$4 a gallon coming tomorrow

[Joshua312]

The Alaskan pipeline is needing 16 miles of piping to be replaced. BP announced this will take a while and our gas prices could be over $4 for the weeks/months to come. I was at several gas stations tonight and only one forwarned me about this coming crisis. I took every opportunity I had to tell others so they could do what they needed to do. Unfortunately even filling up tonight wont do much since we'll be dealing with it for a while Check your local news websites or msnbc for more information

 

[Five Star]

thats a crock.. they are just doing that to increase their profits.

think about it, they need to follow strict guidelines. you dont just let things rust so bad it starts to leak

 

[Joshua312]

Crock or not...the gas people are crooks! Once again everyone else will suffer so they will reek profits

 

[victory]

anyway you look at it they make money. Create a crisis and the value of oil skyrockets.



Kind of reminds me of goldfinger setting off the nuke in fort knox.

 

[imported_paradigm]

if it goes to $4/gallon here that would be a 30%+ increase in one day. i don't see how an 8% drop in oil production can increase the cost by that much...but then again...stranger things have happened.

 

[imported_truzoom]

I think there is a slight problem in how we are all viewing gasoline prices from a 'relative' standpoint. Sure you could get a gallon of gas for $0.50 40 or 50 years ago, but there are just so many more people and vehicles on the road nowadays on a global scale.



We talk about current prices like there will be some magical investigation into the oil industry that finds we are all being overchaged by $3.00 per gallon, but from a realistic standpoint, prices probably won't be going down anytime soon. Does it suck that everyone is spending so much more to get around nowadays? Yes, but unless you can convince everyone in China and India to quit using oil or find another readily accessible source, you are better off not wasting energy worrying about how much you'll have to shell out at the pump.



FYI, I am not directing this towards anyone-- it is just something I've been needing to get off my chest lately.

 

[Joshua312]

truzoom, I dont see how you think we are not being overcharged with the payout people are getting. Millions of dollars for retirement...that money could be going to something more useful IMO. And I think we should worry and waste our energy about this crisis...Our economy isnt going to go up if the gas prices are going up. Something needs to happen, Im not saying an investigation but we deserve answers and results. I might as well buy a damn barrel of gas for the price Im paying per gallon.



Oh well...I just wanted to let people know what was going to be happening tomorrow if no one has heard. Better to be informed than to wake up to insane pricing.



Looks like I'll be looking at purchasing a Phantom Gas Scooter to get me through the times with high gas prices and just for quick runs to local places/my work. Might as well save where I can since I drive a premium fuel only car. For $900 I think it's worth it...70mph...65 mpg - No insurance or license plates needed

 

[imported_truzoom]

Oh I'm sure we are paying "more than we should be paying" for a gallon of gas, but blame the laws of economics for that. Increased demand means increased prices, which is why the world needs to wean off its oil dependency. Everyone is willing to pay upwards of $3-$6 for a gallon of gas across the world, so neither the producer or consumer is to blame. Of course, a lot of us need gasoline to get us to work or the grocery store--which goes back to the oil dependency issue. We'll eventually find alternatives to getting around, but it won't be happening overnight or even within a year or two, or three, or five.

 

[Joshua312]

Truzoom...Glad you furthered your explanation to prove your not one of those crazy people Im on the same page you are with your beliefs, I guess i just didnt understand your first post fully. Thanks for elaborating!! Didn't mean to bombard you.

 

[velobard]

I think there is a slight problem in how we are all viewing gasoline prices from a 'relative' standpoint. Sure you could get a gallon of gas for $0.50 40 or 50 years ago, but there are just so many more people and vehicles on the road nowadays on a global scale.



We talk about current prices like there will be some magical investigation into the oil industry that finds we are all being overchaged by $3.00 per gallon, but from a realistic standpoint, prices probably won't be going down anytime soon. Does it suck that everyone is spending so much more to get around nowadays? Yes, but unless you can convince everyone in China and India to quit using oil or find another readily accessible source, you are better off not wasting energy worrying about how much you'll have to shell out at the pump.



FYI, I am not directing this towards anyone-- it is just something I've been needing to get off my chest lately.

Truzoom, I don't know how old you are, but it's obviously not 40 or 50. I remember seeing gas under 30 cents less than 35 years ago, in '77 (after the oil embargo of the '70s drove up prices) as a young driver I bought premium for 59 cents. As recently as the late '90s I've seen gas for under $1, though through most of the '90s it hovered a little higher than that. Since 9/11 the price of gas has spiked repeatedly and only come down a little bit between each spike. Yes, greater demand plays a role, especially with competition for energy from China and India, but all of this doesn't account for how oil companies are now posting record profits. I don't mean profits for their industry, but record profits for ANY industry throughout recorded history!!! What has happened to gas prices in the past 5 years is absurd.

 

[imported_themightytimmah]

I wouldn't worry too much about it, it sounds like the $4 a gallon figure is media speculation. The pipe break was last night and gasoline futures are still trading around 2.25 on the NYMEX - that's probably 2.90 a gallon at the pump, depends on where you live. I paid 3.17/gal for premium and that was 24 hours after the pipe shutdown.



