Why is the price of oil so high?

[N2RJ]

Just curious as to what everyone thinks.

I personally think that the falling US dollar along with increased demand are pushing up prices. Not to mention the wars and instability in oil producing countries.

Still haven't paid $3/gallon for gas yet, because in the Garden state we're holding out at $2.99 (and 9/10).

Feel free to vote in the poll and also say what you think.

[ad4mg]

Commodities speculators, lack of refining capacity, the continued decline of the dollar, and demand (actually down in the U.S.), in that order. Instability in oil producing regions certainly adds to the short term fluctuations.

But I'm a 4-lander, and I can't possibly be expected to understand such complicated matters.

Gas here in Richmond is around $3.199 for the cheap stuff, $3.349 for the mid grade fuel that I usually use in my vehicles. I hate hearing those valves ping.

[w5klb]

Not enough refinery capacity

Too addicted to gas guzzling SUVs...

Oil companies sell gas for "what the market will bear" etc., etc.,

If you like that oil company propaganda, I have a bridge you might be interested in.

Really, what all these high prices for gasoline can be attributed to one word:

GREED

America's Oil Company's CEO's and a certain Saudi Royal Family are enjoying every minuet of these high gas prices.

[N2RJ]

Commodities speculators, lack of refining capacity, the continued decline of the dollar, and demand (actually down in the U.S.), in that order. Instability in oil producing regions certainly adds to the short term fluctuations.

But I'm a 4-lander, and I can't possibly be expected to understand such complicated matters.

That's correct. To understand oil you have to live in 5 land. :D

Gas here in Richmond is around $3.199 for the cheap stuff, $3.349 for the mid grade fuel that I usually use in my vehicles. I hate hearing those valves ping.

Yeah I hear ya, but my car takes regular. I'm kinda glad I didn't buy a BMW Z3 like I had intended to when I was car shopping and bought a Honda Accord instead.

[K0DXC]

I think that it is none of the above.

Oil is a fossil fuel, we are simply running out, we won't have oil forever. People need to realize that.

We also need to utilize the resources we have right now. I've heard scientists claim that Alaska has enough oil to support every car in the U.S. for the next 70 years.

[KE7JFA]

I think that it is none of the above.

Oil is a fossil fuel, we are simply running out, we won't have oil forever. People need to realize that.


Nope. The arabs alone have enough oil for 200 years at their estimates.

The cause is India and China has become industrialized.
Just like steel and wood prices have gone way up because they are buying up any resource they can get their hands on.

[KE5TND]

I think that it is none of the above.

Oil is a fossil fuel, we are simply running out, we won't have oil forever. People need to realize that.

We also need to utilize the resources we have right now. I've heard scientists claim that Alaska has enough oil to support every car in the U.S. for the next 70 years.

I could not agree more. We are "running out" but it's our own fault. The oil is there we just can't/won't go after it.

[K0DXC]

Nope. The arabs alone have enough oil for 200 years at their estimates.

The cause is India and China has become industrialized.
Just like steel and wood prices have gone way up because they are buying up any resource they can get their hands on.

War could come into it.

The basic problem is that we need to utilize our resources better though.

Admit it.

[KU0DM]

The fact it is running out doesn't drive prices up as much as what Ryan hit on.

Those are the key reasons oil is up high, there is no all of the above or I would've cast my vote that way.

We have to decide: Do we really want to be able to fuel every car for the next 70 years?

The other problem is growth. America and the world mainly, is growing at a tremendous rate. At some point, the earth simply can not support human life, it will reach it's carrying capacity. Growth is what is killing us. In theory, the want, the sickness to move forward is what is bringing to end. As we expand (which we are constantly), the quota for energy and resources constantly increases. Those reports analysts are creating (or at least what I've seen) aren't adding in the factor of human growth. What may last for 70 years at our current population, may only last 40 in a decade or so.

I agree, I think investment in renewable energy is what will keep us going.

