http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000021194 (http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000021194)
they are talking about bicycles, and then vespas and such, but motocycles will soon follow
Gas is twelve cents a gallon in Caracas. It might be worth it to road trip on down.
I'm so down.
Come on over to the UK guys... [moto]
At just over $2 a LITRE... ??? ??? ??? ???
Reality really kicks in... [bang]
[coffee]
Quote from: geoffduc on May 11, 2011, 12:09:24 AM
Come on over to the UK guys... [moto]
At just over $2 a LITRE... ??? ??? ??? ???
Reality really kicks in... [bang]
[coffee]
Yep, folks over here are clueless. :D
... and about US$1.60 per litre in Australia.
We're all getting ripped off by our short and curlies... >:( >:(
And then hung out to dry... :'( :'(
While the governments and oil company's get ever more richer... [bang]
[coffee]
Quote from: geoffduc on May 11, 2011, 01:58:32 AM
We're all getting ripped off by our short and curlies... >:( >:(
And then hung out to dry... :'( :'(
While the governments and oil company's get ever more richer... [bang]
[coffee]
Tru dat
IBTL [laugh]
Quote from: sbrguy on May 10, 2011, 05:36:57 PM
they are talking about bicycles, and then vespas and such, but motocycles will soon follow
I fellow I knew at a local moto shop that sold scooters too said they saw a huge surge in 50cc sales in '08. Can't say I wouldn't expect another rise in Scoot sales.
The real issue is that people who are already on a very tight income can't afford to buy a cheap bike or scooter because they just don't have the funds to spare, so their 15 mpg Explorer keeps getting filled up, while they try to feed a family of 6 on Ramen noodles.
They can't even sell their Explorer for much, because everyone else is trying to get cars with better gas mileage, which pushes their (economic cars) values higher than they can trade across for. But if you need a winter beater 4WD truck, now's the time to buy.
BC.
to those that have really bad fuel mileage cars well that is basically too bad, it was their choice they chose a bad gas guzzler now they have to live with it, the same attitutde that says "i can buy a gas guzzling 500 hp car because i want to and because i can becuase its what i want and my right to choose " is the same thing that leads people to get an suv that have no reason to get them (couldn't get a more fuel efficient wagon or mini van bc they are not "cool") when they could have gotten a more fuel efficient car, but choose the cool factor instead but don't realize that gas may go up, too bad, that is the price of "cool" now they can live with it, i have no sympathy and don't want to hear their whining.
gas prices are always going to go up, that's life. welcome to reality. and its not because of "supply and demand" as the refinerys are operating at lower capacity than normal, its the refineries that want to make more money by purposefully limiting supply, its not a limited supply and thus higher price because there is not enough oil, its an artifical supply shortage by someone simply turning off the spigot, not becuase thsere is not enough coming out of the spigot because the spigot is fully open.
good side of high prices is that in Los angeles in 08 there was noticiably less traffic all the time especially weekends so it was great driving around there.
I get twelve mpg in my 1989 F150. Cost 85+$$ to fill up. I'm happy. It runs, no taxes/no issues
my Subaru Forester kept breaking and was drinking too much gas (and oil - another story). It would have cost $3k to fix it (a 1999 model w/ 188k mi). Instead I got a more fuel efficient car that I like better and am saving well over $1k/yr in gas. I'm REALLY fortunate that I had some money saved for a rainy day. Had this been 10 years ago, I couldn't have just swapped my car.
Toureg TDI is probably in my future. It gets better fuel mileage than my minivan.
I agree that the price for petrol is just too high for no good reason. Though, I really can't complain too much. We seem to be one of the lowest of the US averages. We've been paying $3.59-$3.69/gal for a while now. But on several recent trips, we've seen prices much higher than that outside of AZ.
The weather is beautiful. So I park my truck for as many days as possible and ride my bicycle or the Monster - gotta save $$ wherever I can! LOL - this AM on my way to work I realized that I put 170 miles on my current tank of gas!! That's stretching it for the Monster. I bet I could make it another 10-15 miles though. We'll see!!
QE2 induced inflation.
Middle East in turmoil.
Emerging country production increasing.
There is no one reason for the price of oil though everyone loves to point fingers and blame other people especially on the precepice of an election year.
Amazing how the media/marketing can brainwash people into buying something they can't afford and or don't need, simply b/c its "cool". I feel so bad for all those people b/c something tells me they wont be able to sell their cars for much :( As for me I have my smart so at least I'm okay with this ripping off that is going on now with gas prices. Going to very interesting to see what happens when this QE2 bullshit is over with at the end of this month...
