A Gallon of Gas in Saudi Arabia

Heineken Helen

gabers wrote:

"Environazis" have nothing to do with not allowing refineries to be built. It hasn't gotten that far because nobody wants another refinery built in their back yard. Also, most "Environazis" would probably argue that we shouldn't still be relying on oil to power our cars in the first place. Or at the very least we should have done more to reduce our need for oil by insisting on more fuel efficient vehicles.

Besides, you're forgetting the main point... since when has ANY government listened to ANYTHING an 'environazi' has to say? :cool:

Heineken Helen

Strangest Tribe wrote:

Your question was a suggestion about oil rights?

My question is who owns the oil and it's rights in Iraq?

Taxpayers are shelling out billions per week to guard whose oil?

Economically and fiscally speaking, I understand the points being made here.

What I'm not sure I understand is the disparity in oil prices globally.

If it cost X number of $ to drill, remove and refine the oil ...then oil rich
nations certainly pay more than X for their gasoline. So in Saudi Arabia what is the actual cost of crude? Who is drilling it? Its not the Chinese or the Indians right? So how is it by my calculations 20X by the time it gets here?

Also... people have to make profit... not only do the transportation companies have to make profit but so do the gas stations... not to mention everyone in between. You really can't expect something in the US to cost the same as it would in its country of origin?

Heineken Helen

Strangest Tribe wrote:

Goddammit it's like being in bible school and asking about the dinosaurs or how the fuck did Noah build an ark so big? It's always the same rhetoric.


If US based petroleum companies are drilling, transporting and refining Mid-East oil the Saudis can afford to sell it at .45 cents per gallon. IF the demand coming from China and India exceeds the supply and those countries are forcing our own US companies to raise gas prices internationally doesn't that hurt our dollar even more?

Essentially, we can only point the finger at ourselves.

Oh absolutely! You don't think the people BEHIND all the drilling will have to worry about rising oil costs any day now?

Zanne

Strangest Tribe wrote:

I understand that.

It's even cheaper in Venezuela.

It's only about $1.50 in the former Soviet Union.


Why isn't it cheaper in Texas or Alaska???

Venezuela is a major oil producing-exporting nation.

Heineken Helen

decides2dream wrote:

agreed!


and ENOUGH with oil! can't we LEARN from all this? we need to END our dependence on oil. period. we need alternate fuel sources. period. it's been said enough but man, the resources poured into this horrific war, imagine poured instead into research and development of a new, renewable resource?! :eek: boggles my mind....

to the 'little guy' of COURSE that makes perfect sense... but to the bigger guy this is all part of the bigger picture to make the rich even richer and the rest of us... well... NOT! See they'll keep telling us about how oil's running out, thus shooting oil prices right up... until they actually 'DO' run out in the middle east... and then suddenly they'll start drilling in Alaska so the 'only oil in the world' will be American and guess how much they'll charge for THAT. It's not really in their own best interests to encourage alternative fuels... cos this one's working out pretty easy for them as it is :(

searchlightsoul

Strangest Tribe wrote:

is only .45 cents....

That's right!!!!


.45 cents per gallon.

yeah, supply and demand and shortages and oil fields gone dry and we need to drill Alaska.... it's all Bullshit

just Bullshit

It is their oil.

Kel Varnsen

Heineken Helen wrote:

to the 'little guy' of COURSE that makes perfect sense... but to the bigger guy this is all part of the bigger picture to make the rich even richer and the rest of us... well... NOT!

Why does it have to be "little guy" vs. "big guy"? It is not like the only people who are allowed to invest in oil companies are multi-millionaires. Anyone with a bit of money to invest can take advantage of all the money oil companies are making and get some of it for themselves.

Heineken Helen

Kel Varnsen wrote:

Why does it have to be "little guy" vs. "big guy"? It is not like the only people who are allowed to invest in oil companies are multi-millionaires. Anyone with a bit of money to invest can take advantage of all the money oil companies are making and get some of it for themselves.

Oh absolutely... and it doesn't HAVE to be that way... but it is. The rich will keep getting richer, often at the expense of the not so rich. Why can't we just be? Without the superclass determining how poor we're gonna be this year!

Kel Varnsen

Heineken Helen wrote:

Oh absolutely... and it doesn't HAVE to be that way... but it is. The rich will keep getting richer, often at the expense of the not so rich. Why can't we just be? Without the superclass determining how poor we're gonna be this year!

But it isn't only the super rich making money. Anyone with a bit of money to invest can walk into a bank or find a discount online broker and invest in oil companies and use their profits to make money. Right now as I look over my small retirement fund, the only thing keeping it from going into the negative is the fact that the oil companies in the various funds are turning big profits. So the oil companies are making me money, and I am by no means rich.

