What the F*CK is going on at the pumps?

[Tremor Therapy]

What the f*ck is going on at the pumps?
On the March 30th, I stop at the local Arco to fill up the 'Burb and gas is $2.23 per gallon. I bitch while I fill it up, but I fill it up nonetheless...to the tune of $75 bucks!
Well I stopped by the same Arco to fill up yesterday, and gas went up a f*cking dime! 36.5 gallons at $2.33 per gallon, $85 f*cking dollars! Well I just got back from taking my son to baseball practice, and the Arco station I filled up at yesterday for $2.33 per gallon is now at $2.47 per gallon!
WTF? Did I miss the memo or something? And the Chevron station about 1/2 mile from my house has regular unleaded listed at $2.69 per gallon! I don't give a sh*t what anyone says, there is some serious profiteering going on! :mad: :mad: :mad:

[al cole'holic]

What the f*ck is going on at the pumps?
On the March 30th, I stop at the local Arco to fill up the 'Burb and gas is $2.23 per gallon. I bitch while I fill it up, but I fill it up nonetheless...to the tune of $75 bucks!
Well I stopped by the same Arco to fill up yesterday, and gas went up a f*cking dime! 36.5 gallons at $2.33 per gallon, $85 f*cking dollars! Well I just got back from taking my son to baseball practice, and the Arco station I filled up at yesterday for $2.33 per gallon is now at $2.47 per gallon!
WTF? Did I miss the memo or something? And the Chevron station about 1/2 mile from my house has regular unleaded listed at $2.69 per gallon! I don't give a sh*t what anyone says, there is some serious profiteering going on! :mad: :mad: :mad:
It's crazy for sure, cost me $6 to fill this biatch up today with 91 :D
http://members.aol.com/hevythreds/wcc.jpg

[HOOTER SLED-]

Getting tired of this shit too. Was just thinking the same thing on the way home right now. Absolutely frustrating. Skating backwards. Shit my ****ing earnings sure aren't increasing as fast as the god damn cost of living. I with ya Tremor.

[MsDrmr]

they say it's only gonna get worse... :squiggle: I don't get it, how are they justifying the rise in price (other than the fact that we don't have a choice but to pay it) :cry:

[mike37]

I'm paying $270 a gallon for diesel
its ****ing insane diesel isn't even as refined as gas now how the hell do they think its worth more that regular gas

[Newcastle]

I'm paying $270 a gallon for diesel
its ****ing insane diesel isn't even as refined as gas now how the hell do they think its worth more that regular gas
Where do you live? cuz that's some 'spensive gas!

[Tremor Therapy]

I'm paying $270 a gallon for diesel
its ****ing insane diesel isn't even as refined as gas now how the hell do they think its worth more that regular gas
That Chevron down the street from me has deisel at $2.85 per gallon! What a rip off! I know it won't get much done, but I fired off a letter to my local congressman, because this is getting ridiculous! I mean F'ing highway robbery. The papers are reporting that the gas companies are reporting record profits...there's a news flash, yet no one anywhere seems to be taking this seriously! I guess its time to get another motorcycle to commute back and forth to work!

[Topock Junkie]

I think these gas prices are outrageous. I've never been one to bi%ch about gas prices. But, enough is enough already.
What gets me is we can send millions of dollars to other countries in need but we can't keep gas affordable for us.

[Sweet Addiction]

I have have been watching the pump here, I run 89 in my truck. I paid $2.14 for a gallon on Saturday, today Tuesday its $2.21. Its been jumping like 6-7 cents every two to three days for a few weeks now. I think its out of freaking control. Cost me $50 to fill the truck, and almost $100 to fill the boat. What really makes me feel, is you guys with boats that carry over 100 gallons or more of fuel. Ouch. There should be something to justify this madness.
Jared.

[wildbillg]

Hoestly gas here is not priced that bad.
I have posted this before, our prices in the U.S. are about the lowest.
Would you feel better if you were paying something more on the lin :( es of this?
Last week, premium gas prices in Europe were averaging more than double the U.S. level of $2.24 a gallon -- with prices at the pump averaging $5.07 a gallon in France, $5.36 in Germany and $5.59 in Britain.
I know it sucks when I pull up to the pump with my Crew Cab Dually and have to shell out close to the better half of a hundie for the privilige of driving my big truck around. I have been riding the bike ALOT more these days, but it was my choice to drive the big truck and it is still my choice to not drive it to and choose to buy something more fuel effecient.
That is one of the great things about living in the united states, If I choose to drive something that uses a BUNCH of fuel. Im so happy that I can make that choice and not have someone telling me what I can or cant drive.
This is just my opinion and im intitled to it........
Heres another look at it.....
Bob Monahan, a soldier with the Army National Guard who will soon be deployed to Iraq for 14 months, said he appreciates American luxuries, including gasoline at any price.
"We're finally catching up to the rest of the world," he said. "I spent several years in Europe where you pay $3 for a liter of gas (about $12 per gallon). When I get home and it's $2 for a gallon, it doesn't bother me."