Quote from: sbrguy on May 11, 2011, 08:15:59 AMgas prices are always going to go up, that's life. welcome to reality. and its not because of "supply and demand" as the refinerys are operating at lower capacity than normal, its the refineries that want to make more money by purposefully limiting supply, its not a limited supply and thus higher price because there is not enough oil, its an artifical supply shortage by someone simply turning off the spigot, not becuase thsere is not enough coming out of the spigot because the spigot is fully open.
There is plenty of gasoline in the market, nobody is limiting supply to ceate an artificial supply shortage to drive up gas prices.
Quote from: sbrguy on May 11, 2011, 08:15:59 AM
to those that have really bad fuel mileage cars well that is basically too bad, it was their choice they chose a bad gas guzzler now they have to live with it, the same attitutde that says "i can buy a gas guzzling 500 hp car because i want to and because i can becuase its what i want and my right to choose " is the same thing that leads people to get an suv that have no reason to get them (couldn't get a more fuel efficient wagon or mini van bc they are not "cool") when they could have gotten a more fuel efficient car, but choose the cool factor instead but don't realize that gas may go up, too bad, that is the price of "cool" now they can live with it, i have no sympathy and don't want to hear their whining.
All that and only ONE period?
Quote from: sbrguy on May 11, 2011, 08:15:59 AM
to those that have really bad fuel mileage cars well that is basically too bad, it was their choice they chose a bad gas guzzler now they have to live with it, the same attitutde that says "i can buy a gas guzzling 500 hp car because i want to and because i can becuase its what i want and my right to choose " is the same thing that leads people to get an suv that have no reason to get them (couldn't get a more fuel efficient wagon or mini van bc they are not "cool") when they could have gotten a more fuel efficient car, but choose the cool factor instead but don't realize that gas may go up, too bad, that is the price of "cool" now they can live with it, i have no sympathy and don't want to hear their whining.
I don't totally agree with that. When I bought my X-Terra (a 2000 model), gas prices were lower, and it wasn't a big deal...or even a deal at all for that matter. It's not a gas guzzler by government standards, but it's still sucking down the petrol now and costing me $$ at current inflated prices.
Sure I could complain - but I love riding my Monster instead of driving my truck unless I really need it. No matter how you look at it, they don't get much more fuel efficient and fun as the Monster!! 3.5 gal tank, 175 miles on a tank, that's 50mpg!!
Quote from: redxblack on May 10, 2011, 08:31:11 PM
Gas is twelve cents a gallon in Caracas. It might be worth it to road trip on down.
you wont make it more than a block before they kill you for the bike......trust me.
futures market!!!!!!!!!!!!!! start here and you'll see the rationale
This is one of those topics that I should probably stay out of, but here goes. I live in the midwest USA ( Wisconsin). I hear it all the time that gas prices are too high. Big oil getting richer. Politicians not helping. I say big f'n deal. We chose to drive what we do. We always complain about big oil yet we refuse to use less gas. We move futher away from our employers, we take the kids to soccer practice 4 days a week, and then we tell big oil that they are making too much money. Does any one on this forum want to make less money and still do the same job? Who are we to tell someone that they cant make a Gazillion dollars. It's not their fault. Its our fault. We do not build lighter vehicles that get better gas milage, we drive SUV's that suck fuel like I suck beer. Its no different than someone who hates their job but refuses to go and fill out applications elsewhere. A guy I worked with saw a pic of one of the oil sheik's houses and said he should die. nobody needs that kind of money. Prices too high for 1 reason. Somebody wants to have more than the next guy and we are more than willing to feed him.
Personally I think Australian pump prices of around $6 per gallon is too cheap... and so IMHO.... US gas @ $3.60 or $4.00 per gallon is sinfully underpriced.
$10 per gallon oughta do the trick [thumbsup].
I drive a Prius. As often as possible, I ride my BMW K1200GT to work and other places.
