gas prices

[swohiodave]

2.69 here and just jumped to 2.96 for no reason!

[unioncountyslayer]

Tis the Season...around $2.95 here.

[ruttinbuc]

Just heard on the news that the national average will be over $3 a gal before Christmas. JOY!

[VermontHunter]

$3.15 to $3.20 per/Gal. here ... :angry:

[fladawg]

I'm not the brightest star out there when it come's to politic's,insurance and whatever that board is that sum keep up with to see what's up and what's down.Just let'n you know what i do and weather it has an affect on price's or not you be the guess.I install gas tank's inground and above ground,here in Fla if you did'nt upgrade your tank's with double wall tank's and pipe'n at the first of this year you are NOT pump'n gas.I'm sure other state's are gonna follow suit.But in have'n to have this done it's nock'd a bunch of Mom n Pop's out of pump'n gas.It kept us busy for a couple of year's but now with the economy the way it is Mom n Pop cant get a loan.Just thought i'd let you guy's know what's go'n on in case you see tank's come'n up or place's shut'n down.....

[Jeramie]

It is all a scam. I don't buy the refinery revamp or losses claimed. What did they do with the billions they have and are fleecing from the gas buying public?

Believe it or not, it happens. I sale refinery equipment to about every oil producer in the USA and tons overseas. I know what it cost them and what it takes to maintain the equipment.

Oil is big business and granted they do make money (its a business, they are suppose to). However, their overhead is pretty incredible too. The systems they use and the amount of man power most refineries house is incredible. They are a very serious Lifeblood for South Texas and the entire gulf costal region. They typically even keep a large warehouse of equipment incase of failure. If a heater has to shutdown because of an issue it cost them in a VERY big way.

Each heater, flare, thermal oxidizer, etc. you have at any process plant has tons of high dollar equipment for safety, emission standards, process, etc. Refineries typically have many, many heaters. Each heater may have one to hundreds of burners that run thousands each. Most of those may have ignition systems (pilots) that run anywhere from $800 - $7000 each. Add in flame detection technology, thermocouples, BMS systems, not systems, etc and youre talking millions per heater (and remember, there are typically many heaters in a refinery). They have operating permits, fines for excess NOx, etc. Overhead is a VERY costly expense for refineries.

Also, the O'tard keeps printing mony like its going out of style (as stated above) which has a serious impact on prices.

Lastly, as far as future trading.... If you had a business selling round bales of hay. You bought them at $20 each, if you buy 100 bales at a time, and resold them at $30 each. You get a letter from farmer Bill that states that Hay will go up to $28 a bale in January would you adjust your pricing or would you take a serious dimple in your wallet in January to keep pricing good as long as possible?

Now dont get me wrong, I drive 110mi round trip to work. I really feel it when gas prices shoot up but at the same time it is a business. They have to make money just like everyone else. I would rather see gas $.89 - $.99 PG like it was when I was young and just starting to drive but in reality refineries would tank, hundreds of thousands if not millions would be out of a job, and then we would be in a far bigger mess....

[stevebeilgard]

$2.65 in gillette today. i don't mind that. but congress is also in secession today talking about higher gas taxes.

[Jeramie]

$2.65 in gillette today. i don't mind that. but congress is also in secession today talking about higher gas taxes.

Of course... tax the rich.... If they would clean up the way they spend our money it wouldnt be an issue...

[wtnhunt]

Heard on the news this morning that it is expected to be $.35 higher than last year at this time and to expect it to remain high on past Christmas. Not the kind of news I want to hear right now.

[Jeramie]

Dont worry guys..... it was all Bush's fault and he is no longer is office... we have nothing to worry about.

Unless:

You pay taxes

Youre a legal citizen

You own a gun (and arent afraid to use it)

You own a brain (and arent afraid to use it)

or you are trying to improve the quality of your life....

end of rant.....

[GWSmith]

Took a jump of 10cents here....now $3.19 a gallon for regular unleaded

...and this is at the Indian Reservation Stores which is much lower than other stations!

[Adjam5]

I go through New Jersey to get home from NYC daily. Yes I drive into NYC EVERY workday. I gas up in NJ due to the much lower gas prices there. $2.95 this afternoon. In NY where I live...$3.25

That is what we all need... higher gas taxes...atta boy Congress.

[ruttinbuc]

@Jeramie: Understand about the costs to do business, but when you say millions it is a drop in the bucket to their billions. BP proved this out with all their losses from the life is still fairly good for them.

