None of the stations around here will let me fill up with just one swipe of the credit card. Some stop me at $50, some $65, Some $75.

 

I hear ya man.......and I took on 83 gallons too...a guy could wear out his plastic like that

 

 

Thing I have never understood, everytime crude prices increase and there is talk of the amount of oil the US consumes its ALWAYS diesel and gasoline usage that are held as the outlet that is consuming it all and driving the market. Maybe if we would sit back and look at all the throw away products and day to day items we use that are plastic based and then ask ourselves how much of this COULD be made from other sources. How many on here still remember BEFORE all of our Pop was bottled in plastic or dairy products as well. Our society is so "Throw Away" based its nuts. There is almost nothing anymore that doesnt use some sort of a petroleum based material in its manufacture and construction. That is where I feel SOOOO Much of the US's crude is wasted and should be taken in account when they give those reports on daily consumption of crude oil. Show the " WHOLE PICTURE" not just one part of it.

 

That is for sure -- but it is not the US demand that is making oil go up -- its our weakening dollar, China gobbling up as much as they can, and OPEC and other people that control the oil trying to make as much as they can...

Its simply Supply and Demand - stop buying plastic products and driving so much and using as much heating oil as a nation, and it will have an affect.

this is why I am gonna try to start making my own biodiesel and eventually put in a geothermal heating/cooling system and solar panels!

 

Oil investing: 2007 a tough act to follow

It was a banner year for energy - the sector was up 30% and crude jumped 60%. But don't count on a repeat performance in '08.


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It's been a phenomenal time to invest in oil, but analysts say the huge gains of the last year are most likely a thing of the past.

2007 was truly a banner year for the industry. The big integrated oil companies - ones that produce and refine crude - saw stock gains in the 30 percent range. Crude itself rose nearly 60 percent. The biggest winners were the oil production companies, some of which saw their stock prices double. Overall, the AMEX oil and gas index rose about 30 percent in '07, trouncing the near-stagnant S&P 500.

But most analysts say 2008 is unlikely to mimic the staggering returns of the last year. And on the heels of such a runup, some say the sector is simply overvalued.

Oil company stocks tend to rise and fall with the price of crude, so any prediction on stock prices needs to start with a look at the underlying commodity.

Although U.S. crude is trading near $100 a barrel, 2007 was a very volatile year. Prices began the year by dipping below $50 in January, spiking above $75 in July, then pulling back to the high $60s by the end of August before embarking on its recent record run. For the year, the average price for crude was around $72.

Most analysts have bumped up their estimate for 2008 to around $80 to $85 a barrel from the low $70s, reflecting a view that oil prices will rise but not by another 60 percent, like they did in 2007.

"I don't think too many people are talking about $150 oil, unless they're also stocking up on canned goods and ammunition," said Jeff Tjornehoj, a research analyst at the data and research firm Lipper.

John Kilduff, an energy analyst at MF Global in New York, said he expects crude prices to top $100 a barrel in the first quarter - perhaps peaking around $110 - then pull back to maybe $70 as the economy slows and speculative money retreats.

Still, he says investors are still pricing oil company stock as if oil costs $50 a barrel and sees room for those stocks to go up.

 

Its interesting how everyone says its all based on supply and demand. Tell me then why are corn prices as high as they are? I read where 2007 had the largest corn acreage planted in the US since 1933. Everywhere you read its all because of the demand for ethanol. If that is true WHY cant I find fuel stations selling it? IF we are producing MORE corn than we have in generations why is there SUCH a shortage? We were always able to produce more corn than we needed before ethanol got in the picture and as it sounds we STILL are. Just like with crude oil, I am not saying supplies arent down compared to past holdings, but I am not totally convinced yet that much of this is nothing more than a scare tactic by investors fueling the market. And as for heating fuel supplies being lower as I have read, well I am a bit surprised on that. The winter so far has not been all that cold yet. Around here temps have actually been above normal for most of the winter heating season so far. And I do know there are lots of people using other sources of fuel to heat with as well. If heating oil supplies are low I personally feel that is only due to the lack of refining it. I have to laugh when I read or hear some report on the news about fuel prices and supply and demand. Seems like they pick one side of the story and forget to show the whole picture. One other thing I have wondered about as well. IF crude oil prices are posting record numbers and oil companies have been posting record profits, seems to me some one is inflating the value of fuel being retailed.