[Wavemaker]

News Flash! Chevron-Texaco is buying Union 76 with their record profits. Sends a strong message that the oil supplies and oil exploration is dwindling. I've said it before and I'll say it again; The oil companies are trying to get the average price world wide to stabilize around $3.00 per gallon or more... depending upon the available oil supplies from foriegn sources. Read this as OPEC and, sources other than the oil fields within the USA. We buy crude oil all over the world to refine it here in the USA. We have not built a new refinery in California in over 20 years. Today, the average price of gasoline just hit $2.02 per gallon in New Jersey. New Jersey is state with the lowest taxes on gasoline and, has two refineries in NJ and two more near by in Pennsyvania. These refineries process foriegn crude oil. When do we open up the Elk Hills Oil Researves? The Federal Government will not move to do this as we are at WAR in Iraq, and will hold the researved oil for times of "national crisis."
There you have it. We will pay more to drive to work, drive kids to school and pay more to use your RVs boats, off-road toys and power mowers. Back to the news from the studio.
Buy oil company stocks, as record profits make for record dividends. Sell back the stocks for a profit. Use your profit to offset your gas and oil bills. I know you will not be buying & selling the stocks each month to make a monthly payment but over the year you will off-set some of the total dollars you have paid for at the pump. -Wavemaker

[sorry dog]

Many years but sooner or later oil must be at least partially supplimented by other energy sources. Slowly rising oil prices is a great way to encourage this.
It ain't been so slow lately, but I think people will start to modify their short term behavior at this price level enough to keep it from spiking too high. I read there is a lot of speculating going on in the futures market which I guess is spilling over into the physical market. But those folks have to settle their positions sooner or later.
In the long term I think some folks will think twice before checking that 8.1 liter option and with more hybrids coming out I think demand will become more flexible...and other substitutes that require long term investment horizons like power plants should become more viable.
The part I don't like is where alot of that extra money is going to right now...
I wonder what corn alcohol on a large scale would cost per gallon?

[PHX ATC]

That's it........I'm finally glad my wife has a horse...I'm going to ride it to work. :220v: :D

[Eliminator 4 Life]

All I gotta say is the guys that deliver the gas better start packing some heat Im gonna steal me one of those next ha ha :D :boxingguy

[Essex502]