All that to save the gas I need to use the Prius to haul the trailer with my M696 aboard in track mode to various race tracks to enjoy burning gas as fast as possible. ;D
It is a mad, mad, [etc.] world. [thumbsup]
The Prius name always reminds me of Priapus from Greco-Roman mythology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priapus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priapus)
yeah gas is oil and it is a dwindling resource so prices over the long haul will only trend in one direction
as long as big oil is running the show alternative energy will be little more than a wet dream effort/amusement
what REALLY has me in shock is the rising cost of food...
granted oil prices drive up costs of shipping produce and food...but the increases I'm seeing are over the top
Quote from: RAT900 on May 11, 2011, 11:19:33 PM
<snip>
what REALLY has me in shock is the rising cost of food...
granted oil prices drive up costs of shipping produce and food...but the increases I'm seeing are over the top
It's because corn is now tied to oil through the ethanol connection.
If oil goes up so does corn. When corn goes up it pulls all the other grains with it.
Add the fact that what used to be third world economies, like China and India, are now affluent and can afford to spend more on food. That drives up prices through higher demand.
Quote from: ducpainter on May 12, 2011, 03:16:57 AM
It's because corn is now tied to oil through the ethanol connection.
If oil goes up so does corn. When corn goes up it pulls all the other grains with it.
Add the fact that what used to be third world economies, like China and India, are now affluent and can afford to spend more on food. That drives up prices through higher demand.
great so now we get corn-holed too
Quote from: RAT900 on May 12, 2011, 03:57:47 AM
great so now we get corn-holed too
Of course...
there's money involved and someone will make more and more...
because they can.
Can the Farm-Aid crew now join OPEC....or maybe COPEC?
Quote from: RAT900 on May 12, 2011, 04:01:29 AM
Can the Farm-Aid crew now join OPEC....or maybe COPEC?
Hard to say...I don't meddle in others political aspirations.
We've reached maximum world population for the land now being farmed to sustain said population using current methods.
That will mean new methods/genetic meddling to increase yields along with higher prices due to demand.
This is a serious situation...I suggest you start tilling your garden. ;)
Quote from: RAT900 on May 11, 2011, 11:19:33 PM. . . yeah gas is oil and it is a dwindling resource so prices over the long haul will only trend in one direction . . .
Yes and no. There are more proven oil reserves now than there were thirty years ago. The exception is that the reserves are more difficult to extract the oil which raises costs and the oil extracted have more impurities that have to be refined out which again raises costs. The "easy oil" (land based low sulfur) reserves are at the end of their life.
And then there's the opportunity to create more renewable power sources (hydrogen fuel cell, etc) that are certainly more expensive now, but will become cheaper as oil gets more scarce.
QE plays a huge role, but (as already said) the futures market is driving the increasing prices. The US has laws against speculating on certain commodities (like oil), but they're difficult to enforce and even more difficult to want to enforce due to political concerns.
Quote from: Drjones on May 12, 2011, 04:52:01 AM
The "easy oil" (land based low sulfur) reserves are at the end of their life.
So, increases in gas prices should rise or fall in accordance with needing to extract more expensive oil and not with market value of futures, right? In theory, anyways?
I can understand how political instability in the Middle East, hurricanes, etc should affect the market, but it seems to me that it only affects profits for oil companies. That headline never goes "Hurricane results in record losses for Big Oil"*
I am ambivalent on energy trading - on one hand, there is no good argument that someone with money in an open market should not be able to make more, as long as they work within the legal limits.
On the other hand, energy traders seem to be adding another layer of cost, with really no added benefit to anyone but energy traders. As far as producers go, there seems to be no market counterforce to sudden price increases. Sure, prices will go up as risk goes up, but those risks never seem to result in losses for the producers. And windfall profit taxes are great... for the federal government.
* Link (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/24/AR2005092400253.html) It is more likely to read "
The spikes caused by Hurricane Katrina -- which heavily damaged oil production and refining in the Gulf region -- accentuated gains the refiners and producers already were enjoying over the past year. Exxon Mobil Corp., the Irving, Tex., behemoth that produces and refines oil, reported in July that its second-quarter profit was up 32 percent, to $7.64 billion"
Quote from: il d00d on May 12, 2011, 09:53:15 AM
On the other hand, energy traders seem to be adding another layer of cost, with really no added benefit to anyone but energy traders.
This is the problem...or at least the reason, depending on your view.
Quote from: il d00d on May 12, 2011, 09:53:15 AM
As far as producers go, there seems to be no market counterforce to sudden price increases. Sure, prices will go up as risk goes up, but those risks never seem to result in losses for the producers.
Sure there is...reduced demand. I forget who it was exactly, but some Saudi OPEC rep. said a while back in an interview that they prefer the price of oil be in the $85 range. Lower reduces profits, and higher reduces demand and slows the world economy. He said $85/barrel was a nice balance of profits for them, reasonable demand, and a healthly global economy.
