I heard on the radio that gas will stay above $2.20/gallon through 2006

I know that's still relatively cheap compared to other parts of the world, but WTF

7/14/2005 3:43:11 PM

it probably costs that much in NY right now

7/14/2005 3:45:40 PM

it costs that much HERE right now

I'm in Charlotte and the cheapest is like $2.23/gallon

7/14/2005 3:46:48 PM

I buy all my gas in SC

7/14/2005 3:47:10 PM

Most of the gas stations here in Lincoln County are around $2.29-$2.31, except for RaceTrack and Citgo, which are $2.13-$2.16. I guess we can figure out which ones people will go to.

7/14/2005 3:50:26 PM

What do you people expect when all of our refineries are operating at full capacity?

Its not like we can increase supply overnight, especially when China and India are increasing demand.

[Edited on July 14, 2005 at 4:04 PM. Reason : duh]

7/14/2005 4:03:04 PM

Quote :

"stantheman: What do you people expect when all of our refineries are operating at full capacity?"

How about...a more farsighted energy policy?

7/14/2005 5:18:49 PM

how about 2.30 out here by the beach.

7/14/2005 8:34:35 PM

some stations are 2.21/2.23/2.29

others are 2.34/2.44/2.54

reg/plus/prem. these stations are two miles apart exxon and chevron.

I would like them to go down, but realistically I see them staying at this level all summer.

7/14/2005 8:52:13 PM

Why would they possibly go down, especially in the summer?

7/14/2005 9:14:42 PM

I've been reading some forecasting research and there are two factions, those who think oil could hit 100 bucks a barrel by christmas (or some other inflated number) and those who believe world wide energy consumption is at a peak, particularly because of speculation that China is going to ease up on it's usage. That half of the debate thinks 30 bucks a barrel is not out of the realm of posibility.

7/14/2005 9:33:14 PM

hello peak oil

good-bye life as we know it

7/14/2005 9:56:31 PM

Hello Chinese overstretch,
welcome back cheap oil!

China has already begun the "Japan style" of collapse. They are bidding way too much for property that is most likely going to be worthless in the future. As soon as they finish spending their way through all that foreign exchange they have lying around, we can get back to building bigger cars.

Quote :

"That half of the debate thinks 30 bucks a barrel is not out of the realm of posibility."

Most oil companies are still using $25 as their expected future price when deciding whether or not to start new projects. Who should we believe is most likely to know the path of future oil prices: men who work in the industry, or some college twit who probably works in sales at some fast food restaurant?

[Edited on July 14, 2005 at 11:35 PM. Reason : .]

7/14/2005 11:31:47 PM

I don't know about you, but I always trust oil companies.

7/14/2005 11:44:45 PM

i only trust economists

7/15/2005 12:12:44 AM

it was 2.70 in las vegas

7/15/2005 12:37:32 AM

^but that's a DRY heat.

7/15/2005 1:04:02 AM

^ Hahahah!

7/15/2005 9:09:45 PM

Quote :

"I don't know about you, but I always trust oil companies."

you must've totally missed his point.

7/15/2005 10:50:39 PM

Does anyone agree with me that we're being lied to, and that oil refineries are running the same as they were lsat year and the year before and the year before and gas prices are up based on the false information the media has led Americans to believe?

Last I recall I haven't heard of a tornado destroying like 50% of our refineries so we're operating at max output or anything...maybe I missed that.

7/16/2005 1:01:47 AM

Maybe you missed the developing economies of China and India with nearly 3 billion people consuming more and more gas.

You're right, our refineries are still operating the same as they were before, but the demand worldwide has increased and that causes prices to increase.

There really isn't a conspiracy around every corner in America.

7/16/2005 9:18:38 AM

When was the last oil refinery built in this country? The environmentalist wackos have put this country on lockdown because it doesn't matter how much more oil Saudi Arabia or OPEC pumps out a day if we can't refine it fast enough.

7/16/2005 9:33:43 AM

In my chemistry class we used online data from oil companies to calculate that Earth will be completely stripped of oil reserves in 44 years.

It was based on simple math including the known oil reserves in the world (reported by BP) and the rate of consumption (reported by Exxon MObile). That includes the following assumptions:
1) The world rate of comsumption (in barrels per day) will remain constant, and
2) No more large reserves of oil will be found.
I realize that these assumptions are both faulty because the rate of consumption WILL change and more reserves will be found. However, since the consumption rate will most likely increase at least in the short term and we will eventually find all that there is to be found, I expect prices to keep going up.

My personal opinion is that the US has control of OPEC right now anyway, but those in power in our govt have a financial interest in keeping prices high. I like high prices because it MIGHT do something to encourage people to "voluntarily" slow their consumption. I would like to still have heating oil available when I'm an old granny.

