I'm glad to see the oil companies fight back against the easy solution of high gas prices.
What is the "easy solution" for the liberals, just blame the oil companies.
They make 9% profit no matter how much gas is, so that is not the problem.
Two problems that cause a rise in gas prices:
1. 35 years of liberals not allowing us to drill and refine our own oil. Throw in the fact we can't build a nuclear power plant as well as to the entire energy price problem.
2. China, India and Africa using up more and more and more and more oil.
Just remember, 12 years ago congress passed a bill to drill in ANWAR, Clinton vetoed it saying it would take 10 years to get the oil.
Man...we really could use that oil now...
Thanks liberals for our $4 a gallon gas
Thank your nearest liberal today
Monday, June 09, 2008
BP chief Tony Hayward says lack of investment to blame for oil spike
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If so, how come their (BP, Shell...) profits have gone up by 48-50% (quarter-to-quarter)?
I'm not into bashing oil compnaies. However, they are far from being saints. They want to drill more and more because they know that the era of 'fossil fuel' is coming to an end. This is their last chance to make as much as possible.
This is much bigger than partisan politics and talking points.
And who is to blame for the lack of investment in refineries? France?
You can try and dismiss my comments as politics, but the REAL truth is hard to take...
Oil companies make millions...but if you noticed...gas has increased 200% in the last 4 years...so if oil company profits went up 200% in the last 4 years that would be what it should have went up
Wait a minute - so you agree that Oil companies' profits go up as the price of oil goes up? Then, how can you say that "they make 9% profit no matter how much gas is..."!!
If you study the oil sector, you will find that the cost of production hasn't gone up significantly. Yes, demand has gone up like any other limited commodity. Obviously someone is making huge profits and it's not that hard to figure out who the beneficiaries are if you read quartelry reports of oil companies!
What we need is a comprehensive energy plan that includes more nuclear power plants, more investment towards alternative sources of energy and focus on fuel efficiency.
Repeating the party talking points is counter productive when we discuss importnant issues like energy policy.
dude, we could drill in the artic and add that small amount of oil to the world market. do believe that somehow that oil would cost less than the market price of oil? all oil goes into the world market. the small amount of oil from anwar would have little overall effect on the world supply so it wouldn't make any difference to our price at the pump.
american is right that the oil companies want to drill for every last ounce before viable alternatives are found.
i'm for nuclear if you can prove that they can be built safe.
It's a simple concept...I'll bring it down a level or two...
If I make 9% no matter what, that means:
Say gas cost 100 bucks...I make 9 dollars...
If it cost 1000 bucks....I make 90 dollars...
And throwing out the lame "stop throwing out the party line" crap shows a lack of ability to debate the issues...
And I WISH this was the party line...because Republicans don't do a damn thing about this either...
Profits are high, but not profit margins. From what I've read, the profit is less on a gallon than what the tax is.
Ok - let me bring it to very basic level - your profits can go up either by selling more products OR pricing your product more. In case of oil companies, it's the second case.
"Party talking points" is not lame - read your own post. You blame everything on liberals and hardly acknowledge the same crap from conservatives.
American--
I'm saddened that our citizens cannot tell the difference between a net profit and the rate of profit. Game spelled it out for you perfectly. What business reduces their rate of profit when their net profit increases? No one would invest in such an enterprise.
This really isn't that difficult to understand. Perhaps the following reductio will help you.
In Illinois, the state + federal government makes 57.9 cents on every dollar of gas purchased, an amount that dwarfs the 7-13 cents on the dollar corporations make in profit. (Add another 12.75 cents on the dollar for Komrade Daley in Chicago.) When the price doubles, the government revenue doubles too. Does this make your benevolent State a price-gouger? If the answer is no, then the same follows for Big Oil, which gets a much smaller percentage.
Retard journalists are now calling for increased taxes on oil because the price has gone up. This is extra-strength stupid. Every business builds taxes into their cost -- consumers ultimately will have to pay. This kind of regressive stupidity disproportionately hurts working people like myself.
If my rent went up because of increased demand in my area, would taxing apartment owners be the solution? The lessor certainly won't give a shit, because the costs will be passed down to the tenants. The same is applicable for Big Oil, and any business for that matter.
This kind of socialist stupidity is really offensive. It is not a matter of partisanship. It is a matter of cold logic and basic common sense.