That is one reason I support Obama, his economic stimulus plan is to set aside money for renewable energy research and implementation. Since many jobs are required, and it takes money to do that, that will create jobs and get the money flowing again WITHIN the U.S. economy. While at the same time, making definitive progress in the fields of renewable energy.

[KE7JFA]

War could come into it.

The basic problem is that we need to utilize our resources better though.

Admit it.

Admit what? There is nothing to admit! :D

Some countries are 8 bucks a gallon!

If Valenzuela did not have a dictator for a president and hate USA so much, we might be able to see some savings.
Their price for gas is .12 cents a gallon! :eek:

[K8YZK]

My opinion
1. Bush
2. Bush
3. Cheney
4. Saudi's
5. Iraq civil war

Yes both George Bush's (Bush the first and Bush the Worse). Yet got to get all the money they can before he leaves office, which isn't soon enough.

Iraq, another Nam in the making, and getting worse every day.

[N4VGB]

I love it, the usual "greed" and "big conspiracy" BS. So here's a basic world wide free market lesson to consider. You all love that cheap imported stuff right? You don't care that much of it is produced by people living in sometimes outright slavery or near slavery conditions right? Sure, that's why WalMart is the number one retailer in the world.

So now you've unemployed many Americans with your own greed and our economy is slowing to a crawl because of your greed but isn't it just so easy to blame someone else while you continue to shop at WalMart.

So now you've built up the economies of what used to be third world nations to the point that they too are starting to guzzle crude oil at rates that will soon surpass our own consumption! Shot yourself in the foot people.

China, India, etc. are now outbidding your own crude oil buyers with your own money! China is poised to soon be the number one consumer of crude oil and consume more than the U.S. & Japan combined. None of those pesky environmental laws in China to contend with by manufacturers. Keep buying that cheap stuff people.

Americans own greed has bitten them on the butt at the gas pumps and I hope the stuff goes to $10 a gallon to drive this lesson home once and for all. Maybe an outright collapse of the U.S. economy will finally open American eyes to reality.

[N2OBS]

Simply put we are addicted to OIL. It can be based on an equal example of the neighborhood drug dealer. There are those who are making BILLIONS on the consumer and as long as we give them the power over our decision we will continue to pay. I personally feel someone or group is stopping the advancement of the automobile requirement of this type of fuel. It has been proven that cars can operate on vegetable oil and other sources of energy including battery power. We have become lazy in our thinking and i'm not excluding myself in those who are lazy. When i was a child i walked because i had to if i wanted to buy a soda or potato chips, it had become a habit for many years as a teenager until getting my license. Afterward it was easier to jump in the driver seat and turn a key driving me quicker to my destination. I'm trying to get back to the habit of other sources of transportation and it's possible just by not letting the habit override my decision. These days i hear people complain and gripe about the price of gas......but what have you changed in your habit to decrease your need of jumping in the car seat for a local store that might be a small distance from your place? Instead of complaining and griping we should change our attitude force ourselves to focus of other ways getting us from A to B or even further without letting our car's drug dealer. Do something else constructive rather than destructive in your thinking and process.

[KG4JYD]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51831HTQZEL._SS500_.jpg
(CLICK IMAGE) (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Gold-Stranglehold-Jerome-Corsi/dp/1581824890/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206233688&sr=8-1)

It is estimated that Americans consume more than 25 percent of the world's oil but have control over less than 3 percent of its proven supply. This extremely unbalanced pattern of consumption makes it possible for foreign governments, corrupt political leaders, terrorist organizations, and oil conglomerates to place the citizens of the United States in a stranglehold of supply and demand. There is no greater proof of this than the direct relationship between skyrocketing gas prices and the exploding wealth of those who control the supply of oil.

In Black Gold Stranglehold, Jerome R. Corsi and Craig R. Smith expose the fraudulent science that has been sold to the American people in order to enslave them: the belief that oil is a fossil fuel and a finite resource. On the contrary, this book presents authoritative research, currently known mostly in the scientific community, that oil is not a product of decaying dinosaurs and prehistoric forests. Rather, it is a natural product of the earth. The scientific evidence cited by Corsi and Smith suggests that oil is constantly being produced by the earth, far below the planet's surface, and that it is brought to attainable depths by the centrifugal forces of the earth's rotation.

