Ever increasing fuel prices

[Bill from Scotland]

Diesel now reached around $10.50 per gallon over here in Scotland, difficult to beleive normal life and industry can suvive at this rate. I guess you guys have noticed a huge hike in prices also. What is the main driver for these price increases and are they likely to come down?
Bill

 

[landlord7012]

guvamint is threatening to sue OPEC for allowing prices to soar. Also watched some hearings on C-Span with big oil reps in the hot seat over their alleged research for alternative energy sources. Exxon stated spending 15 million - whoopdeefriggindooo! You say "hard to believe normal life and industry can survive" and thats no lie BUT in the process of figuring out how to get by we must remain calm or worldwide holyhell is going to break loose!

Lord help us all!
Bill

 

[buickanddeere]

Why are you being a fear monger and trying to whip people up into a frenzy?
You just read how people are living with $10.00/gallon fuel.

 

[landlord7012]

Hardly a fear mongerer, just making a few observations to add to his post. Whip people into a frenzy? - whatever.

 

[Anonymous-0]

How much of the $10.00 is tax?

 

[KEB1]

"guvamint is threatening to sue OPEC for allowing prices to soar" Where did you find this little tidbit? I'd sure like to know what court would have jurisdiction over OPEC, and on what basis the "guvamint" can sue OPEC for selling their oil to the highest bidder.

The only influence the U.S. has over worldwide oil prices is by adjusting either supply or demand. Notice that Bush's recent attempt to get our "friends" the Saudi's to pump more oil failed. About the only thing we can do in the short term is to reduce consumption.

Keith

 

[Anonymous-0]

Take all excuses, throw them against the wall. They all seem to stick

Primarily, we know oil is fungible (it's price reacts globally since it's so easy to ship), and reacts strongly to marginal changes in supply. A small shortage creates large price increases, and vice-versa.

My favorite excuse of the month in the U.S. currently is "It's the weak dollar!" That's nice, but it doesn't explain why European and other nations have seen their prices go up just as much.

Bottom line:
Either let the corporations invest in new facilities and technologies to increase production and drive down costs, and properly regulate those corporations to they don't engage in monopolistic activities, or live with the consequences.

 

[Ray]

The goverment makes more money off a gallon of oil in taxes than the big bad oil company's do.

 

[tlak]

"Either let the corporations invest in new facilities and technologies to increase production and drive down costs, and properly regulate those corporations so they don't engage in monopolistic activities, or live with the consequences. "
They don't have to pollute or by pass any other regulation they're trying to get around, they just need to be made to step up to the plate. A lot of US companies, US monies, and tax breaks are wrapped up in this thievery and our government is selling us down the river. If they went to another country to do business and it cost them a lot to get back in, so be it. That's what other countries do.

 

[Spook]

Actually, their prices haven't gone up as much as ours. It looks like it has doubled for them, and tripled for us. The difference is that weak dollar.

 

[landlord7012]

>Where did you find this little tidbit? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18808477
>About the only thing we can do in the short term is to reduce consumption.
Agreed!

 

[john in la]

Boy I would like to figure out how your math works. It might help me balance the check book better.

Lets look at what you said.........

The price in Scotland is 10.50 per gallon and you said it doubled for them. So that means it started at $5.25 per gallon and went up $5.25 over a set period of time.

Our price for diesel is about $4.50 per gallon now and you said it has tripled. So that means our price started at 1.50 per gallon and went up $3.00 per gallon over the same set period of time.

So you said their price did not go up as much as ours... but according to your facts there price went up $5.25 a gallon and our price went up $3.00 a gallon.

How is $3.00 more than $5.25????????????

 

[Anonymous-0]

bd, again your lack of intelligence! Why is it everyone can see it but you?

 

[Stockdale Dave]

Filled up the Dodge diesel this morning..32 gallons=$148. Ouch. Chevy Tahoe was $90. This is unbelievable.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hmmm, maybe. I was thinkin' doubling from $2 to $4.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Your right, ouch. Don't see how you do it. I about cried when I filled up the Harley today. $16.74

 

[Anonymous-0]

I see you using USdollars, I take it they are also US gallons.
Just read where US uses 25 barrels per day per person.
China uses 2.4 and growing.
No need to guess what that means.
also see where an Agricultural Researcher in Washington is on the trail of making Ethanol from Sorghum with a view to relieving the pressure on world food supply,The theory is it would free up the corn?.