How many flames were there when I posted about the oil industry months back. Same $hit is going on and will continue until someone acts. The consolidation of the oil industry causes market power to be wielded by fewer and fewer companies. Yes, relatively speaking, gas is cheaper here than in Europe but remember..where in Europe do they drill for oil except for the North Sea and Russia. We have an abundance of oil in North America. We have more oil supply now than last year at this time. What we don't have is enough refineries to process it. So, when there is a problem at any ONE refinery the effect is felt across the nation. We allowed the oil consolidation to happen and oil refineries to close. It's our own fault.
Here is an interview with a ChevronTexaco exec that reflects "big oil's" attitude of entitlement to the obscene profits:
Chevron Executive Defends High Fuel Prices and Profits
Patricia Woertz says refiners are merely rebounding from a rough patch in 2002.
By Elizabeth Douglass, Times Staff Writer
Few things anger consumers more than high gasoline prices — except maybe soaring profits for the nation's refineries because of high gasoline prices.
The high-price, high-profit combination is on display at ChevronTexaco Corp., which nearly tripled its income from U.S. refineries, fuel sales and transportation operations to $1.3 billion in 2004.
The results were particularly good news for Patricia A. Woertz. She runs the so-called downstream business of refining, selling and trading fuel for ChevronTexaco, which has two refineries in California and is one of the state's largest fuel retailers. The 52-year-old executive vice president spent the last two years overhauling the San Ramon, Calif.-based oil company's downstream operations, which employ about 18,000 people worldwide.
Woertz rejects the notion that recent refiner profits are somehow unseemly. The refining industry is cyclical, she said, and is merely rebounding from a dismal patch in 2002, when post-9/11 energy demand plummeted and Woertz's group at ChevronTexaco lost $400 million in the United States.
Refining profits today are largely a reflection of high demand for fuel and crude oil, coupled with slow growth in the ability of refineries to process oil, she said. Woertz tackled the issue of refinery earnings and other subjects during a recent interview in San Francisco.
Question: What are your thoughts on the future of refining in the United States and California?
Answer: Demand [for fuel] is still growing at 1% to 2% a year in the U.S., refineries are running at about full capacity, and we're importing about 10% a year. It continues to be kind of a constrained environment. So maybe over the next 5 to 7 years, refining can find itself in a little bit of a higher band [of profit margins]. We certainly saw a very high band in 2004. Will that remain forever? I don't think so, but it will be somewhat of a higher trend than it's been in the past. Things can change very quickly, of course, and we can have sources of demand fall off, the economy could not be as strong as it is today, or you could find new sources of supply, say, from outside the U.S.
Q: But with the supply-demand gap what it is today, wouldn't it require a major economic catastrophe of some sort? Either that, or hybrids take over the world?
A: Any of the opportunities to have demand fall off quickly seems to me to come from current consumer behavior. Will people stop driving? Probably not. Will they drive somewhat less? It depends on both their behaviors and what they've been used to buying. People are still buying vehicles — that's always a good indication that they will continue to drive. They're buying bigger vehicles. So it's hard to imagine that there will be something precipitous, but you can't ever predict the future.
Q: The industry talks pretty openly about California being the most profitable refining market. What makes it so?
A: The West Coast of North America has good weather, it has a strong amount of growth, it has populations that are young and continuing to grow. In general, where you have strong economic growth, most industries tend to prosper, which of course would include the gasoline manufacturing industry. In addition, California has [fuel] specifications that are the tightest in the world. It's like a bull's-eye that you're having to hit all the time … so if you ever have a supply disruption, because it is so difficult to make, it causes a constraint on supply and that has an effect to it.
Q: Operating profit from your U.S. refineries nearly tripled in 2004, despite having to buy crude oil at escalating prices. When you have high gasoline prices, and you post very high refining margins, how do you explain that to the traveling public that is thinking, 'This is more than a nice profit. This is gouging me.' ?
A: I think it's a misinformed question. Actually, prices are lower on an inflation-adjusted basis. They are 28% lower than they were in 1981, for example. We've had high times and low times. If you look at milk prices, or water prices, or electricity prices, or other things that we spend on in our daily lives, I think there should be less irritation about the price of gasoline compared to other commodities. It's a real bargain, actually.
Now you asked that compared to a profitable quarter or a profitable year for an oil company, and I think those rates of return — particularly when compared to those years of zero rates of return — it balances out to quite a bit less than most other manufacturing sectors. But you don't get the same questions about an Intel or a Hewlett-Packard … are they gouging or whatever.
Q: But the public knows that oil is controlled largely by a cartel, and that most commodities are not. Plus, it's a necessity…. How do you counter that?
A: Well, investigation after investigation after investigation, particularly here in California, … has shown that it's a highly competitive industry; there is no collusion. In fact, as taxpayer dollars are spent on additional investigations, you'd almost like to hope that they'd read the last investigation with the same exact data and/or allegations.
Q: What's your reaction to those who think California's refining industry is nonetheless a tight oligopoly — where so few players dominate the market that actions by any one of them can materially affect prices?
A: I think I would probably turn them to the California Energy Commission, or to some of these investigations. They conclude that it's a very competitive market. The independents certainly add to that competitive nature, so it's not just a small group of companies, but it's a very long list of companies. I suggest that those who have a different view go to some of this research material.
Then when it really hurts, ask about "Zone Pricing" and the little ignominious practice:
Zone Pricing (http://www.ucan.org/members/ucanmembersonly/watchdog/spring98/gasgouge/gasgouge.html)

[Havasu Cig]

News Flash! Chevron-Texaco is buying Union 76 with their record profits. Sends a strong message that the oil supplies and oil exploration is dwindling. I've said it before and I'll say it again; The oil companies are trying to get the average price world wide to stabilize around $3.00 per gallon or more... depending upon the available oil supplies from foriegn sources. Read this as OPEC and, sources other than the oil fields within the USA. We buy crude oil all over the world to refine it here in the USA. We have not built a new refinery in California in over 20 years. Today, the average price of gasoline just hit $2.02 per gallon in New Jersey. New Jersey is state with the lowest taxes on gasoline and, has two refineries in NJ and two more near by in Pennsyvania. These refineries process foriegn crude oil. When do we open up the Elk Hills Oil Researves? The Federal Government will not move to do this as we are at WAR in Iraq, and will hold the researved oil for times of "national crisis."
There you have it. We will pay more to drive to work, drive kids to school and pay more to use your RVs boats, off-road toys and power mowers. Back to the news from the studio.
Buy oil company stocks, as record profits make for record dividends. Sell back the stocks for a profit. Use your profit to offset your gas and oil bills. I know you will not be buying & selling the stocks each month to make a monthly payment but over the year you will off-set some of the total dollars you have paid for at the pump. -Wavemaker
Chevron-Texaco is buying Unocal not 76. The 76 brand is owned by ConocoPhillips. I have been getting calls all week about this.
BTW, my cost on fuel has increased about 15 cents in the past three days and I just got another 5 cent increase a few minutes ago. This hurts us station owners as well, but when I see people paying 5 dollars for a cup of coffee at Starbucks and then come in and complain about gas prices it's hard to feel sorry for them.