In great detail Corsi and Smith explore the international and domestic politics of oil production and consumption. This includes the wealth and power of major oil conglomerates, the manipulation of world economies by oil-producing states and rogue terrorist regimes, and the political agenda of radical environmentalists and conservationists who obstruct the use of oil reserves currently controlled by the U.S. government.

The authors offer an understanding of the dangerous situation America faces because its currency is no longer tied to any precious and truly scarce metals such as gold, as it was until 1973. This situation could easily lead to the devastation of the U.S. economy if Middle Eastern countries are able to enact current plans to accept only the Euro or gold-backed currencies such as the Gold Dinar instead of the U.S. dollar as the standard currency for oil.

[N2RJ]

Some countries are 8 bucks a gallon!

That's because they tax the living daylights out of it.

In fact, more gasoline taxes are partially to blame for high gas prices here in the US. My proof is that NJ is still below $3/gallon and that's because our gasoline taxes are among the lowest in the nation.

If Valenzuela did not have a dictator for a president and hate USA so much, we might be able to see some savings.
Their price for gas is .12 cents a gallon! :eek:

Venezuela only has 12 cents/gallon gas because Chavez is a socialist.

I've been to Venezuela many times and while they have pretty women and beautiful countryside, it is not a nice place to live. Even pre-Chavez the Guardia nacional used to fire their machine guns in the streets every few days and also stop tour buses, pointing guns in your face demanding to see your passport.

[N2RJ]

I love it, the usual "greed" and "big conspiracy" BS. So here's a basic world wide free market lesson to consider. You all love that cheap imported stuff right? You don't care that much of it is produced by people living in sometimes outright slavery or near slavery conditions right? Sure, that's why WalMart is the number one retailer in the world.

So now you've unemployed many Americans with your own greed and our economy is slowing to a crawl because of your greed but isn't it just so easy to blame someone else while you continue to shop at WalMart.

So now you've built up the economies of what used to be third world nations to the point that they too are starting to guzzle crude oil at rates that will soon surpass our own consumption! Shot yourself in the foot people.

China, India, etc. are now outbidding your own crude oil buyers with your own money! China is poised to soon be the number one consumer of crude oil and consume more than the U.S. & Japan combined. None of those pesky environmental laws in China to contend with by manufacturers. Keep buying that cheap stuff people.

Americans own greed has bitten them on the butt at the gas pumps and I hope the stuff goes to $10 a gallon to drive this lesson home once and for all. Maybe an outright collapse of the U.S. economy will finally open American eyes to reality.


Give this man the kewpie doll!

I can't for the life of me figure out why we continue to trade with, finance and borrow money from a communist country who has been repeatedly caught spying on us and who has an atrocious record on human rights among other things.

We're seeing it come back to bite us, and oil is only one part of it.

[AE6IP]

I can't for the life of me figure out why we continue to trade with, finance and borrow money from a communist country who has been repeatedly caught spying on us and who has an atrocious record on human rights among other things.

Welcome to why the 'free' market is not a good way to set social policy.

"we" trade with China because "we" see a financial advantage in it. And by "we" I mean every corporation that has calculated a way to sell Chinese goods at a profit in the United States and every individual buyer who has bought Chinese goods because they were cheaper than similar goods offered by the competitors.

[W8XV]

So now you've unemployed many Americans with your own greed and our economy is slowing to a crawl because of your greed

If you consider 4.8% many, then ok I guess

Sure, that's why WalMart is the number one retailer in the world.

I am to beleive that WalMart told Black and Decker, Stanley, Wrangler, Dell, Compaq, ect. ect. ect. ect. ect. ect. That unless they move their company to China, and make slaves out of these people, that they won't buy from them. I'm to beleive that WalMart is the only company in the U.S. that buys from China. Give me a break.

