A computer glitch caused gasoline to be sold for $1 at a Pasadena gas station. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle)
Hide Caption
A computer glitch caused gasoline to be sold for $1 at a Pasadena gas station. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle)
Hide Caption
A computer glitch caused gasoline to be sold for $1 at a Pasadena gas station. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle)
Hide Caption
A computer glitch caused gasoline to be sold for $1 at a Pasadena gas station. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle)
Hide Caption
A computer glitch caused gasoline to be sold for $1 at a Pasadena gas station. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle)
Hide Caption
A computer glitch caused gasoline to be sold for $1 at a Pasadena gas station. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle)
Hide Caption
Gas prices hovered around $3.35 in Katy. A gas prices war between a Kroger and a Walmart station had sent prices to $3.14 earlier this week. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle)
Hide Caption
Gas prices hovered around $3.35 in Katy. A gas prices war between a Kroger and a Walmart station had sent prices to $3.14 earlier this week. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle)
Hide Caption
Gas prices hovered around $3.35 in Katy. A gas prices war between a Kroger and a Walmart station had sent prices to $3.14 earlier this week. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle)
Hide Caption
Gas prices hovered around $3.35 in Katy. A gas prices war between a Kroger and a Walmart station had sent prices to $3.14 earlier this week. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle)
Hide Caption
Gas prices hovered around $3.35 in Katy. A gas prices war between a Kroger and a Walmart station had sent prices to $3.14 earlier this week. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle)
Hide Caption
In this March 31, 2011 photo, a worker changes the numbers indicating gasoline prices on the sign at a gas station in Cranberry, Pa. Retail gasoline continues to set records for this time of year. The national average increased nearly 2 cents overnight to $3.725 per gallon. Pump prices have climbed by more than 65 cents per gallon since January, costing Americans an additional $247 million per day for the same amount of fuel.(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Keith Srakocic / AP)
Hide Caption
A man on a skateboard passes a 76 station with fuel prices in the $4.00 range in Los Angeles Monday, April 11, 2011. With the price of gas above $3.50 a gallon in all but one state, there are signs that Americans are cutting back on driving, reversing a steady increase in demand for fuel as the economy improves.(AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (Reed Saxon / AP)
Hide Caption
In this March 31, 2011 photo, Daniel Dona pumps gas at a Shell gas station in Menlo Park, Calif. With the price of gas above $3.50 a gallon in all but one state, there are signs that Americans are cutting back on driving, reversing a steady increase in demand for fuel as the economy improves.(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) (Paul Sakuma / AP)
Hide Caption
Gas prices are displayed in Wantagh, N.Y., Tuesday, April 12, 2011. Gasoline pump prices continue to set new records for this time of year. The national average for a gallon of regular rose 2 cents on Tuesday to $3.79, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig / AP)
Hide Caption
A price board is shown at a Shell gas station in Novato, Calif., Thursday, May 5, 2011. Oil tumbled nearly 7 percent Thursday amid new signs that demand for fuel in the U.S. is weakening. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
Hide Caption
In this May 5, 2011 photo, the price for one gallon of unleaded regular gasoline is seen on the sign outside a BP gas station in Beachwood, Ohio. Americans are switching to more fuel efficient cars and driving fewer miles, but purchases of gasoline are still gobbling up an increasing chunk of the nation’s pocketbook. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta) (Amy Sancetta / Associated Press)
Hide Caption
In this photo taken May 5, 2011, a woman fills up her vehicle at an Arco gas station in Mill Valley, Calif. Americans are switching to more fuel efficient cars and driving fewer miles, but purchases of gasoline are still gobbling up an increasing chunk of the nation’s pocketbook. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
Hide Caption
FILE - In this May 5, 2011 file photo, contractor Mylan Johnson pumps gas into his truck at the Marathon Station in Moreland Hills, Ohio. Consumers spent more on gasoline, clothing and autos in April, pushing retail sales up for a 10th straight month. But much of the gain came from a surge in gasoline prices. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, file) (Amy Sancetta / Associated Press)
Hide Caption
Erica Antwi gasses up her car at the Braeswood Shell Station at 8521 Stella Link, Friday, May 13, 2011, in Houston, as people give their opinions about the high cost of gas prices. ( Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle ) (Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle)
Hide Caption
Gas prices at the Valero station on Fresno just east of IH-10 west ranged from $3.68 a gallon for regular unleaded to $3.89 a gallon for diesel fuel. (Tuesday May 24, 2011) JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net (JOHN DAVENPORT / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)
Hide Caption
A car passes gas prices at a filling station Friday, May 27, 2011, in Philadelphia. For every $10 a household earns, almost a full dollar now goes toward gas _ forcing Americans to rethink what they spend on everything else, including the family vacation. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) (Matt Rourke / Associated Press)
Hide Caption
Gas prices at a Tetco and Exxon on the 10,000 block of San Pedro ranged from $3.73 a gallon all the way up to $4.01 a gallon for super unleaded at the Tetco. (Tuesday May 24, 2011) JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net (JOHN DAVENPORT / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)
Hide Caption
People pass gas prices at a filling station Friday, May 27, 2011, in Philadelphia. For every $10 a household earns, almost a full dollar now goes toward gas _ forcing Americans to rethink what they spend on everything else, including the family vacation. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) (Matt Rourke / Associated Press)
Hide Caption
In this June 22, 2011 photo, gas station manager Joseph Sublett changes a sign reflecting lower prices in Little Rock, Ark. Wary of a new surge in gas prices, the Obama administration has decided to release 30 million barrels of oil from the country's emergency reserve as part of a broader international response to lost oil supplies caused by turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly Libya.(AP Photo/Danny Johnston) (Danny Johnston / Associated Press)
Hide Caption
FILE - In this July 1, 2011 file photo, a man pumps gas at a crowded Shell gas station in Little Rock, Ark. Oil is climbing as analysts ratchet up price forecasts for next year as supplies get tighter.(AP Photo/Danny Johnston, file) (Danny Johnston / Associated Press)
Hide Caption
In this Aug. 15, 2011 photo, a motorist pulls the nozzle out of his gas tank after fueling his car at a station in Augusta, Maine. For the first time in months, retail gasoline prices have fallen below $3 a gallon in places, including parts of Michigan, Missouri and Texas. And the relief is likely to spread thanks to a sharp decline in crude-oil prices. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach) (Pat Wellenbach / Associated Press)
Hide Caption
C.R. Martinez (left) takes a photo of the gas price to send to his cousin in California while he brother Ismael (right) looks on after filling their car up with $2.98 gas at a Valero gas station in northwest Houston near W Little York Rd. and T.C. Jester Blvd., Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011.
"We just got back to town from California where gas was $3.89; this is the cheapest gas we've seen", C.R. Martinez said. "I told my cousin he needs to bring his RV to Houston just so he can drive it."