7/16/2005 9:22:36 PM

Quote :

"we will eventually find all that there is to be found, I expect prices to keep going up."

Only God will ever know where all the oil is. Short of inventing sensors as found on the StarShip Enterprise, we will never know where it all is. Hence, even after we have stopped using it we will still keep finding oil.

Nevertheless, assuming your assumptions are 100% correct, which you admit they are not, running out of oil is not that big of a deal. We can fall back on tar-sand, coal, wood, and bio, oil.

A diesel engine can burn wood-diesel just as easily as it burns the light-sweet diesel.

[Edited on July 17, 2005 at 6:23 PM. Reason : .]

7/17/2005 6:22:30 PM

^You are correct that there are many alternatives to oil. There are engines that can run on corn oil, after all. I have no idea how much corn needs to be grown if we all switched to corn oil engines, though. Wood and coal are not the best alternatives. Personally, I hope we can make fuel cells a main stream reality. And there will always be sun, wind, and water power.

I certainly hope you are right that we will keep finding oil after we have stopped relying on it. And I hope it will be no big deal to convert to other energy sources. As oil prices go up, consumers will switch to less energy consuming lifestyles or alternate fuel sources.

However, I hope you agree that:
1) Oil is not going to get any cheaper soon, and
2) We do not have the "infinite" supply that most people seem to think we have. We did an electronic poll in my class with more than 200 students, and the majority thought we had more than a 100 year supply of known reserves. In fact, the most common answer given was 235 year supply known.

7/17/2005 7:38:21 PM

Quote :

"and the majority thought we had more than a 100 year supply of known reserves."

Well, actually, remarkable as it may sound your class was mostly right. Assuming you didn't type the quote in wrong, you said "known reserves." Meanwhile, I believe in the previous calculation which determined 44 years of reserves, you used "proven reserves" which is radically different.

Proven Reserves only includes oil that can be economically extracted given a set price condition. To keep proven reserves from fluctuating radically with the current spot price, many companies use a fixed $25 a barrel for a rough estimate. Seeing as the current price is just below $60 a barrel and you said prices were not going to come down anytime soon, then you can see why some argue "proven reserves" is a flimsy barrometer for measuring the proven oil reserves 100 years from now.

Meanwhile, "known reserves" includes all the oil currently known to mankind (or to the USGS to be more precise) which includes such things as tar-sands which, in equivalent barrels, is a couple times larger than the worlds currently known oil reserves. However, they cannot be economically extracted for less than $50 a barrel with current technology. Now, given that the current price is $60, these massive reserves in Canada and South America can now be economically extracted, except no one in the industry seriously believes the current price hikes are sustainable given the fact that Saudi Arabian light-sweet crude can be economically extracted at $4 a barrel (that's including shipping).

7/18/2005 12:39:14 AM

I am delighted to be learning things on tww. You are right about the difference between proved and known reserves. I just looked it up on the bp site. In fact, they have FOUR different definitions of reserves. Anyway, the calculation was with proven oil reserves. I didn't catch the full significance of the "can be extracted given current technological and ECONOMIC factors" definition of proved. So, I appreciate this exchange.

7/18/2005 2:31:09 PM

Quote :

"I appreciate this exchange."

history in the making on soap box.

7/18/2005 4:07:12 PM

Quote :

"it probably costs that much in NY right now"

nah it is about the same


this is my first post in soapbox too

7/18/2005 4:34:36 PM

Quote :

"^You are correct that there are many alternatives to oil. There are engines that can run on corn oil, after all. I have no idea how much corn needs to be grown if we all switched to corn oil engines, though. Wood and coal are not the best alternatives. Personally, I hope we can make fuel cells a main stream reality. And there will always be sun, wind, and water power."

Here in the midwest, all gasoline is a 10% ethanol blend. From what I read, it wouldn't be too big of a stretch to convert engines to burn pure ethanol; supposedly a large number of domestically produced heavy vehicles can already do so. I'm sure as gas prices go up, ethanol will become more popular as an alternative, and considering that we're paying farmers not to grow corn right now to keep prices up, I don't suspect we'll be facing a corn shortage in the near future either.

7/18/2005 5:26:14 PM

At $60 a barrel you are absolutely right, RedGuard. Simply eliminating the price supports for Corn would make pure ethanol competitive as such high oil prices.

Of course, I must point out that there are several alternatives available which are more competitive than ethanol, namely heavy crude oil. That's right everyone, there is no overall world-wide price for oil as reported by the news-media. The fact is, oil comes in many different types, grades, degrees, etc. While the price of a barrel of light-sweet crude may be $58 a barrel right now, you can settle for a barrel of ultra-heavy crude from Canada which only costs $41.