[K8ERV]

Their price for gas is .12 cents a gallon! :eek:

QUIET! I'm running a long pipe right now---

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[KV1M]

If you consider 4.8% many, then ok I guess



I am to beleive that WalMart told Black and Decker, Stanley, Wrangler, Dell, Compaq, ect. ect. ect. ect. ect. ect. That unless they move their company to China, and make slaves out of these people, that they won't buy from them. I'm to beleive that WalMart is the only company in the U.S. that buys from China. Give me a break.

You are misinformed.

Most of the tech jobs have been outsourced as well, that is most of the financial industry.

To both India AND China.

And that lovely 4.8% number tossed around so blithely ignores anyone who has been out of work so long that they no longer collect unemployment.
The government has decided out of political expediency that these people are for some reason no longer looking for work. I know that is a load of crap because I was out of work from 2002 to 2004 and I was looking for the entire time.
Double or triple the "official" number and you'll be closer to the mark.

[KU0DM]

If Valenzuela did not have a dictator for a president and hate USA so much, we might be able to see some savings.
Their price for gas is .12 cents a gallon! :eek:

Actually, it is our problem.
It is our president who refuses to buy oil from them. The Venezuelans would love to have an oil guzzling country like America throw billions of dollars at them. But our president refuses to buy oil from Chavez and relieve the strain on Americans.

That's the reason Chavez doesn't like U.S. and us, because we refuse to buy his oil. The wallet is what fuels hatred between nations.

[KV1M]

No, Chavez doesn't like America because the CIA tried to run a coup on him and have him assassinated a couple of years back.

Such short memories.

[KU0DM]

I think there are many reasons Chavez and others reasonably don't like America.

But no amount of dislike would make a power hungry country like Venezuela refuse such a lucrative opportunity such as selling oil to the US of A.

Countries, leaders, such as Chavez would love to be able to sell billions of barrels of oil to the U.S., and most of them know they could charge a pretty penny too.

[KV1M]

I don't dispute that as truth, I am sure he would love to sell the US his oil.

(NEW INFO - I DO dispute that as he DOES sell the US his oil)

But it is not why oil costs so much.
And it is not why he is mad at the US.

Oil costs what it costs because the dollar has been weakened and the middle east destabilized.
OPEC is charging what it can because there is a compliant regime in charge of the US that has given the green light to Bandar Bush for exactly this kind of profiteering by using a loss of just 600k barrels per diam of the worlds supply (Iraq) as an excuse.

Before Bush, when did the price of gas fluctuate when a hurricane came through the Caribbean? How about never.

You are being suckered by an oil man president and his oil cabinet.

And Chavez is mad because you tried to kill him.

[K3XR]

I don't dispute that as truth, I am sure he would love to sell the US his oil.

But it is not why oil costs so much.
And it is not why he is mad at the US.

Oil costs what it costs because the dollar has been weakened and the middle east destabilized.
OPEC is charging what it can because there is a compliant regime in charge of the US that has given the green light to Bandar Bush for exactly this kind of profiteering by using a loss of just 600k barrels per diam of the worlds supply (Iraq) as an excuse.

Before Bush, when did the price of gas fluctuate when a hurricane came through the Caribbean? How about never.

You are being suckered by an oil man president and his oil cabinet.

And Chavez is mad because you tried to kill him.

Poor Chavez, the commie dictator is mad because we tried to kill, whoops, missed the link to those FACTS.

It's not possible that, thanks to the envro-Nazis, that failing to drill for oil in the US, and not building any new refineries in years, yes we do import gasoline, not just oil, is having an impact on the price, is it?

[KV1M]

Sorry XR, forgot that Malkin doesn't tell you any true stuff.

Well, since helping out a retard like you is a wasted effort I'll just be letting you try to learn about the big bad ol world on your own.

[KC0ZQA]

US energy policy has contributed significantly. For decades we've done little to promote realistic alternatives. Corn ethanol is turning out to be a disaster. You should know this if you've been grocery shopping lately. We've limited new oil exploration and extraction and pretty much cut off all building of new refineries. Then we are being force fed a poor alternative that can't exist were it not for major subsidies. The country has helped create the problem and then it turns around and blames the oil companies. Talk about misguided.

