for ~$2.50 a gal instead of ~$2.75 a gal ?

Makes sense to me

 

[lovcom]

At the office, those screaming the loudest about the increase in gas prices are those that drive the full size pick ups, SUV's, and the muscle cars with a zillion ponies into work.

They never haul anything in their trucks. They take the family on 1 trip a year, so their SUV's are nearly never filled up with more then a few faces. They are often middle aged with a Jr. HS mentality that compells them to spend $40,000+ on a fast sleek awesome driving V8 powered toy that they feed premium fuel. To work.

Yea, they complain the loudest.

They are all IDIOTS and I have no sympathy for these idiots that either don't watch the news or have little or no self-restraint.

Lots of little boys stuck in middle aged bodies.