[Jeramie]

@Jeramie: Understand about the costs to do business, but when you say millions it is a drop in the bucket to their billions. BP proved this out with all their losses from the life is still fairly good for them.

I was just trying to add some perspective. Again, millions is a small drop in the bucket, however, that is one small tiny percentage of a refinery. BP for instance (since you mentioned them) has a 40 acre refinery in Texas City, TX. It is covered in equpment and that equipment is ran by thousands of people.

Im not saying they arent making money. They are turning billions in profit but when you consider the consumption we use in America alone they should be making billions. The net profit on a gallon of gas isnt as high as you might think but when you multiply that by the billions of gallons of gas sold in a year it translates into billions in profit.

[VermontHunter]

Here's a question ,,

Whats more refined , Gasoline, Kerosene or Fuel Oil ?

I only ask because I was always led to believe that Kerosene and Fuel Oil were less refined. If this is the case then why is it priced higher than gasoline ??

Just curious ...

[Jeramie]

Here's a question ,,

Whats more refined , Gasoline, Kerosene or Fuel Oil ?

I only ask because I was always led to believe that Kerosene and Fuel Oil were less refined. If this is the case then why is it priced higher than gasoline ??

Just curious ...

They are one and the same animal.... read on.

The one thing that does effect prices of different fuels such as diesel and gas is that it all comes from the same source but is extracted in different levels. 50 gallons of oil does not create 50 gallons of gas, kerosene, or diesel. One barrel of oil (which is actually something like 42 gallons) is a culmination of several different things.

It takes 42 gallons of oil to make between 17 - 21 gallons of gas (depending on the crude). One of the reasons for the higher prices is that other things are extracted some in small quantity.

Common products from a barrel of oil.

Distillate Fuel Oil

Jet Fuel

Still Gas

Marketable Coke

Residual Fuel Oil

Liquefied Refinery Gas (Used to help operate refinery, heat heaters, etc)

Asphalt and Road Oil

Other Refined Products

Lubricants

The process:

A heater is heated to a set temperature (say 1500deg F). Running through that heater (zig zagging) are process tubes. They pre-heat the heater to the set temp and then start pumping oil through the tubes. It breaks the clean crude down as it runs through the tubes. Once its broke down (at the end of the tubes) there is a storage tank or tower. The product is then pumped into that tank and it seperates at different levels like oil and water would. Each level has an extraction pipe, valve, etc. They start at the top and suck off the first level of product, move to the second, third, etc. Finally the heavy at the bottom is processed again to try and extract as much higher end stuff as possible. I think the heavy at the bottom ends up being asphalt (if memory serves). There is an actual ratio for how much of what is extracted from each barrel. That of course will vary prices for each product based on the quantity and consumption.

[VermontHunter]

Interesting .. I didn't realize they were one in the same.

[Jeramie]

Yup, and one thing I hear people saying is that they are making a ton of money off of gas (gouging) and they should subsidize with money they are making on other products... They do subsadise... This is rough, rough math but you get the picture.

Oil is currently $90 a barrel. Say a refinery gets 20 gallons per barrel and a guy fills his truck and boat with 40 gallons. At the pump the guy is paying say $3.15 p/g. His total bill for those 40 gallons is $126.00 However, the cost for the two barrels of oil it takes to generate 40 gallons of gas cost the refinery $180.00.

Then they still have to process the oil and pay those who process it, equipment upkeep, permits, license, standard operating cost, etc. They then sale it cheap enough that it can incur taxes and still leave room enough for a station to mark it up and get it to the consumer for $3.15. That means they have to distribute the margin profit across a wide array of fuels and bi-products. Ergo, they aren't making the killing on gas that everyone thinks they are....

However, small numbers multiplied by billions does make a difference. I drive to Tulsa on average say 225 times a year for work alone. I burn on average 4.4 gallons per day just to get to work. That is a total of 990 gallons of gas I burn a year just to go to work and home. That doesn't include my boat, 4-wheeler, tractor (diesel), my wife's van, my truck I use for hunting and the farm, weed eater, tiller, mower, my kids 4-wheeler, etc.... and thats just my family. Now Multiply that times how many millions of people and or familys and the fuel burning equiment they own? Its going to translate into a lot of usage and money in the end. It is a sheer game of numbers.

[dbHunterNY]

hovering around $3.20 here for regular unleaded.