Lord knows the US has oil. Look up the Green River Oil Shale Formation for an idea of the magnitude. Up to 1 trillion recoverable barrels of oil. The federally owned portion has been off limits up until 2005. The high oil prices has just recently made it potentially economical to extract it. When it does start flowing out it will be a paradigm shift in the global oil market as it will mean the Middle East no longer has the largest oil reserves.

[W8XV]

You are misinformed.

Most of the tech jobs have been outsourced as well, that is most of the financial industry.

To both India AND China.



What would I be misinformed about? Did I saythat only certain jobs had been outsourced? Was I misinformed about WalMart, and it really is their fault?



Double or triple the "official" number and you'll be closer to the mark.

Can you document this?

I know that is a load of crap because I was out of work from 2002 to 2004 and I was looking for the entire time.


Two years is a long time to go without work. I would have considered moving to another location or atleast going to McDonalds or some other fast food joint. I here people say all the time that they can't find work. When you ask them about some low paying job, they tell me that they can't work for that little bit of money. I guess they are not hungry enough yet. I was always taught that some money is better than no money.

[KV1M]

Hard to move very far when you're flat broke.

And yeah, I did try fast food, and also going back to my fall back in construction.
I didn't speak Spanish, so no job for me.

Document what, that the government doesn't count the long term unemployed as looking for work? Google that up yourself ok?

[KV1M]

Sorry, that was uncharitable of me.

Here, take a look at this for the export scene, your heaping it on WalMart is wrong considering the numbers and names in the database:

http://www.workingamerica.org/jobtracker/

I'd like you to notice that most of the outsourcing is from companies that do not manufacture or provide services for WalMart.

As for long term unemployed not being counted:

source: April 7 {WSJ} article, "Labor Market May be Softer than Reported;" Dept of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL HAS DISCOVERED THAT OFFICIAL U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT DATA HIDE REAL UNEMPLOYMENT. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their payroll jobs during the last few months, but the official U.S. unemployment barely rose from 5.7% to 5.8% between January and March. Even the Wall Street Journal recognizes that this is impossible, and is becoming a scandal.

Today's issue states that, "with all that is going wrong in the U.S. economy, economists are starting to suspect that the current unemployment rate of 5.8% ... could be underestimating the true level of distress in the labor market."

The Journal reports some ways by which the Labor Department Bureau of Labor Statistics "misses" the real number of unemployed. "Many laid-off workers ... are simply setting themselves up as independent consultants operating from their home offices." They are self-employed.

Many of these "self-employed" consultants may work only one-third as many hours as they did when they had a job--or have no clients and thus have no work at all--but they are still counted by the BLS as employed.

The Journal states that others, after months of futilely searching for jobs may have become "too discouraged to look for work"--indeed, this category has risen by 360,000 workers during the past year.

But the BLS has made "too discouraged to look for work" as a category within "Not In the Labor Force"; however, in order to be counted as unemployed, a worker must be classified as "In the Labor Force."

Thus, the "too discouraged" are not considered as unemployed.

Further, the Journal states, "some are simply opting to take what they can get, working part-time at low-wage jobs that provide some health benefits."

These workers are "Part-Time for Economic Reasons."

The number of such workers has increased by 500,000 during the past year.

{EIR} has determined a real unemployment level:

- Table 1 -

EIR's Level of Real Unemployment, March 2003

Official Unemployment 8.45 million

"Want a Job Now" 4.76 million

"Part-Time for Economic Reasons 4.70 million

Total Unemployment 17.91 million

Unemployment Rate 11.9%

Of the 8.45 million whom the BLS reports as being officially unemployed, 1.90 million, or 22%, have been unemployed for more than six months.

The strains on their family income are greatly increasing.

I am aware that the WSJ report is old, but do you really think anything has changed in that respect? Really?

Believe what you are told by "officials" at your own peril.

[N2RJ]

I don't dispute that as truth, I am sure he would love to sell the US his oil.

