Archive for 'oil companies'

Would buying only a half a tank of gas drive down prices?

Comments (6)

The don’t-buy-gasoline on May 15th boycott really doesn’t solve the problem does it? I mean, we still have to buy the same amount of gasoline unless we change our driving habits. What about buying only a half-tank at a time and reducing our driving to create a surplus thus forcing oil companies to lower prices?
Hootie…sorry but I don’t agree. The May 15th boycott was public. And, remember the beef, coffee, and sugar boycotts. No one was charged.

The "manipulating the marketplace" laws apply to companies who conspire to control prices and supplies of commodities/products.

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Gas prices are down as of the fall 2008, what are the factors that are causing gas prices to fall?

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List the factors that are causing gas prices to go down;
decrease in demand for gas, Speculation by investors buying Unleaded Gasoline Futures, driving habits changed demand, oil companies attempting to stop alternative fuels development, less demand by China and India, value of the US dollar, ect…

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Why is it that gas companies can change the price of gasoline at the pumps?

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The gas which we are purchasing at the pumps was bought by the oil companies maybe 3 to 6 months ago so why can they charge me for today’s rate? Why can they change it at will? I go for a ride and on my way back, the price is changed. The oil companies seem to be able to do what they want and because of government policy, we have to go along. If this was purchased so long ago and then refined and held in tanks, why can’t we pay the price after it was refined? If this policy was changed then we would be paying the price closer to what the oil companies paid for it and they would not be making their record profits off of the gas and oil.
LET’S START A CAMPAIGN TO HAVE THAT POLICY CHANGED.

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Would you support a day of not driving at all to send a message to the oil companies?

Comments (14)

These high gas prices have got to stop!! The oil companies have no excuses and it seems that our president has looked the other way.If we continue to let them creep the prices up..then it will never end.It could be .00 a gallon..as long as we pay the price and they don’t see any change in our habits.If we would all set a date..and "park it"…I believe that the oil companies would get the message.What do you think?

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Oil prices are High and getting higher..Why isn't the Govt?

Comments (7)

Putting out those consumer ads like they did in the 70s that encouraged us to car pool and to only drive if it was nesscessary? Do you remember those ads? There was a big effort made by the govt to get us to "Conserve" ..It just goes to show you how our Govt ( and the control of it) has changed.
Micheal…I believe it is because the govt of today is much more "in the pocket" of the big oil companies compared to the 70s
Mel…it isnt the point of if you need to hear it or not. The point is the Govt is making no effort to help bring the prices down compared to the effort our govt made in the 70s …why is that?
romack…once again…it is the lack of effort by the Govt that is the issue

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Should gas stations setup different prices for Right Wingers since they agree with oil company hand-outs?

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Do you think it would be a good idea if all gas stations asked for voter registration before pumping, and when a Rightie pays, the prices is a lot higher since they want to keep giving oil companies those huge hand-outs? Would this change their mind?
On April 15th, the House of Representatives voted for a draconian budget that slashed investments in clean energy and other critical national priorities while continuing more than billion in taxpayer handouts for oil companies. (Look it up)

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What if we assume that the increase in gas prices right now is big oil telling us we should conserve?

Comments (9)

Any merchant of a finite commodity eventually has to start limiting the availability of that commodity (in this case the choice of a limiting tool is the price available to consumers) this is done for the sake of profit, as selling that commodity out too quickly will result in no longer having a market. Oil companies aren’t using all of their available drilling opportunities and prices are rising in spite of increasing reserves. Has anyone considered the possibility that we are now at a period where the oil market is shifting and large oil companies may start to promote energy efficiency, as it’s not really dollars per gallon that’s the most important factor as miles per dollar that’s most important.

What if this is a message from big oil that they are changing their business plan and we should all start to conserve?
Dave – you are correct. Prices are going up right now in spite of increasing reserves and a decrease in demand. Oil companies have significant spare capacity at the moment but have chosen not to exercise that capacity.
Apparently conservatives think the word "finite" means "people can get more if you tell them they can"

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Isn’t it economic fraud when oil companies can cut gasoline supply to raise gasoline prices?