Quote from: Drjones on May 12, 2011, 04:52:01 AM
The "easy oil" (land based low sulfur) reserves are at the end of their life.
The US imports roughly 56% of the oil it consumes. Lower this number to 20-30% and we have reasonable prices.
How do you do this? Domestic and offshore drilling. (Alaska)
Did you know that the typical oil well is not drained to empty before moving on?
Only about 50-60% of oil is extracted from surface drilling. The remainder is deemed to difficult and therefore costly to access compared to simple moving to a new location.
There amount of oil in existing wells is comparative to all the oil that has ever been extracted.
Why haven't we mastered solar power yet??
Seriously!!
Cuz they haven't figured out how to tax the sun..
Quote from: cokey on May 12, 2011, 11:52:15 AM
Cuz they haven't figured out how to tax the sun..
Oh Snap! [laugh]
but I think you may be right!!
Quote from: Monster Dave on May 12, 2011, 11:35:15 AM
Why haven't we mastered solar power yet??
Seriously!!
If you really serious, I'll give you some basic information. We are, in fact, mastering solar power. Smart guys can now make relatively high efficiency solar panels, but at high cost. These are the things you buy if you need power for your space craft. They're also working on making cheaper panels, but they have much lower efficiency which is acceptable if you don't have to worry too much about space and weight. These are the type you might use if you want to keep your tractor battery topped up way out in the south forty where you aren't connected to the grid.
What they call "grid parity", where solar power is equal to the cost of grid power, is already here in some places where they use diesel to make electricity (Hawaii for example). It will come to other areas gradually in the future, but be careful when you do the math. In almost every case, your tax dollars are being spent to offset the true cost of most kinds of alternative energy.
One fact will never change. The energy density produced by the sun is low........... really low. That means if you intend to capture much energy from the sun you need a lot of time and a lot of area. At the same time, the energy required to propel your bike at speeds that you might consider thrilling, or even just acceptable, is considerable. The same goes for your average house, which consumes a LOT of energy which means a HUGE array is necessary. Cheap per-square-foot costs are fine, but if you need a jillion square feet of solar cells to run your air conditioner, refrigerator, and deep freeze, you can easily see the problem.
How about things which move? Consider the various "Solar Challenge" style races where pure solar powered vehicles compete. These things just barely can take a skinny teenager down the road where the sun is so hot you can fry an egg on the vehicle. And they call them vehicles because the word "car" does not even come close to accurately describing them. When it comes to excitement, they ain't gonna' replace sport bikes any time soon, that's for sure.
In theory you can power your hot bike with a high tech electric motor and fancy batteries or fancy fuel cells. People are working on that right now, but it ain't cheap and is not likely to get cheap in the immediate future. You could gather and store the sun's energy to power this bike of the future, but at the moment you need a HUGE area for your rather expensive solar panels and plenty of other expensive gear to make it all work.
Bottom line: Right now gasoline is a cheap and wonderful fuel and gasoline powered motorcycles are a great bargain considering how much fun they deliver and how little they (and their fuel) actually costs.
We've reached maximum world population for the land now being farmed to sustain said population using current methods.
Where did you get this info?
Quote from: bdub on May 13, 2011, 05:08:14 AM
We've reached maximum world population for the land now being farmed to sustain said population using current methods.
Where did you get this info?
It sounds very apocalyptic....I like it!!
Malthusian apocalypse!
Regarding solar power, I saw on tue science channel one day that they had a new way of utilizing it... a liquid in which you can put btween glass even plastic which creats energy from the sun. Said it was more efficient then reg panels and a lot cheaper..why haven't they started using that?
Sun tax.. °_°
Wow these replies are so informative and fantastic...
DrJones is gonna love this ( :-*), but I don't think gas prices will be fixed by more efficient vehicles, but by vehicles that don't need gas. Or very little gas, or alternative fuels, used to create electricity. My point earlier about market counterforce had more to do with the short-term, but I don't disagree about the long-term effects of consuming less. I wish it was a viable option for me to stop driving whenever oil companies, refinery operators and energy traders conspire to make me pay more at the pump.
I just don't see any other way to achieve large-scale improvements in efficiency, except if do it on a large scale (ie, at the power plants). In a way, I hope I am wrong. I like the sound exhaust pipes make :)
On a somewhat related note, I did some reading on these recently... pretty interesting, but like fuel cells, hydrogen, etc not quite ready to compete with what we use now.