In this Oct. 10, 2011 photo, motorists look for an empty gas pump at a Valero gas station in Miami Gardens, Fla. The oil market is choosing to view the barrel as half full, and the price has risen about 28 percent in a month. Should drivers worry that holiday shopping money will instead go to the gas tank? (AP Photo/J Pat Carter) (J Pat Carter / Associated Press)
Hide Caption
Jim Jackson of Stephenville, Texas, fills up Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, at a Rudy's Exxon station in Nacogdochoes, Texas. Jackson, who is partners in an oil production company in Stephenville, said increasing fuel prices haven't impacted his driving habits but his lifestyle and spending have changed as he tries to save more for an uncertain economic future. (AP Photo/The Daily Sentinel, Andrew D. Brosig) MANDATORY CREDIT (Andrew D. Brosig / Associated Press)
Hide Caption
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 18: Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron gas station on January 18, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Gas prices in California are 34.1 cents a gallon higher than last year and according to some analysts the gas prices could get close to $5 a gallon in some areas during the warm-weather driving season. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
Hide Caption
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 18: Gas prices are displayed at a Shell gas station on January 18, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Gas prices in California are 34.1 cents a gallon higher than last year and according to some analysts the gas prices could get close to $5 a gallon in some areas during the warm-weather driving season. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
Hide Caption
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 18: Gas prices are displayed at a Conoco Phillips gas station on January 18, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Gas prices in California are 34.1 cents a gallon higher than last year and according to some analysts the gas prices could get close to $5 a gallon in some areas during the warm-weather driving season. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
Hide Caption
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 18: Gas prices are displayed at a Conoco Phillips gas station on January 18, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Gas prices in California are 34.1 cents a gallon higher than last year and according to some analysts the gas prices could get close to $5 a gallon in some areas during the warm-weather driving season. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
Hide Caption
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 18: Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron gas station on January 18, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Gas prices in California are 34.1 cents a gallon higher than last year and according to some analysts the gas prices could get close to $5 a gallon in some areas during the warm-weather driving season. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
Gasoline prices are rising steadily across the United States, but a third East Coast refinery closure could set up higher prices later this year.
Texas gasoline prices are up 10 cents and Houston prices have shot up 12 cents over the last week, but analysts say those prices could steadily rise after a third refinery announced plans to close later this year.
Sunoco said it could decide to idle another refinery in the East Coast by mid-2012. The Department of Energy said those closures could “cut as much as 50 percent of current East Coast refining capacity.”
A strike could shut down 10 percent of the nation’s capacity for producing refined fuels, said Brian Youngberg, senior energy analyst for Edward Jones.
“If the strike prolongs, you will see supply really being curtailed, enough to really move prices,” he said.
Oil companies have been pulling out of refineries in an effort to eliminate losses from low-profit refinery operations. Several companies, including ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil, have spun off their refinery operations into separate businesses.
With less supply, prices for heating oil, gasoline and refined products are likely to rise — at a time where prices are already setting records.
Houston drivers are already seeing gasoline prices trend toward the $4 range again.
Gasoline prices, which approached the sub-$3 range before Christmas, have been rising in 2012. As of today, drivers are paying on average $3.37, or a rise of 12 cents, over last week.
Over the past month, gasoline prices have 30 cents, and Houston drivers are paying 46 cents more than they were a year ago. Houston drivers were paying $2.91 a year ago.
So once again you're stating what you really don't know. It "could" set up higher prices, but then again it "could not". Just more examples of what you DON'T need to print: speculation
OMG can you be any more nebulous here? Is there a clearance sale happening on possibility?
>>but analysts say those prices could steadily rise<>Sunoco said it could decide to idle another refinery<>those closures could “cut as much as 50 percent<>the closures could leave U.S. motorists with little supply cushion<>Those supplies could be further tightened<>A strike could shut down 10 percent of the nation’s capacity<>gasoline and refined products are likely to rise<<
Marko, several analysts are predicting higher prices, and all signs are pointing to higher prices at the pump. I haven’t spoken to an analyst who has predicted lower prices.
why shut down them down. Why are they doing all the drilling in the Eagle Ford Shale. You drive around and see all these wells producing. Do they think we are idots. We have supply. All politics if you ask me. And the wells (4 that I have see heard there were more) that are produceing are from an oil company in the area and has many stores in surronding area. That I do not understand.
I call B.S. The oil companies have been reporting record profits EVERY QUARTER for several years now. Not millions, but billions in profit. Closed refineries is just another excuse. We used to have conflicts, hurricanes, refinery problems, etc, etc, all without it having any effect on the price of oil/gasoline. Bring in the speculation and trading of oil and now if someone sneezes, up goes the price.
Yep, goes hand in hand with “Exxon makes $9.4 billion profit in 3 months.” From our pockets to those of rich executives, the transfer of wealth continues.
Curious, you are talking about different business models — refining vs. exploration and production. Oil companies (i.e. Exxon, Shell, Chevron and etc.) are drilling more and production has risen, but it’s mainly due to the higher oil prices.
Refining operations have been struggling to turn a profit. Demand for gasoline, heating oil and other products has dwindle. As a result, companies are losing money. For example, Exxon decided to sell a Japanese refining because of this trend. Sunoco and ConocoPhillips are two other examples.
Closing refineries as prices rise? Sounds like an Enron move! I live a block away from work now, so bring it on. The oil companies will not be able to rape me this year…
LOL at the mouth breathers blaming the POTUS. I recall everyone saying Bush had nothing to do with the prices in 2008 but now it’s all Obama’s fault. Love it.
The oil companies are screwing us again. Change will happen when we focus on the people responsible.
curiousgeorge2: Eagle Ford Shale is natural gas production, not oil. Refining margins are the reason to shut them down, along with the cost to revamp them to produce the new fuels manadated by the EPA. Oil companies don’t make much money on the refined products, their profits are large because of production of crude.
Isn’t that special, the rockefellers will be throwing another party tonight living high on the hog. Brings back memories of standard oil in the late 1800′s.
A recent story in the Chron stated there is excess stock of gas so the US is now exporting it. So why does this make a different in price? Just another BS excuse to raise prices. I am positive when these refineries come back online the price will not go down.
Prices in the NE will rise not for lack of supply per se, but for lack of suppliers. IOW, there will be less competing sources. That region’s dominant marketers won’t have their own refining as wholesale price leverage. Gulf Coast refiners will have the reserve capacity to take up the slack. But with limited transportation options, they’ll have a more captive wholesale market.
Any idiot who gets on here and blames the President for decisions made by the oil companies and refineries is simplifying the issue for stupid political hits. These are business decisions, the almighty business sector is bending us over, not the President.
So the availability of cheap Gulf Oil is having “zero” impact on the price of gasoline at the pump. I keep telling the Oil companies. “Don’t route the Gulf Oil via the Middle East. It will pick up that nasty $100 per barrel price.”
And, in I believe 2008 when prices were at an all-time high those same analysts projected . . . higher prices. And they justified it as saying that no new refineries had been built in what, 30 years, and China’s economic growth was pushing prices higher.
Then suddenly, prices fell. And those same analysts tried to justify it by saying it was due to an improving economy and people were driving less. Analysts can “predict” all they want, but my stance holds true in that there is no way to accurately PREDICT what will happen. Analysts are only going with the flow.
“Supply and demand” doesn’t work very well for the consumer when the supply is artificially controlled. Welcome to Tea Party economics as taught by Koch Bros. et al.
All this is just an industry “setup” to push gas prices up further and quicker. This type of unregulated behavior is what pushes people to want more government intervention. The government loves it and the oil industry loves it. The only ones scre*ed are the ones that can least afford it.
