[Driver72]

Originally Posted by darkcloud

I remember when I got my license 9 years ago regular was like $.99/gallon and like $1.15 for premium . It cost me $13 to fill up the tank in my gas guzzling wrangler, now those were the days.

Ahh the good old days before there were oil men running this country.

[ages944]

Originally Posted by mrbelk

...Noone had any sympathy for "Big Oil" when it was at like $15/barrel and the oil companies were losing their shirts....

-MrB

... somehow, I don't think that oil companies were ever quite 'losing their shirts.' Besides, isn't 10% a rather healthy margin on a commodity product?

[kingbriani]

Originally Posted by mrbelk

Oil and gas futures are speculatively traded on an open market just like stocks, wheat, corn, and pigs. Exxon has no more control over the price of their gasoline on the open market than you or me. If you've followed the major stock indeces, you've noticed that all of these markets are _very_ volatile the last several years.

Now, to the profit issue. Exxon Mobile is a popular target, so I'll just use them as an example. They posted profits of $30Bn on revenues of $300Bn. That's a profit _margin_ of only 10%. That's just basic economics that you should have learned in high school. A 10% margin is very low when compared to other industries (for example, the banking industry has roughly a 25% profit margin), but noone is crying for these other, more profitable industries to cut their prices or give up their profits. Noone had any sympathy for "Big Oil" when it was at like $15/barrel and the oil companies were losing their shirts.

Rant off. I guess my point is that if people would look a little deeper than the idiot talking heads reporting the news, they would see a much clearer picture. It's topics like this where the liberal/socialist bias and agenda in the mainstream media is blatantly obvious.

-MrB

I'm so happy someone here knows what theyre talking about. I get so sick of people complaining about big oil profits when if they made any less, they'd get a better return on investments with their money sitting in a bank. Aren't a lot of people here business owners?

[LEDZEP]

Originally Posted by kingbriani

I'm so happy someone here knows what theyre talking about. I get so sick of people complaining about big oil profits when if they made any less, they'd get a better return on investments with their money sitting in a bank. Aren't a lot of people here business owners?

Can you tell me the name of your bank that is paying you more than 10% please?

10% is a healthy profit in almost any market. BTW, when was the last time that Chase Manhattan had a huge cash spill that destroyed ecological resources and life? Ever see pictures of poor water fowl all covered with cash and slowly dying?

Fuck the oil companies and the politicians they own.

[DFW_M]

Originally Posted by kingbriani

I'm so happy someone here knows what theyre talking about. I get so sick of people complaining about big oil profits when if they made any less, they'd get a better return on investments with their money sitting in a bank. Aren't a lot of people here business owners?

Not only that, but the analogy is EMPTY.
Well, they could charge us $5/gallon and have $600BN in sales, hence it would be OK to have $60BN in profits...
10% net margin sucks, and that is their issue (again, overpaying execs and people in the WH), but it is clearly not regulated right...

Also, interesting thing on a same note is that our salad bar at work had corn every day for years, not any more... I guess, that got tooo expensive now that it became a part of "oil/gas business"...

[txusa03]

Hm, so we want to start talking about math? I am no math expert or some phd person. But, 10% of $100 vs 10% of $300Bn is a huge difference. ya know what I mean. Dude, if these oil companies were making 25% profit margin, that is like asking for a super size french fry at McDonalds. So stop feeling sorry for their 10% profit margin and it is still greed.

peace!

[DFW_M]

Originally Posted by txusa03

must be lunch time in dallas

Nah, going to China tomorrow, so just wrapping things up...

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by dr325i

Nah, going to China tomorrow, so just wrapping things up...

wrapping things up on e90post ?

enjoy your trip to china bro.

[DFW_M]

Originally Posted by txusa03

wrapping things up on e90post ?

enjoy your trip to china bro.

will be on the board again...once I get there...but different time (while you guys sleep

It's just for a week anyway...

[scottwww]

Originally Posted by dr325i

Nah, going to China tomorrow, so just wrapping things up...

Say, "Hello" to Mao for us while you are there.

[DFW_M]

Originally Posted by scottwww

Say, "Hello" to Mao for us while you are there.

Mao sends kisses back...but keeps asking me what IOWA is...
He also says that the gas prices in China went up about 20% in last 4 years, and wonders why the prices in the USA went up by 350%. He laughed when he found out that the gas companies made record profits over, and over, while people that earn minimum wages cannot drive any more...and commented -- That is something I should have patented a long time ago because that is something expected here...not in the great USA...

[scottwww]

I just filled up the tank. $49.45 for 15.200 gallons. That's $3.259 per gallon for 93 octane E10.