Bloom Box - fuel cell generator
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0222/Bloom-Box-What-is-it-and-how-does-it-work (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0222/Bloom-Box-What-is-it-and-how-does-it-work)
Here is a company in AU that is producing a residential model - they appear to be in "beta" phase with it now.
http://www.cfcl.com.au/BlueGen/ (http://www.cfcl.com.au/BlueGen/)
Don't discount Solar energy. Actually it is the source of all our energy except nuclear. Oil, coal, wood, the food we eat were all originally solar. Plants are converting solar energy every day. The problem is energy storage. Once the sun goes down we have no way to store what we have gathered during the day. The same happens with wind energy when the wind stops. There are huge sources of geothermal energy too but how do we store it and transport it from places like Iceland and the Aleutian Islands. We need a completed new paradigm on how to store energy. Once we master the storage problem moving away from oil will be easy.
We do need a new paradigm. I think its possible. A little wind energy, some solar, geothermal, nuclear(okay maybe not yet), and oceanic energy. Put all those together and it will have some effect, but its going to be take time. Anyways, I don't see gas prices going back down.
The market value of futures reflects the larger supply vs demand paradigm. Sure there are people profiting from trading paper, but if one wants to make that illegal and damn it as demon spawn then one needs to step up to the plate and relinquish their savings account interest gains and 401k equity gains or be called a hypocrite. Afterall there is no good reason one should be earning 1% interest for doing nothing while another is charged 4% interest on a loan instead of 3% using your logic. The person speculating on an interest gain is adding no value to the system right.
When Libya imploded production shut down. That's 4% of the oil supply off of the market in a flash. What price increase in fuel costs will it take for people to adjust their consumption habbits down by 4%? The consensus among economists is 30% avg before people sit up, take notice and adjust their consumption accordingly. Libya erupted around March when gas prices around here were ~$3.25 and gas prices are now just below $4. That is a 23% increase and low a behold here we are in a thread pregnant doging about gas prices when there were none back in March. Hmmmm. We also have a mass of flood water running down river to a major source of gas refining capactiy. Hmmmm. We're also entering the Gulf Hurricane Season when gas prices always increase. Hmmm. No it must all be due to teh ebil speculators like all of those damn savings account holders raising my home mortgage rates. Stomps feet.
QuoteDrJones is gonna love this ( ), but I don't think gas prices will be fixed by more efficient vehicles, but by vehicles that don't need gas. . . .
I don't really care actually. My argument is replace my truck verbatim. I need something to tow all of my shit, can run back and forth to work, and can go cross country and not take an eon to get there due to refueling time all in the scope of one vehicle, because I ain't rich enough to own one vehicle for each task. Call me when EV's can do that. I won't be holding my breath in the meantime. I'm actually banking on hydrogen to be the replacement transport fuel for the masses . . . eventually.
BTW Exxon is a little fish. For the big fish one needs to look at Sinopec, Petrobas, etc. But then those are national oil companies where the owning country will tell you to go pound sand.
remember gas is expensive for 1 reason and 1 reason only.
Because you need it and you have no real alternative, and for the forseable future the next i would guess 100-200 years there is nothing that will replicate or replace it, like another said the energy density for a cup of fuel is better than anything out there, maybe nuclear is better but you can't carry that without health risks in a coke bottle if you needed to. Just live with it and realize fuel should only go up in price because the companies that drill/refine it can ask whatever they want, what are you going to do otherwise? say no?
I currently power all my vehicles with positive thinking and making vroom vroom noises
I'm looking to invent a car that runs on body odor as that is easy to produce and quite plentiful.
lead, acid and nickel cadmium are bad enough (found in hybrids). If anyone thinks oil is bad look at coal and the inefficiencies yet it powers most of our homes - oil is much more efficient. There are plenty of alternatives already available and it's not big oil keeping them from the markets either.......drill drill drill [coffee]
Yea I remember reading years back.. something about the amount of pollution it takes to make the battery of a Prius.. it was more then the amount an old car makes in its life time... or something of that nature. I don't pregnant dog about gas prices.. I use 93 or higher in my daily. If I feel like not wasting money on gas I ride my bicycle to work..
Quote from: bdub on May 13, 2011, 05:08:14 AM
We've reached maximum world population for the land now being farmed to sustain said population using current methods.
Where did you get this info?
I believe it was from Harry Kaiser of Cornell.