[kevnmcd]

Pretty sad when you put a C-note worth of gas (89 octane) in your vehicle and it doesn't even fill it up! :mad:

[1stepcloser]

Heres a slighty pessimistic view (http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/7203633?rnd=1112644064031&has-player=true) of the impending problem we face.
Its a rather long read, and I apologize if it has been printed here before.

[Mandelon]

I am looking at $2.69 a gallon to fill up today.... :mad:

[spectras only]

Comparing europe's vs north america's fuel pricing is like
comparing apples and oranges. The analysts say ,
europeans charge much higher taxes on fuel [ somewhat like here in canada :mad: ]. While european travelers use an efficient transit system for commuting ,here we travel more than double or triple distances to work .We don't have a transport system like europe that was built almost 100 years ago :idea: .The government here trying to promote transit and carpooling ,but no way I'll spend 3 hours on the bus to go to work , thats only a 20-30 minute drive ;) .We have a 100+ year of oil supply [ most of it in Alberta]that we know of ,and we didn't even scratched the surface under the pacific ocean :D .Since Shell bought into Ballard's tecnology to stall them ;) ,is a sure indicator that oil stays here to make more profits for the oil companies for awhile. BTW we pay a dollar per liter here in vancouver for 87 :mad: :mad:

[Freak]

only a 20-30 minute drive ;) .We have a 100+ year of oil supply [ most of it in Alberta]that we know of ,:
Are you speaking of the tar sands?

[Freak]

The tar sands are no savior for the situation because it is expensive to extract. Expensive to extract - that is the problem.
Yes, there is a lot of unconventional oil, but from all that I have read, it will only be able to supply a few million barrels of oil a day at best - and that is in 10 years or more. It creates a ton of pollution, requires TONS of natural gas water, and oil to do, and many people even speculate that the energy returned on energy invested is about equal - i.e. even although you could suck a barrel of oil out of the tar sands, you've just used the equivalent energy by using natural gas etc. to extract it. They have even considered building a nuclear power plant to make steam just for the sands.
Remember, its not the end of oil, its the end of CHEAP oil. That is what is being said. Only expensive oil is left to extract. Sure there is a ton of it but is costs $$$ because you just cant dig a hole in the sand and it oozes to the top. It's heavy crude in the sands or deep water. Places like that. Which will ripple through the economy like a jackhammer as the price continues to rise because extraction costs keep rising. Just because there is oil does not mean there is no problem.

[My Man's Sportin' Wood]

http://home.mchsi.com/~angieknoll/gasprices1.JPG
http://home.mchsi.com/~angieknoll/gasprices.JPG

[gnarley]

Hoestly gas here is not priced that bad.
I have posted this before, our prices in the U.S. are about the lowest.
Would you feel better if you were paying something more on the lin :( es of this?
Last week, premium gas prices in Europe were averaging more than double the U.S. level of $2.24 a gallon -- with prices at the pump averaging $5.07 a gallon in France, $5.36 in Germany and $5.59 in Britain.
I know it sucks when I pull up to the pump with my Crew Cab Dually and have to shell out close to the better half of a hundie for the privilige of driving my big truck around. I have been riding the bike ALOT more these days, but it was my choice to drive the big truck and it is still my choice to not drive it to and choose to buy something more fuel effecient.
That is one of the great things about living in the united states, If I choose to drive something that uses a BUNCH of fuel. Im so happy that I can make that choice and not have someone telling me what I can or cant drive.
This is just my opinion and im intitled to it........
Heres another look at it.....
Bob Monahan, a soldier with the Army National Guard who will soon be deployed to Iraq for 14 months, said he appreciates American luxuries, including gasoline at any price.
"We're finally catching up to the rest of the world," he said. "I spent several years in Europe where you pay $3 for a liter of gas (about $12 per gallon). When I get home and it's $2 for a gallon, it doesn't bother me."
Well, you can't really compare us to Europe, can you? They have government-backed healthcare and retirement don't they? That adds some taxes at the pump for them. I might be a little off but not by much which means they don't have to shell out of pocket for healthcare and retirement so they have that extra as disposable income, whereas we are shelling out of pocket for healthcare and retirement which are not figured into our gas prices.
I’d be all for higher gas prices if I didn’t have to pay a dime for health care and it could go up again if I didn’t need to invest for retirement.
In fact after doing a quick calculation we spend about $5000, a year on fuel. I also figure we spend another $3000 a year on medical and invest another $20K towards retirement.
AS far as I'm concerned gas could double if I didn't need to pay for health care or retirement.
I bet in the end it would be to our benefit