But it is not why oil costs so much.
And it is not why he is mad at the US.

Oil costs what it costs because the dollar has been weakened and the middle east destabilized.
OPEC is charging what it can because there is a compliant regime in charge of the US that has given the green light to Bandar Bush for exactly this kind of profiteering by using a loss of just 600k barrels per diam of the worlds supply (Iraq) as an excuse.

Before Bush, when did the price of gas fluctuate when a hurricane came through the Caribbean? How about never.

You are being suckered by an oil man president and his oil cabinet.

And Chavez is mad because you tried to kill him.

Welcome back, OM! True to form.

Don't confuse these guys with truth... their heads may explode!

[N2RJ]

Two years is a long time to go without work. I would have considered moving to another location or atleast going to McDonalds or some other fast food joint. I here people say all the time that they can't find work. When you ask them about some low paying job, they tell me that they can't work for that little bit of money. I guess they are not hungry enough yet. I was always taught that some money is better than no money.

Unfortunately 2 years out of work was reality for many. In 2002 my resume was out but I got maybe one call every 3 months, and the position was filled rather quickly.

As for low paying jobs, when I was unemployed in 2004 I applied for jobs at several retail stores, and I never heard back from them. It seems as though they don't hire people like me because we're overqualified, and we're legal residents/citizens.

As such, Todd's story seems very believable.

[kx8c]

Part of the gas cost problem is that parts of the country are forced to buy special gas per the EPA - which means that cost reductions based on volume usage of a standard product are not possible.

[N2RJ]

Actually, it is our problem.
It is our president who refuses to buy oil from them. The Venezuelans would love to have an oil guzzling country like America throw billions of dollars at them. But our president refuses to buy oil from Chavez and relieve the strain on Americans.

That's the reason Chavez doesn't like U.S. and us, because we refuse to buy his oil. The wallet is what fuels hatred between nations.

Huh? This is news to me. We buy a LOT of oil from Venezuela.

[KV1M]

Part of the gas cost problem is that parts of the country are forced to buy special gas per the EPA - which means that cost reductions based on volume usage of a standard product are not possible.

Wrong, the price per barrel is global and the EPA has no bearing on that.

[KE7JFA]

Huh? This is news to me. We buy a LOT of oil from Venezuela.


We USED to. Not anymore.

[N2RJ]

We USED to. Not anymore.

When did that change?

[w2amr]

Not enough refinery capacity

Too addicted to gas guzzling SUVs...

Oil companies sell gas for "what the market will bear" etc., etc.,

If you like that oil company propaganda, I have a bridge you might be interested in.

Really, what all these high prices for gasoline can be attributed to one word:

GREED

America's Oil Company's CEO's and a certain Saudi Royal Family are enjoying every minuet of these high gas prices.
You got my vote.

[KV1M]

It didn't, you still import Venezuelan oil.

They said in February you should stop if you don't like it:

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1431993320070214
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/americas/news/article_1262923.php/Venezuelan_minister_US_shouldnt_buy_oil_&quotif_it_does_not_want_it%22

but you didn't.

The Freepers think you should, but nobody in their right mind would listen to those loony bastards.

[w2amr]

Perhaps this might be a place to look

Exxon shatters profit records
Oil giant makes corporate history by booking $11.7 billion in quarterly profit
http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/01/news/companies/exxon_earnings/

Chevron posts record $18.7 billion profit
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/02/BU6AUQMT9.DTL

[KG4JYD]

http://www.worth1000.com/entries/108000/108496HmOL_w.jpghttp://www.worth1000.com/entries/108000/108496HmOL_w.jpg (http://www.worth1000.com/entries/108000/108496HmOL_w.jpg)

[KE7JFA]

I think americans are fortunate to get 4.00 per gallon gas.

[ad4mg]

I think americans are fortunate to get 4.00 per gallon gas.

Why do you hate Americans?

[KE7JFA]

Why do you hate Americans?

I don't. I am American! :D
4.00 per gallon gas has been a long time coming though.