Quote from: Drjones on May 13, 2011, 03:18:02 PM
The market value of futures reflects the larger supply vs demand paradigm. Sure there are people profiting from trading paper, but if one wants to make that illegal and damn it as demon spawn then one needs to step up to the plate and relinquish ..blather
I dunno if you are responding to something I said or not, but I don't see that anyone else said anything like that either. You're tilting at windmills.
Quote from: Drjones on May 13, 2011, 03:18:02 PM
When Libya imploded production shut down. That's 4% of the oil supply off of the market in a flash. What price increase in fuel costs will it take for people to adjust their consumption habbits down by 4%?
Libya, who supplies 4% of the world's oil (and 0% of the US oil supply), starts getting bombed, which results in a 20%+ increase in the price of gas in the US. The math still isn't working out for me. I'll keep at it though.
Quote from: Drjones on May 13, 2011, 03:18:02 PM
I don't really care actually. My argument is replace my truck verbatim.
I like how you, in the same breath, argue for reduced consumption, and insist on doing exactly the same things you have always done in the cheap oil era with your ostensibly 12-15 mpg truck. For the record, there are lots of holes in your argument, that was just my favorite one.
Quote from: Drjones on May 13, 2011, 03:18:02 PM
Hmmmm.... Hmmmm. ...Hmmm. ...
Wow. Persuasive. Anyways, don't take it from me, ask...
Rex Tillerson, the boss of ExxonMobil admitted last week that the price of oilâ€"based purely on supply and demand- should be in the $60 to $70 a barrel range. The reason it's above $100 a barrel, Tillerson explained, is due to the oil majors using futures contracts to lock in current high prices, and speculation that is engineered by the high-frequency trading of quantitative hedge funds....
Here are some other juicy disclosures from the hearing:
â€"The average cost of producing 1 barrel of oil was $11; the average price of the oil in the marketplaceâ€"$72â€" some 6.5 times the cost of getting the oil out of the ground.***Link (http://blogs.forbes.com/robertlenzner/2011/05/14/exxon-mobil-ceo-says-oil-price-should-be-60-70-a-barrel/)
Quote from: il d00d on May 15, 2011, 11:01:55 PMLibya, who supplies 4% of the world's oil (and 0% of the US oil supply), starts getting bombed, which results in a 20%+ increase in the price of gas in the US. The math still isn't working out for me. I'll keep at it though.
The US doesnt buy oil from Libya?
But it does import oil, no?
From a world market which is now only 96% of pre-Libya implosion. The many other nations on the face of the earth which did previously consume Libian oil continue to buy their oil from the remaining availability.
100% of the demand for 96% of the supply.
But why did "they" increase US gas prices by 20%? Fear and uncertainty. But mostly because "they" can ;D.
20%. Its a good start [thumbsup].
Ask what? A hack job of reporting full of misrepresentations? As always one needs to go to the source to get the true unedited story: http://finance.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=974701fa-5056-a032-5227-d055ec6b20d1 (http://finance.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=974701fa-5056-a032-5227-d055ec6b20d1)
The $11 vs $72 was put up by Sen. Baucus (Democrat) and in testimony he admitted that it is GROSS margins and confirmed by the oil execs generally stating that those figures aren't taking into account operating expenses and taxes. Of course the truth won't get many headlines now will it. Also divulged in the hearing was that the oil company profits on the sale of gasoline was around 6 cents per gallon while the average taxes collected by the States was 50 cents per gallon.
Tillerson's comments on pure supply and demand were made, but also explained that is only for the "next barrel" meaning that any barrells after that would be higher depending on the market. The second part of the statement in the article is false as it wasn't made by the Exxon chief it is purely the editor interjecting his own words. What was said is that the price of oil is set by the GLOBAL markets that they, US oil companies, have no say over and it is hard to tell what is speculation and what is the GLOBAL markets applying RISK management. Also stated that pricing in risk is normal for all commodities and that oil is a highly volitile commodity.
Other "Juicy tidbits" was that the the supposed majority of profits used to buy back shares of oil companies was actually only one company and that majority came from the sale of their percent interest in a Russian Oil Company. Though again, it gets more headlines by hacking up an article insinuating that the stock buy back was from oil profits.
Your article is only persuasive to metal twits that belive what they read in todays media.
---
I wasn't arguing for or against reduced oil consumption but commenting on utility of gas powered vehicles vs the current crop of alternative fuel vehicles. None of them can replace my truck. Call me when they can and when they're less than $20k, because that's all I can intelligently afford on a vehicle.