Refining operations are low margin but there’s no explanation for jacking up wholesale refined product by 50 cents or more per gallon. An increase from 5 cent margin to 10 cent margin would make them a healthy profit and would be negligible at the pump. Maybe it’s time to nationalize the refining process?
Lowered demand for gasoline, should result in lower demand for oil and drive the price of oil down. But when we are tied to the global market, lowering demand here is offset by increased demand somewhere else.
So lowering demand will never lower the price of gasoline, unless its global. And even then, OPEC can merely adjust their production level to keep oil where they want it priced.
The only way to lower the price of gasoline, is to greatly increase supply from non OPEC sources, by such a large amount of oil that it stresses OPEC’s unity.
That is what occurred in the early 80′s, after Prudhoe Bay, North Sea, and Mexico’s Cantarell fields came on line. OPEC members began cheating on quotas and the Sauds could no longer tolerate playing the role of swing producer. OPEC lost their discipline and the price of oil plunged.
Marko, the price drop in 2008 isn’t hard to explain. Gasoline prices dropped because of the recession. Oil prices went from $100 a barrel to about a third of that (as I recall).
Analyst aren’t going to be perfect, but they are making their best forecast based on facts, such as demand, supply and current events. It’s similar to what weather forecasters do to predict the rainy weather today, tomorrow and a week from. I doubt few people would say they are just speculating about what will happen.
So here’s my question to all of you complaining about the government. What responsibility to they have to help keep refineries open. Are you asking for subsidies or a bail out? Margins for refining are monstrously low. The majors have been selling off and decreasing their positions in downstream operations for many years now. What incentives are you suggesting be put in place? Should government be responsible for keeping them alive? Government can’t change the business model, can’t regulate margins. Please explain.
Check it out… WE EXPORT gasoline. The refiners actually have an interest in keeping gas prices high and shutting down refineries can only make the supply seem to be more limited. WE are being taken to the cleaners and no one in Washington has enough time left after making their lobbyists happy to keep us from being bent over a barrel!!(pun intended)
This is nonsense. The Department of Energy was established in 1976 to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. We have nothing to worry about. The DOE has done so magnificently, in fact, that most of its folks will soon be transferred to run Obamacare.
Paul, natural-gas powered vehicles are caught in a catch 22 situation. Consumers are wary of them because of a lack of infrastructure (i.e. a significant amount of pumps in the United States.) Automakers/government aren’t willing to fork over the money to build the infrastructure until the demand for it is there.
Texas has about 40 natural-gas fueling stations (35 CNG and 5 LNG). Would you buy a natural-gas power vehicle if you had so few fueling options? Natural-gas power vehicles faces a similar situation as electric vehicles — concerns of range and infrastructure.
Longer-term, the shuttered refineries will impact pump prices. But for the near term, there is more to the higher prices. A mild winter (so far) is escallating the time at which refineries begin switching blends. They do this due to federal mandate (and good environmental sense) to produce fuels with lower evaporative content during the warmer season. Cold weather causes those same fuels to not burn as well, thus the case-for-action for have ‘dual fuels’. Furthermore, in preparation for these product switchovers, any plant maintenance that has been deferred typically gets done at this time, which takes processing streams off-line, thereby affecting the immediate supply and causing prices to go up. The refining industry is cyclic in this manner although prices do seem to rise quicker than they fall. However, a year-on-year comparison of the low price-point and high price-pont (adjusted for unusual circumstances) shows that they remain relativly constant.
Just more market manipulations to jack the price to $5 a gallon, while the oil companies make atrocious profits each quarter off our backs and take the money out of our hard earned wallets.. Greed IS one of the seven deadly sins..
Wow – guess the BILLIONS in profit just isn’t enough for the oil companies. Guess they need more, and we just bend over and take it? Come on, enough is enough!!!
I have conformed to a much more economy sized vehicle with more MPG, but when is enough enough? When do we uprise and let them know they do not need BILLIONS????
How is a business decision made using the capitalist market mechanism the fault of the “left”? The U.S. is a net exporter of gasoline, meaning we ship more overseas than we use here. So because demand is down the logical thing to do is reduce supply. Funny how the walking dead chant the capitalism mantra until it affects then negatively, then scream it is the fault of socialists.
And I’m sure Israel’s bellicose statements towards Iran, and then dragging us in to their conflict only to have Iran threaten to shut down the Straits of Hormuz has nothing to do with at least a part of the increase as well. Once again, Americans are paying to prop up an Israeli regime that makes Kim Jong Il look like a pacifist.
What America needs is a good 10-cent cigar, an electric car that doesn’t burn, and tort reform that protects alternative fuel innovators from exorbitant claims in the event of failure. Anti-lock brakes were all over Europe in the ’70s before they arrived in the U.S. because of fear of lawsuits should they not work properly from the beginning. America does not embrace innovation as much as fear the immediate consequences.
Hey, i thought this was America, the land of free market capitalism, where you vote with your money and government isn’t necessary. See this is all supply and demand, where companies shut down production to artificially raise the price of oil and keep themselves fat off every common man. There is nothing wrong with this, and definitely no reason to have an active government that might be able to halt this type of behavior. Don’t you love capitalism and all the fair market manipulation that comes with it.
Egosmasher, if you paid all the top executives, it might make your gas price go from $3.299 to $3.298. You obviously have no clue as to the numbers involved here.
.
If you want to see gas price go up even higher, keep pushing more green laws. When the refineriers, who are making very little profit now, get faced with even higher costs to operate, you’ll see more shut down and the gas climb much higher.
.
It won’t hurt the rich people, but it will destroy the lower middle class and below as ALL of their costs dramatically increase.
.
But, if your goal is for the government to take control of everything and alot us miserable citizens with our loaf of bread, can of beans and pouch of rice each week, then, by all means, continue this push to destroy our economy with feel-good legislation.
Are you really this stupid or do you just pretend to be on the Internet? It’s your lovely leader, Hussein Obama, that loves these high prices. Israel is surrounded by idiots that would like nothing more than to see them wiped out and you claim they’re the aggressor. Your anti-semitism is shining through. So go back to the hole you crawled out of and remember, it is better for people to think you’re stupid than to open your mouth and prove them right.
Hey kids, didn’t Messiah Obama say, “Under my plan rates would necessarily skyrocket” or not?
Enjoy! I’ll suck it up, but I won’t enjoy it. Why? I’m cheap. The key to a GROWING economy is CHEAP ENERGY.
I tanked up at Costco last Friday. I paid $3.12 a gallon. I tanked up my wife’s car last night and paid $3.26. I’m hearing five bucks a gallon by summer.
Chris, I believe several people will debate you on any president being responsible for high gasoline prices. It is easy to point the blame on elected officials, but they have very limited impact on the cost of gasoline (basically, they can impact taxes). You could argue indirect reaction from EPA regulations, policy and etc.
You fools like they “are you happy now Utopians” are just that. Go to a Sarah Palin lecture and be happy.