And who is to blame for the lack of investment in refineries? France?
The oil companies. In the 80s and 90s, they consolidated, cutting excess capacity. They also drove out independent refiners.
Then they blamed "environmentalists."
"And who is to blame for the lack of investment in refineries? France?
The oil companies. In the 80s and 90s, they consolidated, cutting excess capacity. They also drove out independent refiners."
Not true. I had today off work, and while I was walking to the gym, I was accosted by environmental activists. They were trying to get me to sign a petition and donate to "save Lake Michigan from greedy polluters." I told them I'm already paying enough to the government at the pump, and that there are costs involved in any action. I also wanted to know what is wrong with nuclear if Global Warming^tm needs to be stopped. They had no answers.
I just did a little research a few minutes ago, and it turns out BP wants to expand their facility in Whiting, Indiana in order to process heavy Canadian crude. That's what the hippies were pissed about. The water impact is marginal-- the plant will put 2-3 pounds of mercury into the water a year, compared to the 880 pounds created by coal plants here in the People's Republic of Chicago. The plant will still be within federal guidelines for ammonia and particulate matter. Increases in Global Warming^tm emissions is what has the left up in arms, and Dick Turban and the Obammunist have both said publicly they want it stopped.
Who is to blame for the lack of refineries? YOU.
There is no secret conspiracy to stop refineries in the United States. The left is attempting to shut down this country in broad daylight, with praise from journalists.
“This is extra-strength stupid” and “Obammunist” – you’re on a roll tonight Jason. Nothing like a good witticism to drive a point home!
I’m kind of fond of “O”bominationist.
American,
What we need is a comprehensive energy plan that includes more nuclear power plants, more investment towards alternative sources of energy and focus on fuel efficiency.”
Absolutely correct! But why not go all out? Let’s do what you suggest,and, drill for more oil, build more refineries, insist on a nationally accepted fuel mix, and reduce fuel taxes. There are vast quantities of fairly easy to extract oil, and many oil saturated areas that in the past was deemed to costly to extract, but under today’s economic atmosphere, could be profitable for oil companies to harvest.
Why not start right this instant in doing all we can to ease prices, provide more fossil fuel for the near future, while simultaneously creating alternate sources of energy?
Jason, most applications to expand or modify existing refineries are okayed by the EPA. In addition, between 1975 and 2000, the EPA received one, exactly one petition for a new refinery. Since 2000, the sole application for a new refinery that I'm aware of--in Arizona somewhere--was approved.
A Senate investigation led by Ron Wyden in 2001 found dozens of Big Oil memos detailing their plans--which they followed through on--to shut out independent refiners. The big companies had shut down more than 850,000 barrels a day of refining capacity run by independent refiners by 2002.
A handful of hippies with petitions does not a global gas crunch make. A handful of big companies who profit from bottlenecks in production, on the other hand ...
Jay, you leave out a very important point (no surprise).
The prohibitive cost of building new refineries caused by hippies with petitions.
Jay--
"A handful of big companies who profit from bottlenecks in production, on the other hand ..."
Keep going. I do not understand Wyden's conspiracy theory, especially since since BP is trying to expand its refinery capacity, and the media, along with Durbin and Obama, are openly trying to shut it down for Gaia. BP would not go through all the effort to fight your kind, especially when decreasing capacity is supposedly part of the conspiracy. Reductio ad absurdum.
At best you can play for a stalemate and get the enviros off the hook. One make the argument that oil production is global in today's world, and is as close to perfect competition as anything can get, and there are comparative advantages to refining oil elsewhere. Furthermore, Nixon imposed price controls and subsidies in 1973 that benefited small and inefficient refineries; when they were removed in 1981, the refinery business became vertically integrated. A refinery costs 4-6 billion dollars to build, and the profit margins for doing so here in the USA are relatively meager.
Nevertheless, when enviros try to shut down expansion of refineries, and then blame the oil companies for it, doesn't this stink of stupidity?
Even a widdle bit?
PCD Conservatives are addicted to debt. They think borrowing money is how you fund things. Jason, the oil companies shut down refineries. Further investment in old technology that is for a quickly draining resource is a bad use of our finite dollars. It should all go toward future sustainable ideas. FORGET ABOUT OIL! SOLVE THE PROBLEM!
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