The local TV news was video taping and asked to video me pumping my gas. They didn't ask what I thought. I would have said, "It seems like a high price, but it's something like half the price most of the world pays."

When a news camera is on you and your pumping gas, you have nothing to do but make some facial expressions. You feel like they want you to have a reaction to the high price.

I am sure I made a bit of an unpleasant expression when I looked at the final price. I think that was for the camera. If they want to, the news media will pick out any clip they want to make the case they want to make.

I would also have said to them, "The oil companies need to start drilling in Anwar, Alaska and nearer to the coast in the Gulf of Mexico."

[533ogetnom]

that whole "they are at the mercy of the makret" is toal bullshit

have you not noticed how prices magically drop dramatically before elections and then jump back up right after, and how do u explain the new trend of adding penies to premium over regular

point is they could sell for 2$ a gallon and still turn a massive profit, but dont

[Driver72]

Originally Posted by 533ogetnom

point is they could sell for 2$ a gallon and still turn a massive profit, but dont

BINGO...just like they did 3 years ago and still made BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars!
They keep saying, "supply and demand"
There is NO more demand now for gas in this country than there was 3 years ago. And there is just as much supply.
Fact of the matter, we probably use LESS gas now than we did 3 years ago, as more and more Americans have choosen to buy more fuel efficient cars in the past 3 years and tend to be more conscienceous of fuel conserving.

[SteveMD]

Originally Posted by Driver72

BINGO...just like they did 3 years ago and still made BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars!
They keep saying, "supply and demand"
There is NO more demand now for gas in this country than there was 3 years ago. And there is just as much supply.
Fact of the matter, we probably use LESS gas now than we did 3 years ago, as more and more Americans have choosen to buy more fuel efficient cars in the past 3 years and tend to be more conscienceous of fuel conserving.

Unfortunatley, cars are only a small part of the equation. Heavy trucks, aircraft and power generation all contribute to US oil consumption. The demand has not gone down at all.

Remember that oil is a commodity sold on the commodity market. The price is basically set worldwide on these markets.

China and India have a combined population of 2.3 Billion people - almost 8 times the population of the USA. Both countries just woke up and industrialized. Many people are buying cars. BMW just opened a factory in India.

Although many US refineries have expanded, no new ones have been built since 1976 because of strict environmental requirements.

Similarly, environmental requirements dictate that (in 2004 anyway) at least 45 different blends of gasoline are refined and sold in the US for different States and in some cases certain metropolitan areas. Each blend has to be manufactured, stored and transported separately. Refining is costly because once the need for a certain blend is met, the refinery must then switch over and gear up for the next formula.

There's tons of good stuff here: http://www.gravmag.com/oil.html#dollar

[scottwww]

Originally Posted by scottwww

When a news camera is on you and your pumping gas, you have nothing to do but make some facial expressions. You feel like they want you to have a reaction to the high price.

I am sure I made a bit of an unpleasant expression when I looked at the final price. I think that was for the camera. If they want to, the news media will pick out any clip they want to make the case they want to make.

I saw the clip this morning. From me, all they showed was my hand on the pump handle, followed by my reflection on the windshield glass, wiping my brow, and ending in a sneer. It looked like I was disgusted by the price.

The news media will fish for anything that fits the story they want to tell. The don't look for the truth. If they had asked me, and showed it, it would have presented a whole different idea than what any news viewer did get from it.

How much more so do they do this on bigger stories?

[OC Guy]

Originally Posted by scottwww

I just filled up the tank. $49.45 for 15.200 gallons. That's $3.259 per gallon for 93 octane E10.

I paid more this morning for 87 octane on my Integra. Rougly $41.xx for 12.4 gallons.

[CSL-Fanatik]

In all honesty:


Just like the cars are generally (much) cheaper in the US, such is the gas!
Americans need to realize that.

About two years ago I was paying less than $2/gallon, while in Europe people pay more than $7/gallon... Why? Well, the US buys oil in such large quantities to keep it cheap, and it is good for the economy.

But I have said years ago, that it is necessary for higher prices in the US. And you know what? I LOVE it that it will be more than $4/gallon at the end of the year (according to cnn).

I want it to be more than $4/gallon, so that people start carpooling, turn of their engines when they wait for 10 minutes in a parking lot, don't use gas as if it was an unlimited resource...

If you ask me; let's make it $5/gallon.. You can still afford your Porsche or BMW, or whatever, but what you cannot afford is your HUMMER, SUV, VIPER, or whatever... ridiculously huge engines that are poorly designed and have an awful gasmileage...

I love it, and this is an opinion I absolutely support...

Best regards,

CSL