I am from, born raised and now supported from a Humble Oil & REFINNING (for got that part of it already, pea brained Fox watchers?),While a can proudly say we (mostly my dad and other foundeers who set the bar) ran a much more country friendly ship ,and we did, I can guarantee you we NEVER and I mean NEVER in the years I sat on that board plan around ways to help you poeple at the pump.
Llook at Exxons 8 plus billion three Qs profit published today. and even that shelters the real assetsin many ways. Great for me , I live off the buyout stock from Humble.
But if you fools think anything other that market manipulation by the companies running this ship is the cause of your issues then you are as dumb as the ones who tune into and live by that Rupert Murdock owned obviuous to an oyster PR machine for big money interest Fox News.
And by the by, we might have pushed to the edge of legality at Humble and then Exxoon, but i bet you are the same crowd whinning for that sorry exciuse for an American killing foreign Crop BP to come back to give us moreof the same.
All for the mythical hope of cheaper at the pump prices and short term penny ante jobs.
Have some pride along wih some brains. Seems we can be bought and paid like any other third world country anymore. And by the way- look at the profits we are raking in NOW. You have been had. It’s easy.
“in an effort to eliminate loses from low-profit refinary operations”. Its always about the profits, never about jobs or whats good for the USA. Good ol Republican way.
You can track historical trends at gasbuddy.com They have a quick app that tracks acutal prices for upto 6 years. Doing so, it is east to see a constant line at $2.86 per gallon.
I would consider Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike to be abnormalities, or unusual circumstances, where supply (which is centered along the Gulf Coast) is taken off-line for periods of time, thereby causing actual shortage and uncertainty in the markets.
I’m setting here at work reading all ya comment, but all of ya has miss a huge point about the price of gas. Government has take a huge amount as taxes and other bs they required oil company has to paid, and you also got looking the cost to bring those oil up and transport to the gas station. The actual amount oil company made is not that much, and all those post profit is according on the price of oil out there right now. So basically oil company does not make that much.
Also thanks to Obama for not doing the right things accept the pipeline form Canada to Texas, that could drop the oil price and bring in jobs too. Now Canada is going try to do business with China, and this is not looking good for us in the US.
TransAmer99, I really wouldn’t call that a constant line at $2.86. I looked at several different historical trends. Are you talking about the average prices over a certain time period?
And I just went back and actualyy read a few more of these comments.
Obama , EPA , greenies.
Gawd you people actually vote ?
Let me make it real simple 8 billion thru the first Q.- for my favorite retiremnet Co, Exxon. And me.
By the way I like my kids to breather good air. The EPA was a Nixon creation. Never stopped us once from making a decent, and as of late quite indecent buck at the pump. Ewew. Cleaner air. Yuckie stuff.
You see boffos, thanks to a late nite vote during the days of a certain Republican Prez and Congress there is only one major commodity exempt from FederaL Price Gouging Statues -the U S oil and gas industry. That is why every once in a blue moon when you fools focus your anger on the real culprit, the gas industry, congress can do nothing more than haul the BDs in front of the very public cameras in those silly do nothing public hearing in Congress For nothing other than to cool your silly heels offand make you feel better.
Exactly what follows from that Dog and Pony show boffos? Nothin. And nuthin can short of real regulation.
And while DickCheny had you all pouring sweat over a few two bit rag headed thugs we already knew about and had in our sites anyway, he and this new intellectually dishonest gas fraking industry got exempted in a nother late hour under the radar piece of work from the entire Clean Air and Water Actanyway. EPA? Not applicable. How’s that been working for ya ? That is what all the fuss is about now,compltete with TV adds from those guys as they get nervous that they wull have to follow somew rules LIKE EVEYONE ELSE in this country. EPA your problem? Nope. Pig ignorance ? Yep.
Well thats enuf for you today children. There is so much more butt too much too soon is toughton the ole dogma.
Gotta go make sure the board knows the papers are a runnin some pro gas stories.Good time to raise rates around here.
I love my stock.
Dan
You say the oil companies are making record profits due to the price of crude.
You say the refineries are losing money, because there is such a low profit margin on refined oil right now.
Don’t the two tie together?
If the oil companies are dumping their refineries, they are just moving to maximize their profits, and causing a problem for everyone in this country.
Mike — you can be all excited, and not care about the price of gasoline, because you live a block from work, so you think the price hikes won’t affect you.
Do you eat? buy clothes? maybe you would like a new couch? new wood floor in your living room?
Everything we buy is transported at some point by truck, train, or ship. And all three generally use diesel fuel, which is already way too high due to artificial price inflation. And if gasoline refining capacity drops, the existing facilities will be used more for gasoline, and less for diesel, which will further increase the cost of diesel fuel. And if it goes up, the cost of everything you buy goes up. So whether you walk to work or not, you will feel it, just like the rest of us.
including ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil, have spun off their refinery operations into separate businesses.
=====================================================================
It’s speculation, I bet these companies “separate businesses” are heavily invested in gasoline futures. These refineries are still making a profit, but why not lay everyone off and create an artificial supply problem, when they can make a killing in the commodities market. During the gas shortage a few years ago the refiners complained about low profits because oil cost too much even though they recorded the highest profits in history. Now oil prices are lower they are manipulating the market yet again. They don’t seem to want the Keystone XL pipeline to go through either, No wonder Obama keeps curtailing it.
Obama’s stated goal is the elimination of fossil fuels. Big problemo Big O…America isn’t geared for it yet and won’t be until long after your monarchy ends.
What they do on the east coast should not affect us…we have refineries here and I don’t think much of our gas comes from the east coast…but considering that all the oil/gas companies are out to screw us every chance they get, they will raise the price if one of them gets a hang-nail.
“Keystone Foes Urge Obama to Repeal Tax Breaks for Oil Companies”
Bloomberg Businessweek – January 27, 2012, 3:58 PM EST
Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) — Bill McKibben, leader of a group that pushed President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, urged the administration to seek repeal of tax breaks for U.S. oil companies in the State of the Union speech.
“We want Obama today to come out against these subsidies for fossil fuels,” McKibben said in an interview in Washington. “They get billions of dollars in subsidies, taxpayer money, every single year.”
I am positive that repealing the oil companies’ tax breaks will not cause gas prices to rise….. Oh Wait! I remember watching Congress inform the CEOs of the oil companies that they were going to repeal their tax breaks and one of the CEOs replied “Fine. We’ll raise the price of gasoline.”
Lee, you are correct that our gasoline doesn’t come from the East Coast. However, East Coast consumers are going to have to get their product from other refinery hubs. As a result, it’ll pull some of the supply away from the Gulf.
Maybe those monster export refineries in Korea, India and Saudi Arabia are killing margings in the USVI and East Coast markets. Our politicians drove the investments out of the country.
Are any of you fully aware of the petroleum products used to operate a vehicle? You think it’s simply fuel and oil? Let’s have a demonstration. Go out to your vehicle, we’ll begin with the obvious, drain the fuel, oil, transmission fluid, rear-end lubricant, power steering fluid, brake fluid and don’t forget the Anti-Freeze/Coolant. Now, let’s move on, remove the battery, as plastic is manufactured from petroleum products, ditch the tires, remove all gaskets and seals, and if you have vinyl and/or plastic interior, chunk it. Now step back and explain to me, will it run and drive?