Heineken Helen

Kel Varnsen wrote:

But it isn't only the super rich making money. Anyone with a bit of money to invest can walk into a bank or find a discount online broker and invest in oil companies and use their profits to make money. Right now as I look over my small retirement fund, the only thing keeping it from going into the negative is the fact that the oil companies in the various funds are turning big profits. So the oil companies are making me money, and I am by no means rich.

but it's only the rich who will become super rich from it. I don't get what point you're trying to make...so anyone can invest in oil... yeh, we can give ourselves a reasonable retirement. But can we invest enough to become rich? Besides some of us have morals... it was recently discovered that Ireland, a neutral country, invest our pension funds in every country in the worlds top ten arms manufacturers... and 43 of the top 100 :eek: . We're currently in the process of removing our investment from those companies. The little guys CAN have stake in the oil companies... but it's still gonna be the big guys who control them and who control what direction the oil situation is gonna take,

farfromglorified

Heineken Helen wrote:

but it's only the rich who will become super rich from it. I don't get what point you're trying to make...so anyone can invest in oil... yeh, we can give ourselves a reasonable retirement.

And those already "super rich" will become "uber rich"!!! My my, what's a plebian to do!?!?!

cheeseandrice

I've said this before..I know. Even if we drill in Alaska and it costs less to refine, the oil companies are still going to pocket that money. They won't pass the savings along to us. We are bitching, but we're still buying. Unless we stop buying at the price it is at, they won't lower the prices. Why should they?

I also don't know how much of a supply we have here. Once it's out- then we're screwed.

farfromglorified

cheeseandrice wrote:

I've said this before..I know. Even if we drill in Alaska and it costs less to refine, the oil companies are still going to pocket that money. They won't pass the savings along to us.

LOL...then why hasn't gas cost $4 / gallon for 30 years?

chromiam

farfromglorified wrote:

LOL...then why hasn't gas cost $4 / gallon for 30 years?

Can't wait for this answer.....

cheeseandrice

I don't think that they would have been able to 30 years ago. What was the minimum wage- something like $2.50. I don't think that the average household made that much and most households were only a 1 income household.

$4-5 for a gallon of gas will put a strain on the economy now- it would have devastated us back then. No way that they would be able to sell it. They would have had to lower the price.

But $2-3.00 may fly now.

If we drill here and it only costs .75 to refine and distribute, do you really think that they are going to lower the prices back down to $1.00/gal? No, they'll lower it a little bit and bank the rest.

farfromglorified

cheeseandrice wrote:

I don't think that they would have been able to 30 years ago. What was the minimum wage- something like $2.50. I don't think that the average household made that much and most households were only a 1 income household.

$4-5 for a gallon of gas will put a strain on the economy now- it would have devastated us back then. No way that they would be able to sell it. They would have had to lower the price.

But $2-3.00 may fly now.

If we drill here and it only costs .75 to refine and distribute, do you really think that they are going to lower the prices back down to $1.00/gal? No, they'll lower it a little bit and bank the rest.

"They" are still a collection of competing companies. The price of gas could certainly return to $1.00 / gallon. In fact, the price of gas could probably return to $0.50 / gallon if conditions allowed for it.

In 1981, gas peaked at nearly $2.90 / gallon (inflation adjusted). Seven years later, it was half that. Now, it's 3 times the 1988 level. In other words, gas prices fluctuate and they don't fluctuate because oil companies are greedy or altruistic. They fluctuate in response to economic and politcal motivators such as supply, demand, competition, monopolization, regulation and regional conditions.

If you drilled in Alaska and introduced significant new oil supply into a competitive oil market and a competitive refining market with excess capacity, the price of a gallon of gas would certainly come down. How much it would come down is certainly open for debate. But to suggest that introducing new supply that outpaces demand into a competitive market without bottlenecks would have no affect on prices is no different than suggesting that a lead weight dropped off of the Empire State building would float magically beneath your hand.

farfromglorified

farfromglorified wrote:

And those already "super rich" will become "uber rich"!!! My my, what's a plebian to do!?!?!

LOL...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24780787/

LikeAnOcean

Strangest Tribe wrote:

is only .45 cents....

That's right!!!!


.45 cents per gallon.

yeah, supply and demand and shortages and oil fields gone dry and we need to drill Alaska.... it's all Bullshit

just Bullshit

Yeah, but isn't .45 cents more than those people make in a month?

RolandTD20Kdrummer

All we need to do is Kiss Saudi ass, and we get the same deal...

Oh wait...

nevermind

3inputchick

I'll pay 30.00 a gal if it means I dont have to move to Saudia Arabia