This break won't affect prices as much as you might think - most oil is bought on the futures market, and futures prices are currently higher than spot prices, which is almost unheard of in trading. This means that suppliers are holding a lot of oil in reserve, because they can sell their oil for significantly more money 9 months down the line then they can sell it for tomorrow.



The oil to replace this 8% will come directly from the spot market, raising spot market prices to a more reasonable level (higher) in line with futures prices, but not necessarily jacking up the futures price (that most oil buyers buy at) by a significant amount (more than a few cents).



4 dollar a gallon gas is, in the current situation, largely a figment of the media, oil speculators, and people who would like to see America's changeover from fossil fuels accelerated by high prices.



You can keep an eye on price hikes over at the NYMEX , that's the New York Mercantile Exchange, or the market where a significant chunk of the world's gas and oil is bought and sold. They're kind of like the "canary in the mine" for street level price increases.

 

[imported_truzoom]

Velo, thanks for the prices. I wasn't sure when a gallon was cheaper in relation to the oil crisis.



I'm a bit confused, though. Wouldn't profits naturally be higher than in the past if demand was rising, causing prices to increase at the pump?



And are we speaking of revenues or profits? I know a lot of people fell out of their chairs when ExxonMobil released their multi-billion dolalr revenues for 2005, but that does not account for any deductions from expenses.

 

[velobard]

And are we speaking of revenues or profits? I know a lot of people fell out of their chairs when ExxonMobil released their multi-billion dolalr revenues for 2005, but that does not account for any deductions from expenses.

It wasn't revenues that got everyone's knickers in a twist, it was profits. Of course, the revenues are way up, but the profits are in the stratosphere.



I don't mind you getting it off your chest, this whole subject is truly rant-worthy. We need to reduce out dependence on oil, but immediate alternatives such as ethanol aren't as attractive as they first appear when you take into account the true costs of production in terms of energy and water use. I don't have all the details in front of me, but there's a lot of "hidden" energy cost involved from the time it's grown till it's produced and brought to market and HUGE amounts of water are required to grow and process it. I don't know all the answers, but we need to fund and encourage the new technologies that will lead us out of this mess. In the meantime we need to acknowledge that our economy can't afford to function without affordable energy, and right now that means petroleum.

 

[Joshua312]

[quote name='themightytimmah']I wouldn't worry too much about it, it sounds like the $4 a gallon figure is media speculation. The pipe break was last night and gasoline futures are still trading around 2.25 on the NYMEX - that's probably 2.90 a gallon at the pump, depends on where you live. I paid 3.17/gal for premium and that was 24 hours after the pipe shutdown.





This is no speculation...here in west Michigan prices are at $4.36. I paid $3.22 for premium tonight. We've been about $3 for weeks already...now hitting $4

 

[imported_themightytimmah]

This is no speculation...here in west Michigan prices are at $4.36. I paid $3.22 for premium tonight. We've been about $3 for weeks already...now hitting $4

Really?!?!?! I haven't heard anything of the sort here, the 24 hour place is at 3.02 IIRC. I'm hoping that's just a fluke, I've got a 1600 mile drive on thursday .

 

[BoxsterCharlie]

Corrosion in an oil pipeline...does anyone see the irony here?

 

[Scottwax]

I don't mean profits for their industry, but record profits for ANY industry throughout recorded history!!! What has happened to gas prices in the past 5 years is absurd.

If you look at their percentage of profits vs other industries, the ones you should really be mad at are banks and credit card companies. Oil company profit percentages are in line with most other industries. The profits seem so high compared to other companies because their gross is so much higher.



That isn't to say they aren't using the current situation to make more but banks are screwing us worse.

 

[Five Star]

what really sucks is the people that need to pay for gas with their credit cards just to drive to work.

If you look at their percentage of profits vs other industries, the ones you should really be mad at are banks and credit card companies. Oil company profit percentages are in line with most other industries. The profits seem so high compared to other companies because their gross is so much higher.



That isn't to say they aren't using the current situation to make more but banks are screwing us worse.

 

[velobard]

If you look at their percentage of profits vs other industries, the ones you should really be mad at are banks and credit card companies. Oil company profit percentages are in line with most other industries. The profits seem so high compared to other companies because their gross is so much higher.



That isn't to say they aren't using the current situation to make more but banks are screwing us worse.

Yeah, but as you said, oil companies deal in huge quantities.I was talking profits, not margins. Geez, don't even get me started, I'm trying to stick to one rant per day! There's plenty of stress to go around! :hairpull

 

[Scottwax]

Yeah, but as you said, oil companies deal in huge quantities.I was talking profits, not margins. Geez, don't even get me started, I'm trying to stick to one rant per day! There's plenty of stress to go around! :hairpull

I know you are talking profits but their margins are not out of line with other industries. The profits seem so high in comparison because of how much money they gross.