I like the gasbuddy charts because they make it easy to see the highs, lows and median, as well as clearly showing how much time the price spends above or below the median.
Here is a source that gives all sorts of statistics and trends for the periods prior to 2008. It is fun to play around with the graphs and adjust for inflation, or put prices all the way back to the early 1900′s in terms of today’s dollars.
The improtant thing to wrap your brain around is that 1) the government does not set the pump price, although they could go a long way towards stabilizing prices if they ever enacted a sensible, workable National Energy Plan. Secondly, despite the populist cry that the ‘oil companies are out to screw us’, such simply is not the case. The bilions in profits are based, pennies on the gallon at a time, on the public’s unbridled appetite for energy. In short, the more we buy, the more the energy companies make – both in term os profits and continuing supply. In reality, Nike makes a far greater profit percentage off a pair of sneakers than XOM makes off an SUV’s tankfull of gas.
This sounds a little like the problem Enron gave CA by shutting down power stations in order to raise power prices on the West Coast. I think our government needs to be looking into this ASAP. Mandate a percent of new cars to be running on LNG within the next couple of years. If gas prices in the US hit $5 you will see a lot of businesses start to close because people will just start to stay home more. No point in going out to dinner, lunch or a movie if you need that money to fill your tank.
give all thanks to the banker owned government. after all , they show it daily that they wanna destroy america.
and the thing is.. its working !
now… what are we not gonna do about this disease infest government system ?
Refineries are being shut down by the EPA regulations not due to anything the oil companies want to do.
They make more by selling more volume at a lower price than less volume at a higher price.
Thanks O’bomber – you are nuking our economy~!
Now, prices for oil (and gasoline) are rising, yet demand is supposedly falling. Since supply (due to new sources) is rising, why should the price be rising? And if the price for the products is rising, then how can the refineries be losing money?
How were they able to make money when the prices were *lower*? (yeah, I know… they lost money on every gallon, but made up for it by selling more…)
Shouldn’t lowered demand and more supply lead to *lower* prices for those products?
What am I missing here?
==
Close refineries and it doesn’t matter how much oil Sarah drills for…you can’t drive on crude. This is just a business decision to close these refineries and raise the price of gasoline.
This is an intelligent, credible response but, sadly, will likely be falling on deaf ears (and no, I am in no way, shape or form affiliated with an oil company on a personal or business level).
It’s really disheartening to read most of these comments. It doesn’t matter who is president (I’d like Ron Paul myself); there is no more cheap oil in the U.S. Why do you think they’re drilling 6 miles under the gulf and enduring conditions at the arctic circle–for the fun of it? In addition, oil prices are increasing determined by other countries, notably, China.
In the U.S. we have expensive oil, and we have cheap coal and natural gas. You can expect gasoline prices to keep rising, on average, year after year, for the rest of your life, however young you are. Get used to it and join the real world.
the argument that we hadn’t built a refinery in decades is akin to arguing you haven’t developed a new head. In both cases the capacity at these existing facilities has expanded. Oil demand is down, gas demand is down, prices should be too.
Allknoqingone, Did your omniscience forget the mouth breathing liberals who blamed Bush for the $4 gas in 2007-8? Did it also forget the current teflon resident of the White House blaming him?
Here’s to hoping gas is about $8 per gallon at the end of October 2012.
Thank goodness that our good friends in the Middle East have more than enough oil for us rich greedy Americans who can afford it.
>>could set up higher prices later this year<<
So once again you're stating what you really don't know. It "could" set up higher prices, but then again it "could not". Just more examples of what you DON'T need to print: speculation
Gas prices rise… Isn’t that what Barry wants?
hope the utopians are happy now!
OMG can you be any more nebulous here? Is there a clearance sale happening on possibility?
>>but analysts say those prices could steadily rise<>Sunoco said it could decide to idle another refinery<>those closures could “cut as much as 50 percent<>the closures could leave U.S. motorists with little supply cushion<>Those supplies could be further tightened<>A strike could shut down 10 percent of the nation’s capacity<>gasoline and refined products are likely to rise<<
I will pay $8 gasoline all summer with a smile to get a new president.
Maybe oil companies should re-think those $40 million dollar bonuses they give to their executives.
Hope and Change
Marko, several analysts are predicting higher prices, and all signs are pointing to higher prices at the pump. I haven’t spoken to an analyst who has predicted lower prices.
why shut down them down. Why are they doing all the drilling in the Eagle Ford Shale. You drive around and see all these wells producing. Do they think we are idots. We have supply. All politics if you ask me. And the wells (4 that I have see heard there were more) that are produceing are from an oil company in the area and has many stores in surronding area. That I do not understand.
I call B.S. The oil companies have been reporting record profits EVERY QUARTER for several years now. Not millions, but billions in profit. Closed refineries is just another excuse. We used to have conflicts, hurricanes, refinery problems, etc, etc, all without it having any effect on the price of oil/gasoline. Bring in the speculation and trading of oil and now if someone sneezes, up goes the price.
Yep, goes hand in hand with “Exxon makes $9.4 billion profit in 3 months.” From our pockets to those of rich executives, the transfer of wealth continues.
Curious, you are talking about different business models — refining vs. exploration and production. Oil companies (i.e. Exxon, Shell, Chevron and etc.) are drilling more and production has risen, but it’s mainly due to the higher oil prices.
Refining operations have been struggling to turn a profit. Demand for gasoline, heating oil and other products has dwindle. As a result, companies are losing money. For example, Exxon decided to sell a Japanese refining because of this trend. Sunoco and ConocoPhillips are two other examples.
Why not convert our vehicles to natural gas? We have an abundance of the fuel.
Never fear – Obama will save us like he always does. He is the savior, messiah of all and problem-solver of none.
Closing refineries as prices rise? Sounds like an Enron move! I live a block away from work now, so bring it on. The oil companies will not be able to rape me this year…
LOL at the mouth breathers blaming the POTUS. I recall everyone saying Bush had nothing to do with the prices in 2008 but now it’s all Obama’s fault. Love it.
The oil companies are screwing us again. Change will happen when we focus on the people responsible.
curiousgeorge2: Eagle Ford Shale is natural gas production, not oil. Refining margins are the reason to shut them down, along with the cost to revamp them to produce the new fuels manadated by the EPA. Oil companies don’t make much money on the refined products, their profits are large because of production of crude.
Isn’t that special, the rockefellers will be throwing another party tonight living high on the hog. Brings back memories of standard oil in the late 1800′s.
Don’t worry Obummer will give everybody a Chevy Volt!
A recent story in the Chron stated there is excess stock of gas so the US is now exporting it. So why does this make a different in price? Just another BS excuse to raise prices. I am positive when these refineries come back online the price will not go down.
Prices in the NE will rise not for lack of supply per se, but for lack of suppliers. IOW, there will be less competing sources. That region’s dominant marketers won’t have their own refining as wholesale price leverage. Gulf Coast refiners will have the reserve capacity to take up the slack. But with limited transportation options, they’ll have a more captive wholesale market.
curiousgeorge2, most of those wells are drilling for natural gas, not oil.
Any idiot who gets on here and blames the President for decisions made by the oil companies and refineries is simplifying the issue for stupid political hits. These are business decisions, the almighty business sector is bending us over, not the President.