 

do you realize how much corn it takes to make one gallone of ethanol??? its not a 1:1 ratio, I'll tell you that.

also, ethanol is being added in fuels, it is everywhere as E85... I can get it all over the place here in OK, so not sure what you mean by you can't see where its all going.

I agree, the heating oil thing is crazy, but I don't use heating oil. They were stating at the beginning of the year that this would be a mild winter, so maybe since the demand was lower and supposed to be lower, the refineries lowered production. It IS Supply and Demand... no one wants to produce too much product that they have to store and lose money on. They are businesses too, but to say it isn't supply and demand is ignoring the obvious I think.

 

We have two ethanol plants being built near me here. One is less than 25 miles away at Lima Ohio, and the other is around 40 miles near Greenville Ohio. A third plant is supposed to be built less than 20 miles from me near Celina Ohio too. As some one involved in Agriculture and growing up Farming I am in favor of ethanol use as well as biodiesel.I support most all common sense approaches to wean our dependancy on foreign imports of crude. BUT I dont agree its right to price gouge the consumer either in the name of turning a HUGE RECORD profit for Big Oil Companies. Use some commone sense when pricing things and determining profit margins. It is NOT good PR for Oil Companies to be posting record profits as the Average consumer is seeing their cost of living sky rocket. If you think I am off base on that then tell me why are there more Home Foreclosures taking place than we have seen for years? Cause I have been reading where Ohio has been leading the Nation in that. But as for E-85 stations everywhere, well I know of ONE station in a 25 mile radius of us here that sells it. In fact I have only ever seen maybe 10 vehicles yet that use E-85. Lima Ohio has had a large Oil Refinery there since before the Oil fields were discovered in Oklahoma and Texas. That I know was one reason the ethanol plant was built there along with the fact this is the Heart of Ohio's Farming country. Choosing this location does make it easier to blend fuels and reduce trucking costs by piping the ethanol instead of hauling it. Everyone talks like this is all new blending ethanol in fuel, but it isnt. I recall in the late 70s and early 80s almost all gasoline that was sold around here was blended up to 10% ethanol UNTIL the EPA said it was harming the OZONE with the clear vapor you would see exiting your fill tube as you pumped your fuel. So where did all that ethanol come from before? And where did all that corn come from to make it as well back then? Yeah you are right about Supply and Demand, if we keep the supply down it WILL create more demand on the storage on hand.

 

Big profits suck for those who aren't a part of them.. I agree, but I don't think its the oil companies fault. When oil jumps to nearly $100 a barrel, the price of fuels is GOING to go up! @ $25 per barrel, we were paying around $1/gallon -- now its 4 times that much and we're not paying $4/gallon yet. Most refineries are producing at MAXIMUM safe production. They are maxed out -- can't keep up with America's insatiable appetite for fuel. The only reason these companies are making huge profits is because they are now producing more than they ever had and the $ amounts of buying and sellins is higher than its ever been!

Oklahoma has its fair share of refineries and they've been around since the 1800's, although I have no clue what that has to do with this.... and we have ethanol plants popping up in several cities near here also.

also, EVERY "Flex fuel" vehicle sold is an E85 burning vehicle. I've seen way more than 10 running around the streets... hell, quite a few of GM vehicles made are Flexfuel vehicles.

The oil refineries aren't holding production down to make demand greater... pipelines are pumping at full rate and refineries are producing at max safe production and they still can't keep up. The only remedy is to build more refineries, and the companies are taking those RECORD profits and pouring them back into more refining capacity which is needed to bring costs to the consumer down.

No one saw Katrina comming - and when it did, the Gov't asked refineries to not shut down to do their turnarounds and maintenance, but to keep pumping out fuel to quell the shortage. The refineries did that.. then, it came to pay the piper this year when a majority of them had to SHUT DOWN to do needed repairs and maintenance, and the Gov't asked them to not shut down again - but we're talking about workers lives with this equipment. If the Gov't is so worried about it, maybe they should pass some legislation that boosts all the alternatives that are out there and help the oil companies meet the demand, instead of griping about how much $$$ a BUSINESS is making.

Tell me one PROVEN instance of a major oil company price gouging lately... you can't because there aren't any.