Comments (9)

When gasoline was above /per gallon we were told that it was an issue of supply and demand, right? And so when demand goes up for gasoline, the price rises.

NOW demand for gasoline has dropped off tremendously because of the financial crisis, and this lowers gasoline prices because the quantity supplied of oil is less than before. (Basic economics)

But NOW oil companies plan to CUT supply to firm up gasoline prices. Now it’s one thing to cut the "quantity supplied". That’s how competitive economic pricing works.

But to be able to CONTROL the overall SUPPLY of oil in the entire market whenever oil companies feel like it, that’s called an unregulated monopoly, that is the business practice that Anti-Trust Laws were created to prevent.

If oil companies can collude together and CUT Supply, then I should be able to start my own oil company, recover the REAL supply of oil that REALLY hasn’t gone down because the amount of oil underground hasn’t changed (it’s fraud to assume it has), and undercut the price of gasoline and put Exxon-Mobile and Citgo out of business.

The fact I can’t shows you that there’s collusion going on. You can’t CUT supply in response to demand, you cut QUANTITY SUPPLIED in response to demand.

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Ok, so I don't understand the reasoning for high gas prices. Can someone explain this to me?

Comments (7)

Why is gas so high? I’ve heard it’s because the oil companies are greedy and can do whatever they want. I’ve also heard it’s because President Bush has ownership in oil companies and it’s related to that.. So what is the truth? Can a new president change the way gas prices are made?


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    Is the price of gas forcing you to change your life?

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    Due to the gas prices going up, I have found myself in a difficult situation, where I have to quit my job and get a job closer to home because I am spending too much money on gas per week. This is ridiculous. People shouldn’t have to do this. We are a free country? Right? So why are we being forced to make changes to our lifestyle just because the big oil companies want to milk the consumers. Can’t the government do something?


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      How come the price of oil in terms of gold, hasn't changed much over the past decade?

      Comments (3)

      Of course the price of oil will rise compared to our dollar since there is inflation but in terms of gold, the price of oil has not actually changed. Why are speculators demonized and profit makers demonzied? If CEO’s made {content}/ year the price of oil would not change. Speculators cannot indefinitely inflate or depress the price of something. If you are speculating in an attempt to prop up the price above equillibrium, then I need only short my position and wait for my windfall of cash when the price corrects. If speculation worked over the long run then it would only require a sufficiently large pile of money to corner each market.

      Here in the US the price of oil has more than quadrupled since Bush entered office in january 2001. If you price oil not in USD but in gold, however, the price is barely changed in that same 7-year span. With the price of oil, and gasoline, and food, and gold, and housing, and medicine, and education, et cetera increasing rapidly politicians here in the US increasingly scapegoat greedy corporations, speculators, mexican immigrants, and foreign governments for the problems.

      Members of congress are talking about ‘unfair, windfall’ profits of oil companies, ‘speculation’ in the housing market, ‘open’ borders, and ‘manipulation’ by opec nations as the causes of our increasing prices. They are scapegoats. The cause of widespread increase in prices in the US (including oil) is from a marked and sustained increase in the US money supply.


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        Republicans… seriously… we drill for oil in every spot we can, what would gas prices be?

        Comments (17)

        I’m just curious what you think… ANWAR, coasts, whole 9 yards… at full production in 5 years or whatever… all other things staying the same…

        how much would it change gas prices in the U.S., in your opinion?
        I understand that more oil equals a lower price… but from what I understand, you guys are GREATLY overestimating both the estimated amount of oil we have and greatly underestimating the overall amount of oil there is out there in the market…

        and also from what I understand, unless we socialized the oil companies, our oil would go on the world market… for everyone…

        while I agree, it would be lower… the question is, will it be in pennies or in dollars…
        apparently some confuse a question with a lecture…


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          How would the rhetoric of Conservatives change if they realized what the oil companies are up to?