 

[Goose]

If everyone parked their humongous 15 mpg SUV's and pickups, and drove them only when they absolutely needed to, and drove a 25-30 mpg passenger car the rest of the time, consumption would drop drastically. So would prices.

Every day on my daily commute, I see the same people in a Ford Expedition, Cadillac Escalade, whatever, all by themselves. They're probably the same people who are screaming the loudest about fuel prices. Those vehicles aren't necessities, they're ego trips.

People say they need SUV's because they need 4wd when the weather is bad. BS!. At the moment, I own a front wheel drive passenger car, a front wheel drive mini-van, and three 4wd pickups. I live a mile and a half from a paved road, and I can't recall the last time I used one of the pickups because I needed 4wd. Deer hunting excepted.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Bill...
I forgot about the" main driver for these prices"
What week is it?
I do recall last week it was demand from China.
Then India
Then Hurrican in Gulf of Mexico.
Then pipeline in Iraq was blown up.
Then The rebels in Nigeria are active.
Then someone took a profit on the Stock exchange.
Then some refineries shut down for maintenance.

etc..etc..etc..

 

[Spook]

I think a lot of their price is in taxes, thats why they were 5 + when we were $1 something. Look at it another way, they used to pay 3 or 4 times as much and now they pay twice as much. But what they get for the oil tax I don't know. I know they have excellent road systems, rail and other stuff?

 

[Bryce]

Before we blame this all on Bush and his cronies, nnalert Tom Harkin"s wife is on the board of directors of CONOCO PHILLIPS.How is this Dubyas fault???

 

[WGM]

I think your math is off a little. 300 million people times 25 barrels per day per person equals 7 1/2 billion barrels per day. We as a nation use about 21 million barrels per day.

 

[buickanddeere]

Some of you are whimpering like scared children. Like most voters you will fall for the 1st politician that tells you what you want to hear.
You really have a choice. Be a scared sheep or do something about it besides whining.

 

[KEB1]

Interesting, although I'd still like to see how a U.S. court could ever enforce such a judgment against another sovereign nation. Sounds like a bunch of political posturing to me. The only lever they would have is to seize that nation's assets in the U.S., which would probably only tick them off & result in even higher oil prices.

Common sense is obviously not a prerequisite for holding political office.

Keith

 

[MN Scott]

Exxon is a OIL company. I don't see why its their resposabillty to come up with alternative fuels. If the heady liberals that run congress try to sue OPEC they OPEC, will simpally say the heck with the USA and just sell to china and india. Then we will see what high prices and rationing are really like.

 

[bison]

Here some facts

Roughly

World oil prod 85 million barrels dayly.
world demand 87 mln barrels dayly,and rising.
2 mln b short,made up by using inventories.

US uses 21 mln b dayly
US produces 5 mln b day.
US imports 16 mln b day.
the US uses 25% of global production with only 4% of global population.

750 billion is leaving the country yearly for oil alone. wich prob means the US is financing both sides of the war

 

[Mitch Furness]

Dave that fill up in Australia would be about $260 Aus or about $251 US.

 

[tlak]

Looks like a lot of people on here are screamin about prices. The oil barons weren't going to increase production, so what ever we save will still cost the same or more.

 

[Doug in IL]

If oil prices continue on the present path, some big country will finally decide enough is enough, and simply take it away from the desert despots. Who will it be? China, Russia, the U.S., I don't know. But it will eventually happen. Then, the real problems will start!

 

[tlak]

BD is about like a troll, just says the opposite to get a rile, whither it makes sense or not.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I watched some of the C Span oil companies vs. senate hearing too. The thought occurred to me, why don't they also call in drug company ceo's to ask why drugs are so high? And why are the same drugs cheaper in other countries and we aren't allowed to import them back?

 

[Anonymous-0]

The next world war will be over oil.