Originally Posted by Blue01F250

oh, I hear ya -- the ethanol gets horrible mileage compared to straight gas...

i was just saying they are everywhere.... and I don't really see them as helping much as all the unintended side effects will likely outweigh the benefits..

Originally Posted by Blue01F250

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.

Originally Posted by alaskaflyer

Can someone explain why diesel is so dang expensive now when it traditionally has always been cheaper???

Originally Posted by sawyer45306

For the most part I do agree with most of what you have said, but also just because where you live you see Flex-Fuel Vehicles driving all over doesnt mean its that way in every region of the US. I am sure if I lived closer to large communities I would see many more vehicles as you do, same with fuel stations selling E-85. Surely we can all see where the high cost of fuel has hurt the economy more than it has helped, and how it has effected things like I mentioned housing and our general cost of living.

As for the refineries running at full potential, seems to me good management practices would have shown the need to expand and build bigger facilities BEFORE we max the current ones out. Just a thought.

Originally Posted by alaskaflyer

Do you work in the oil industry?

Also, I don't think we'd know or be able to prove an instance where they are price gouging. I know very little about the industry and not trying to start anything here! I guess it's the whole record profits that makes it seem like there is more than what meets the eye with the oil companies.

Can someone explain why diesel is so dang expensive now when it traditionally has always been cheaper???

Originally Posted by Whitmore

here is a link that says a barrel (43) gallons contains 10.5 gallons of diesel or heating oil

http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/brochure/gas06/gasoline.htm

Originally Posted by Blue01F250

how can they expand refineries when if they make a profit, everyone bitches?? its a catch 22 for the oil industry. There was no reason to expand up until a few years ago -- does anyone know how long it takes to build a refinery?? Lets just say its more than a few years and back then, oil wasn't near in demand like it is now... I guess if the oil industry were psychics they would have known oil was going to skyrocket in a matter of 2 years because of a hurricane and other unseen circumstances.

I live in rural Oklahoma... so I don't see where you or me are any different in our "location"



I actually do work for the oil industry NOW -- but only for about 8 months. I just get tired of everyone blaming the people who make the stuff when its their own fault oil and gas is so high. Change the way you life or pay the price. Its that simple. Its not the oil industry's fault that the price of oil has quadrupled in the last several years... hell, oil prices rose 60% last year alone!!!




I totally forgot about posting this! It basically means, you aren't going to get any more diesel per barrel of oil than 10.5 gallons. Sooo, lets see -- if oil prices quadruple, what do you expect of all the products made from that barrel of oil?


I for one can tell you that the company I work for is trying its damnest to offset oil costs to the consumers. All these record profits you guys see are going right back into upgrading and building new facilities. I can't remember the number that my company is spending, but its ridiculious how much they are putting BACK INTO the company and infrastructure to try to help meet the demand... but people are sucking up oil products so fast that NO ONE can keep up...

so why blame the companies that are working at breakneck and dangerous speeds to try to quell the nation and worlds appetite???