The problem is, not every refinery can handle this mix of crude oil. So, long before we give up on oil and begin burning Ethanol, we will transition to cheaper more readily available crudes either by upgrading existing refineries or building new ones.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/weekly_petroleum_status_report/current/pdf/table13.pdf

[Edited on July 18, 2005 at 6:36 PM. Reason : .]

7/18/2005 6:35:23 PM

Since the oil refineries near New Orleans are going to be shut down for awhile, gas prices are going to sky rocket; the guy at the gas station said that its gonna go up close to $0.50 at midnight tonight

8/29/2005 10:08:41 PM

Aha, this is the point where everybody says fuck.

8/29/2005 11:02:50 PM

Really? Gas only went up 13 cents in New York. Don't get me wrong, that's not nothing, but it is still only 6.5% above what we are already paying. Or are you saying gas station attendants in North Carolina know more than the traders in New York?

8/30/2005 12:07:54 AM

nobody could possibly know more than jewish day traders

8/30/2005 12:27:41 AM

FWIW just heard a rumor from a CE in the charlotte area :

supposedly they're shutting down the southeastern pipeline tomorrow. He said all Charlotte govt vehicles were being filled up today. I work in Lincolnton, NC - stations here are already running out of gas.

8/31/2005 2:48:37 PM

stations in asheville are running out of gas. Some are already out. And I heard some in greensboro will be shutting down soon.

8/31/2005 2:50:01 PM

ARE GAS PRICES REALLY THIS BIG OF A FUCKING DEAL?????


From an economic standpoint I understand because of the trucking/shipping industry and all.

But jesus christ is the extra $2 you have to spend everyday to run your daily errands worth all this fuss?

Even if you have to commut SIXTY miles to work this is like an extra $6 a day. And if you commute that far you should be making mad cash anyway.

Holy shit i cant even hear the lecture in my classes because the people sitting around me cant stop talking about gas.

ITS TWO FUCKING DOLLARS A DAY. Dont get 4 jr bacon cheeseburgers for lunch. Order 1-2 like a normal person and you wont even notice the difference.

8/31/2005 2:52:47 PM

gas prices are not that big a deal.

NO GAS = NO WORK for a lot of people, including me. If I can't buy any fucking gas, how do I get to work? I work at a drug manufacturing facility in the middle of nowhere, so mass transit doesn't exist

8/31/2005 2:57:35 PM

I think the big deal is how quickly it's going up, not the actual price.

the actual price matters, but my gas here went up fifty cents in a day.

8/31/2005 2:58:22 PM

It's really not going to have much bearing on my weekly treks to Wilmington, but I'm not looking forward to the 80 mile/day commute I have when I go back to my co-op I have in January. The gas prices will probably effect my ability to take dirt bike trips frequently though.

8/31/2005 3:00:19 PM

Everyone just adapt your freaking lives already.

Ways to conserve gas

dont drive on Dan Allen

get a job closer to home

get a home closer to job

shop once a week or biweekly at the grocery store instead of going to fast food (this will also save you $$$)

carpool

roll your windows up

walk


so many options, theres no reason to fuss about $2 a day unless you have extenuating circumstances like you have to drive to New York on your dime once a week.

my god if you want to go to the beach and you take 4 people you might each have to chip in an extra $1.50 big deal. dont get cherry pepsi when you stop at the gas station and call it even.

8/31/2005 3:03:32 PM

how much can i get for the gas coming out of my anus?

cause for some reason it wont stop today

8/31/2005 3:03:41 PM

On my way from home this morning, there were two stations across the street from each other. One, a Kangaroo station, was selling for $2.62. The other, a BP station, was demanding $2.89. That is a 27 cent difference for driving another 50 feet.

8/31/2005 3:04:47 PM

Once this self-fulfilling prophecy passes, I think I'm going to fill up my tank.

8/31/2005 3:31:41 PM

2.99 for regular this morning. cost me $41 fucking dollars to fill my tank. that's up $0.40 since monday, can someone say price gouging ?

8/31/2005 3:50:10 PM

No, but I can say Hurricane Katrina and mass hysteria.

8/31/2005 3:56:00 PM

Quote :

"Everyone just adapt your freaking lives already. Ways to conserve gas dont drive on Dan Allen get a job closer to home get a home closer to job shop once a week or biweekly at the grocery store instead of going to fast food (this will also save you $$$) carpool roll your windows up walk"

these are useless suggestions if there is no supply

8/31/2005 3:56:49 PM

2.70-2.95 almost all summer here in Florida

8/31/2005 4:01:19 PM

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash4be.htm



[Edited on August 31, 2005 at 4:05 PM. Reason : Bush ... asking us to conserve energy?!]

8/31/2005 4:05:02 PM