Well, there went our steady lil bit of growth our country showed in the job market! Were an ignorant bunch as t-boone pickens says!
So the availability of cheap Gulf Oil is having “zero” impact on the price of gasoline at the pump. I keep telling the Oil companies. “Don’t route the Gulf Oil via the Middle East. It will pick up that nasty $100 per barrel price.”
DanX–
And, in I believe 2008 when prices were at an all-time high those same analysts projected . . . higher prices. And they justified it as saying that no new refineries had been built in what, 30 years, and China’s economic growth was pushing prices higher.
Then suddenly, prices fell. And those same analysts tried to justify it by saying it was due to an improving economy and people were driving less. Analysts can “predict” all they want, but my stance holds true in that there is no way to accurately PREDICT what will happen. Analysts are only going with the flow.
whats the matter. Capitalist market mechanism model not working for you?
“Supply and demand” doesn’t work very well for the consumer when the supply is artificially controlled. Welcome to Tea Party economics as taught by Koch Bros. et al.
Less Refineries = higher gas prices.
Who could have possibly seen that comming?
I can’t afford anymore of Obama and the left.
All this is just an industry “setup” to push gas prices up further and quicker. This type of unregulated behavior is what pushes people to want more government intervention. The government loves it and the oil industry loves it. The only ones scre*ed are the ones that can least afford it.
Refining operations are low margin but there’s no explanation for jacking up wholesale refined product by 50 cents or more per gallon. An increase from 5 cent margin to 10 cent margin would make them a healthy profit and would be negligible at the pump. Maybe it’s time to nationalize the refining process?
Lowered demand for gasoline, should result in lower demand for oil and drive the price of oil down. But when we are tied to the global market, lowering demand here is offset by increased demand somewhere else.
So lowering demand will never lower the price of gasoline, unless its global. And even then, OPEC can merely adjust their production level to keep oil where they want it priced.
The only way to lower the price of gasoline, is to greatly increase supply from non OPEC sources, by such a large amount of oil that it stresses OPEC’s unity.
That is what occurred in the early 80′s, after Prudhoe Bay, North Sea, and Mexico’s Cantarell fields came on line. OPEC members began cheating on quotas and the Sauds could no longer tolerate playing the role of swing producer. OPEC lost their discipline and the price of oil plunged.
Marko, the price drop in 2008 isn’t hard to explain. Gasoline prices dropped because of the recession. Oil prices went from $100 a barrel to about a third of that (as I recall).
Analyst aren’t going to be perfect, but they are making their best forecast based on facts, such as demand, supply and current events. It’s similar to what weather forecasters do to predict the rainy weather today, tomorrow and a week from. I doubt few people would say they are just speculating about what will happen.
The spirit of Enron is alive and well. For all of you Obama haters do you think gas prices will be lower under Mitten or Newt. Dream on.
I am gathering firewood and moss. Learning which species of mushroom are edible.
Ed Rich, I think the story you are referencing is about natural gas, not gasoline. Gasoline and diesel exports have been on the rise though.
So here’s my question to all of you complaining about the government. What responsibility to they have to help keep refineries open. Are you asking for subsidies or a bail out? Margins for refining are monstrously low. The majors have been selling off and decreasing their positions in downstream operations for many years now. What incentives are you suggesting be put in place? Should government be responsible for keeping them alive? Government can’t change the business model, can’t regulate margins. Please explain.
Check it out… WE EXPORT gasoline. The refiners actually have an interest in keeping gas prices high and shutting down refineries can only make the supply seem to be more limited. WE are being taken to the cleaners and no one in Washington has enough time left after making their lobbyists happy to keep us from being bent over a barrel!!(pun intended)
This is nonsense. The Department of Energy was established in 1976 to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. We have nothing to worry about. The DOE has done so magnificently, in fact, that most of its folks will soon be transferred to run Obamacare.
the obama way. hopey and changey
Palin was right! Palin was right! Palin was right!
Paul, natural-gas powered vehicles are caught in a catch 22 situation. Consumers are wary of them because of a lack of infrastructure (i.e. a significant amount of pumps in the United States.) Automakers/government aren’t willing to fork over the money to build the infrastructure until the demand for it is there.
Texas has about 40 natural-gas fueling stations (35 CNG and 5 LNG). Would you buy a natural-gas power vehicle if you had so few fueling options? Natural-gas power vehicles faces a similar situation as electric vehicles — concerns of range and infrastructure.
Longer-term, the shuttered refineries will impact pump prices. But for the near term, there is more to the higher prices. A mild winter (so far) is escallating the time at which refineries begin switching blends. They do this due to federal mandate (and good environmental sense) to produce fuels with lower evaporative content during the warmer season. Cold weather causes those same fuels to not burn as well, thus the case-for-action for have ‘dual fuels’. Furthermore, in preparation for these product switchovers, any plant maintenance that has been deferred typically gets done at this time, which takes processing streams off-line, thereby affecting the immediate supply and causing prices to go up. The refining industry is cyclic in this manner although prices do seem to rise quicker than they fall. However, a year-on-year comparison of the low price-point and high price-pont (adjusted for unusual circumstances) shows that they remain relativly constant.
Just more market manipulations to jack the price to $5 a gallon, while the oil companies make atrocious profits each quarter off our backs and take the money out of our hard earned wallets.. Greed IS one of the seven deadly sins..
Wow – guess the BILLIONS in profit just isn’t enough for the oil companies. Guess they need more, and we just bend over and take it? Come on, enough is enough!!!
I have conformed to a much more economy sized vehicle with more MPG, but when is enough enough? When do we uprise and let them know they do not need BILLIONS????
How is a business decision made using the capitalist market mechanism the fault of the “left”? The U.S. is a net exporter of gasoline, meaning we ship more overseas than we use here. So because demand is down the logical thing to do is reduce supply. Funny how the walking dead chant the capitalism mantra until it affects then negatively, then scream it is the fault of socialists.
And I’m sure Israel’s bellicose statements towards Iran, and then dragging us in to their conflict only to have Iran threaten to shut down the Straits of Hormuz has nothing to do with at least a part of the increase as well. Once again, Americans are paying to prop up an Israeli regime that makes Kim Jong Il look like a pacifist.
TransAmer, can you site your information? Also what adjustments are made? And what are unusual circumstances?
If “they” want to close refineries on the East Coast, let THEM pay more for having less gasoline and diesel, not us.
What America needs is a good 10-cent cigar, an electric car that doesn’t burn, and tort reform that protects alternative fuel innovators from exorbitant claims in the event of failure. Anti-lock brakes were all over Europe in the ’70s before they arrived in the U.S. because of fear of lawsuits should they not work properly from the beginning. America does not embrace innovation as much as fear the immediate consequences.
Dan , oil went to $40 bbl by December 2008.
But that was entirely due to the stock market crash, that forced hedge funds to blow out and liquidate all their assets at fire sale prices.
All commodity prices fell to rock bottom, but quickly recovered. supply/demand did not cause oil to go to 40.
Hey, i thought this was America, the land of free market capitalism, where you vote with your money and government isn’t necessary. See this is all supply and demand, where companies shut down production to artificially raise the price of oil and keep themselves fat off every common man. There is nothing wrong with this, and definitely no reason to have an active government that might be able to halt this type of behavior. Don’t you love capitalism and all the fair market manipulation that comes with it.