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          Based upon a recent examination of oil markets and gasoline pump prices it appears that oil companies are no longer seeking to maximize their production capacity and are looking to maximize profits on a unit-sales basis. That means "Drill Baby Drill" is not a solution to high gas prices as the oil companies aren’t interested in doing any more drilling, or building any more storage capacity than they need to in order to supply the market. What that means is that we’re likely to see a growing differential between oil futures prices (which, during the period of this last price increase never exceeded 5/barrel – futures prices hit 4 a barrel in the summer of 2008) and gasoline pump prices.

          From a business stand-point such an action on the part of oil companies is purely rational: when dealing with the sale of a finite resource at some point you have to begin rationing the market and looking to maximize profits on a unit-sales basis.

          How do you feel such developments may affect the rhetoric of the "Drill Baby Drill" crowd?
          What this also means is that the only way to reduce gasoline prices would be a continuous reduction in demand for gasoline, which translates into a significant and prolonged decline in the use of gas and diesel on the part of the American public.
          @ Dr. Phil, do you think I have no memory at all? Obama has been trying to get rid of those subsidies but the Do-Nothing-New-Kids in the House have blocked the legislation.
          @ hw, this isn’t a government regulation problem, it’s a supply and demand problem. This is classic Economics 101 Price/Demand curve stuff we’re talking about here.
          @ truckman – you can have all the crude sitting on the market that you want. If the people who refine that crude and deliver to the gas stations are only interested in processing so much then they are perfectly happy to let futures prices fall while they keep pump prices high and maximize their profits.


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            Was forcing OPEC to increase production is what triggered the collapse ?

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            Mr. Bush and prior to elections forced OPEC to increase production to make the prices of oil cheaper . OPEC members who are a bunch of developing countries told him that the market is over-saturated with crude oil and increasing production doesn’t change prices much . The reasons they told him was that there is more demand and at the same time there is not enough refineries . All this was in vain . He made his mind that prices has to go down and his solution was that these countries have to increase production . These countries avoided trouble and decided to increase production in spite of market facts . The prices started to slide down . The only problem is that a month later the collapse in the financial system started to appear . The market forces felt the intervention in it’s natural trends . The prices now slide too fast and with no much demand for oil will go cheaper every day . If what i think is right then Mr Bush was behind the financial collapse by his political ambitions . I wish i’m wrong ., but i think this is what happened .Do you agree ?
            Bryan C :
            I love your name . It reminds of very good Bryans i have know through the course of my life . Anyway , concerning the question , what you said is true . I don’t hate Mr Bush as a person , but i think he is ill adviced . I know that the crises started with many errors from the side of the banks and the American government that didn’t induce decipline into the financial sector early enough . What i’m suggesting here is that Mr Bush who is supposed to be an expert in oil fianances management insisted like 2 months ago on oil producing nation to increase their production even if their tanks were full of oil that nobody was buying .I remember that they tried to explain to him that the high prices of oil wasn’t their problem . and like now , they have no control over the sliding prices . Anyway he succeeded in pushing the prices down , but what i think happened is that the oil companies and all companies related to oil from cago to tankers to shipping fell triggering the collapse


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              Does this breakdown on gas prices change how you look at them? In what way?

              Comments (4)

              http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/margins/index.html

              The state of California keeps a running breakdown of what goes into gas prices. For the week of May 26, a summary of the breakdown is as follows:

              Crude Oil Cost: $ 3.15 per gallon.
              Going to gas company (Distribution + Marketing + Refinery Costs + Profits: $ 0.27 per gallon.
              Going to government (Sales taxes, excise taxes, state and federal, underground storage fee) : {content}.67 per gallon.

              FINAL PRICE: .10 per gallon.

              So, the government gets 2.5 times as much money than the gas companies BEFORE any of their expenses.
              WhatDidYouSay, do you have a link for the 4 cents number. I was looking for that, and couldn’t find it.
              Rodman, you misunderstand me. I was making the point that the government taxes oil too much not that the oil companies are making too little. Think of it this way. You hear all of the time about the record profits made by oil companies. Well, the government made AT LEAST 3-4 times as much on oil taxes as the oil companies did on oil profits.

              For the record, I do not own stock or have any other interest in oil companies and the fact that you automatically assume that I do based simply on my linking a government chart is incredible to me.


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