Gasoline prices are going up because “insert reason here”. There is a different one every week…
Egosmasher, if you paid all the top executives, it might make your gas price go from $3.299 to $3.298. You obviously have no clue as to the numbers involved here.
.
If you want to see gas price go up even higher, keep pushing more green laws. When the refineriers, who are making very little profit now, get faced with even higher costs to operate, you’ll see more shut down and the gas climb much higher.
.
It won’t hurt the rich people, but it will destroy the lower middle class and below as ALL of their costs dramatically increase.
.
But, if your goal is for the government to take control of everything and alot us miserable citizens with our loaf of bread, can of beans and pouch of rice each week, then, by all means, continue this push to destroy our economy with feel-good legislation.
Are you really this stupid or do you just pretend to be on the Internet? It’s your lovely leader, Hussein Obama, that loves these high prices. Israel is surrounded by idiots that would like nothing more than to see them wiped out and you claim they’re the aggressor. Your anti-semitism is shining through. So go back to the hole you crawled out of and remember, it is better for people to think you’re stupid than to open your mouth and prove them right.
Dollar, you are correct. I believe I attributed it to the recession/stock market, but I apologize if people read that as lack of demand.
Hey kids, didn’t Messiah Obama say, “Under my plan rates would necessarily skyrocket” or not?
Enjoy! I’ll suck it up, but I won’t enjoy it. Why? I’m cheap. The key to a GROWING economy is CHEAP ENERGY.
I tanked up at Costco last Friday. I paid $3.12 a gallon. I tanked up my wife’s car last night and paid $3.26. I’m hearing five bucks a gallon by summer.
Adios, Obama!
this future oil crises brought to by the lovable cuddly obama.
Chris, I believe several people will debate you on any president being responsible for high gasoline prices. It is easy to point the blame on elected officials, but they have very limited impact on the cost of gasoline (basically, they can impact taxes). You could argue indirect reaction from EPA regulations, policy and etc.
You fools like they “are you happy now Utopians” are just that. Go to a Sarah Palin lecture and be happy.
I am from, born raised and now supported from a Humble Oil & REFINNING (for got that part of it already, pea brained Fox watchers?),While a can proudly say we (mostly my dad and other foundeers who set the bar) ran a much more country friendly ship ,and we did, I can guarantee you we NEVER and I mean NEVER in the years I sat on that board plan around ways to help you poeple at the pump.
Llook at Exxons 8 plus billion three Qs profit published today. and even that shelters the real assetsin many ways. Great for me , I live off the buyout stock from Humble.
But if you fools think anything other that market manipulation by the companies running this ship is the cause of your issues then you are as dumb as the ones who tune into and live by that Rupert Murdock owned obviuous to an oyster PR machine for big money interest Fox News.
And by the by, we might have pushed to the edge of legality at Humble and then Exxoon, but i bet you are the same crowd whinning for that sorry exciuse for an American killing foreign Crop BP to come back to give us moreof the same.
All for the mythical hope of cheaper at the pump prices and short term penny ante jobs.
Have some pride along wih some brains. Seems we can be bought and paid like any other third world country anymore. And by the way- look at the profits we are raking in NOW. You have been had. It’s easy.
“in an effort to eliminate loses from low-profit refinary operations”. Its always about the profits, never about jobs or whats good for the USA. Good ol Republican way.
Go XOM – love those dividends!
You can track historical trends at gasbuddy.com They have a quick app that tracks acutal prices for upto 6 years. Doing so, it is east to see a constant line at $2.86 per gallon.
http://gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx
I would consider Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike to be abnormalities, or unusual circumstances, where supply (which is centered along the Gulf Coast) is taken off-line for periods of time, thereby causing actual shortage and uncertainty in the markets.
CLOSE THE ‘UNIONS’ AND THAT WILL SOLVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS. DOWN WITH UNIONS! DOWN WITH UNIONS!
I’m setting here at work reading all ya comment, but all of ya has miss a huge point about the price of gas. Government has take a huge amount as taxes and other bs they required oil company has to paid, and you also got looking the cost to bring those oil up and transport to the gas station. The actual amount oil company made is not that much, and all those post profit is according on the price of oil out there right now. So basically oil company does not make that much.
Also thanks to Obama for not doing the right things accept the pipeline form Canada to Texas, that could drop the oil price and bring in jobs too. Now Canada is going try to do business with China, and this is not looking good for us in the US.
TransAmer99, I really wouldn’t call that a constant line at $2.86. I looked at several different historical trends. Are you talking about the average prices over a certain time period?
If they quit paying the CEOs millions they could lower gas prices.
And I just went back and actualyy read a few more of these comments.
Obama , EPA , greenies.
Gawd you people actually vote ?
Let me make it real simple 8 billion thru the first Q.- for my favorite retiremnet Co, Exxon. And me.
By the way I like my kids to breather good air. The EPA was a Nixon creation. Never stopped us once from making a decent, and as of late quite indecent buck at the pump. Ewew. Cleaner air. Yuckie stuff.
You see boffos, thanks to a late nite vote during the days of a certain Republican Prez and Congress there is only one major commodity exempt from FederaL Price Gouging Statues -the U S oil and gas industry. That is why every once in a blue moon when you fools focus your anger on the real culprit, the gas industry, congress can do nothing more than haul the BDs in front of the very public cameras in those silly do nothing public hearing in Congress For nothing other than to cool your silly heels offand make you feel better.
Exactly what follows from that Dog and Pony show boffos? Nothin. And nuthin can short of real regulation.
And while DickCheny had you all pouring sweat over a few two bit rag headed thugs we already knew about and had in our sites anyway, he and this new intellectually dishonest gas fraking industry got exempted in a nother late hour under the radar piece of work from the entire Clean Air and Water Actanyway. EPA? Not applicable. How’s that been working for ya ? That is what all the fuss is about now,compltete with TV adds from those guys as they get nervous that they wull have to follow somew rules LIKE EVEYONE ELSE in this country. EPA your problem? Nope. Pig ignorance ? Yep.
Well thats enuf for you today children. There is so much more butt too much too soon is toughton the ole dogma.
Gotta go make sure the board knows the papers are a runnin some pro gas stories.Good time to raise rates around here.
I love my stock.
Dan
You say the oil companies are making record profits due to the price of crude.
You say the refineries are losing money, because there is such a low profit margin on refined oil right now.
Don’t the two tie together?
If the oil companies are dumping their refineries, they are just moving to maximize their profits, and causing a problem for everyone in this country.
Mike — you can be all excited, and not care about the price of gasoline, because you live a block from work, so you think the price hikes won’t affect you.
Do you eat? buy clothes? maybe you would like a new couch? new wood floor in your living room?
Everything we buy is transported at some point by truck, train, or ship. And all three generally use diesel fuel, which is already way too high due to artificial price inflation. And if gasoline refining capacity drops, the existing facilities will be used more for gasoline, and less for diesel, which will further increase the cost of diesel fuel. And if it goes up, the cost of everything you buy goes up. So whether you walk to work or not, you will feel it, just like the rest of us.
including ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil, have spun off their refinery operations into separate businesses.
=====================================================================
It’s speculation, I bet these companies “separate businesses” are heavily invested in gasoline futures. These refineries are still making a profit, but why not lay everyone off and create an artificial supply problem, when they can make a killing in the commodities market. During the gas shortage a few years ago the refiners complained about low profits because oil cost too much even though they recorded the highest profits in history. Now oil prices are lower they are manipulating the market yet again. They don’t seem to want the Keystone XL pipeline to go through either, No wonder Obama keeps curtailing it.
Funny how the people who complain the most about gasoline prices will be the first to vote for Obama at election time.
More greedy oil execs.
Obama’s stated goal is the elimination of fossil fuels. Big problemo Big O…America isn’t geared for it yet and won’t be until long after your monarchy ends.
What they do on the east coast should not affect us…we have refineries here and I don’t think much of our gas comes from the east coast…but considering that all the oil/gas companies are out to screw us every chance they get, they will raise the price if one of them gets a hang-nail.
“Keystone Foes Urge Obama to Repeal Tax Breaks for Oil Companies”
Bloomberg Businessweek – January 27, 2012, 3:58 PM EST
Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) — Bill McKibben, leader of a group that pushed President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, urged the administration to seek repeal of tax breaks for U.S. oil companies in the State of the Union speech.
“We want Obama today to come out against these subsidies for fossil fuels,” McKibben said in an interview in Washington. “They get billions of dollars in subsidies, taxpayer money, every single year.”
I am positive that repealing the oil companies’ tax breaks will not cause gas prices to rise….. Oh Wait! I remember watching Congress inform the CEOs of the oil companies that they were going to repeal their tax breaks and one of the CEOs replied “Fine. We’ll raise the price of gasoline.”
Lee, you are correct that our gasoline doesn’t come from the East Coast. However, East Coast consumers are going to have to get their product from other refinery hubs. As a result, it’ll pull some of the supply away from the Gulf.
Maybe those monster export refineries in Korea, India and Saudi Arabia are killing margings in the USVI and East Coast markets. Our politicians drove the investments out of the country.
Are any of you fully aware of the petroleum products used to operate a vehicle? You think it’s simply fuel and oil? Let’s have a demonstration. Go out to your vehicle, we’ll begin with the obvious, drain the fuel, oil, transmission fluid, rear-end lubricant, power steering fluid, brake fluid and don’t forget the Anti-Freeze/Coolant. Now, let’s move on, remove the battery, as plastic is manufactured from petroleum products, ditch the tires, remove all gaskets and seals, and if you have vinyl and/or plastic interior, chunk it. Now step back and explain to me, will it run and drive?
I like the gasbuddy charts because they make it easy to see the highs, lows and median, as well as clearly showing how much time the price spends above or below the median.
Here is a source that gives all sorts of statistics and trends for the periods prior to 2008. It is fun to play around with the graphs and adjust for inflation, or put prices all the way back to the early 1900′s in terms of today’s dollars.
http://www.gravmag.com/prices.shtml
The improtant thing to wrap your brain around is that 1) the government does not set the pump price, although they could go a long way towards stabilizing prices if they ever enacted a sensible, workable National Energy Plan. Secondly, despite the populist cry that the ‘oil companies are out to screw us’, such simply is not the case. The bilions in profits are based, pennies on the gallon at a time, on the public’s unbridled appetite for energy. In short, the more we buy, the more the energy companies make – both in term os profits and continuing supply. In reality, Nike makes a far greater profit percentage off a pair of sneakers than XOM makes off an SUV’s tankfull of gas.
So basically, we have plenty of oil – which we do – but they’re closing refineries to keep gasoline prices up, even as we export gasoline. Nice move.
From the article: …The Department of Energy said those closures could “cut as much as 50 percent of current East Coast refining capacity.”
…Oil companies have been pulling out of refineries in an effort to eliminate losses from low-profit refinery operations
THIS MAKES NO SENSE. How could these be low-profit operations if they have 50% of the refining capacity?????
The MARKET IS BEING MANIPULATED for whatever reason and someone needs to find out who and why. How about it Chronicle?
This sounds a little like the problem Enron gave CA by shutting down power stations in order to raise power prices on the West Coast. I think our government needs to be looking into this ASAP. Mandate a percent of new cars to be running on LNG within the next couple of years. If gas prices in the US hit $5 you will see a lot of businesses start to close because people will just start to stay home more. No point in going out to dinner, lunch or a movie if you need that money to fill your tank.
WHY are the refineries being closed and idled? Just to artificially inflate prices?
give all thanks to the banker owned government. after all , they show it daily that they wanna destroy america.
and the thing is.. its working !
now… what are we not gonna do about this disease infest government system ?
Refineries are being shut down by the EPA regulations not due to anything the oil companies want to do.
They make more by selling more volume at a lower price than less volume at a higher price.
Thanks O’bomber – you are nuking our economy~!
Cant afford it? Don’t use it.
Now, prices for oil (and gasoline) are rising, yet demand is supposedly falling. Since supply (due to new sources) is rising, why should the price be rising? And if the price for the products is rising, then how can the refineries be losing money?
How were they able to make money when the prices were *lower*? (yeah, I know… they lost money on every gallon, but made up for it by selling more…)
Shouldn’t lowered demand and more supply lead to *lower* prices for those products?
What am I missing here?
==
“What am I missing here?”
The Greed factor
Don’t play their game, you will lose every time. Stop using their product.
Oil companies and refiners are associated with the republicans. $5 gasoline means Obama wins in a landslide!
thanx EPA, an prez hadji! hey all! see ya at the polls!
Close refineries and it doesn’t matter how much oil Sarah drills for…you can’t drive on crude. This is just a business decision to close these refineries and raise the price of gasoline.
This is an intelligent, credible response but, sadly, will likely be falling on deaf ears (and no, I am in no way, shape or form affiliated with an oil company on a personal or business level).
It’s really disheartening to read most of these comments. It doesn’t matter who is president (I’d like Ron Paul myself); there is no more cheap oil in the U.S. Why do you think they’re drilling 6 miles under the gulf and enduring conditions at the arctic circle–for the fun of it? In addition, oil prices are increasing determined by other countries, notably, China.
In the U.S. we have expensive oil, and we have cheap coal and natural gas. You can expect gasoline prices to keep rising, on average, year after year, for the rest of your life, however young you are. Get used to it and join the real world.
the argument that we hadn’t built a refinery in decades is akin to arguing you haven’t developed a new head. In both cases the capacity at these existing facilities has expanded. Oil demand is down, gas demand is down, prices should be too.
Allknoqingone, Did your omniscience forget the mouth breathing liberals who blamed Bush for the $4 gas in 2007-8? Did it also forget the current teflon resident of the White House blaming him?
better add the link for those who have colo-cranial disease. http://www.allamericanblogger.com/15310/flashback-obama-2008-blames-bush-and-cheney-for-high-oil-prices-promises-change/ I don’t recall the Democrats shouting down those accysations last election campaign, but they are the first to decry ANY and ALL attempts to blame Obama.
That dog don’t hunt since the USA’s Number One export is now gasoline.
Blame the speculators who need to be reigned in.