Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Harley88]

Nice pic Doc

[grc]

It's great to have low prices, but when the price for oil drops to $20/bbl, companies here (but not the Middle East countries) will stop drilling for new sources, wells currently in production will be shut down, and even refineries may quit.  It's what happens when they can't sell the product at a price high enough to stay in business.  The we'll be buying all our petroleum products from Saudis, Iranians, and ISIS.

The Saudis, for example, can make money when crude oil is selling for under $10/bbl, so they'll own the market at that price.  OTOH, when all the American drilling crews have left the oil patch for non-oil jobs, and wells and refineries are closed (or sold to Iran by the Muslim-in-Chief), it will be very expensive to re-start them.  And we will pay for it...in many unpleasant ways.

That has all been true for many years, and the smart way to deal with it isn't to go nuts expanding drilling in this country to make a fast buck.  We've been through these cycles before when world oil prices go up high enough for people in this country to start seeing dollars signs flash before their eyes and they decide to expand domestic production.  This time, as in previous times, the winners will be the folks who took the quick early profits, and the losers will be those who loaned them all the money as well as all the people who moved their entire families to one of the boom towns for jobs that have now disappeared and those who had jobs in supporting industries.  IMHO a smarter approach would be to balance domestic output at a level that wouldn't cause OPEC and others to retaliate and drive oil prices low enough to put the domestic companies out of business.  But, that would take a different system other than the unfettered capitalism model driven by short term greed that keeps giving us the boom and bust cycles, where a few get very wealthy and most take it in the ear.

JMHO - Jerry

[Chains]

It's SoCal to pay more for everything so we can have a piece of the lifestyle. I rode yesterday to the beach in 80 degree weather and woke up to this in the morning. Now its off to work to pay I go.

I'm with Doc anytime you can live where you can ride everyday prices will be high.

Great photo Lou

[JCZ]

The "sunshine tax" Jim. 

[Para Bellum]

That has all been true for many years, and the smart way to deal with it isn't to go nuts expanding drilling in this country to make a fast buck.  We've been through these cycles before when world oil prices go up high enough for people in this country to start seeing dollars signs flash before their eyes and they decide to expand domestic production.  This time, as in previous times, the winners will be the folks who took the quick early profits, and the losers will be those who loaned them all the money as well as all the people who moved their entire families to one of the boom towns for jobs that have now disappeared and those who had jobs in supporting industries.  IMHO a smarter approach would be to balance domestic output at a level that wouldn't cause OPEC and others to retaliate and drive oil prices low enough to put the domestic companies out of business.  But, that would take a different system other than the unfettered capitalism model driven by short term greed that keeps giving us the boom and bust cycles, where a few get very wealthy and most take it in the ear.

JMHO - Jerry

All true, and really causes a lot of heartache for many.  But who decides what the balanced output should be?  The Soviets, and many others, have tried the centrally planned economies, which always go straight into the crapper.  And when you put someone in charge of deciding, they end up with insider information they can sell to give the early birds the advantage.  That's "crony capitalism", which leads to product shortages and "companies" like Solyndra.  Yes, the free market, like democracy, is the worst of all possible systems--except for all others.

[Rooster]

I seem to remember in the late 70's there was a gas shortage with tankers lined up all over. And people were trading in the big cars for near nothing trying to buy the import cars of the trucks carrying them but most were pre sold.

[Para Bellum]

I seem to remember in the late 70's there was a gas shortage with tankers lined up all over. And people were trading in the big cars for near nothing trying to buy the import cars of the trucks carrying them but most were pre sold.

Yep, back when we let the Saudis plan oil production for us.  I remember long lines and alternate days at the pumps.

[FLSTFI Dave]

It's great to have low prices, but when the price for oil drops to $20/bbl, companies here (but not the Middle East countries) will stop drilling for new sources, wells currently in production will be shut down, and even refineries may quit.  It's what happens when they can't sell the product at a price high enough to stay in business.  The we'll be buying all our petroleum products from Saudis, Iranians, and ISIS.

The Saudis, for example, can make money when crude oil is selling for under $10/bbl, so they'll own the market at that price.  OTOH, when all the American drilling crews have left the oil patch for non-oil jobs, and wells and refineries are closed (or sold to Iran by the Muslim-in-Chief), it will be very expensive to re-start them.  And we will pay for it...in many unpleasant ways.

They were sitting down long before 30 a Barrel.  Gulf of Mexico had 59 rigs drilling for oil December 2014.  Today there are 20, with more shutting down in the next three months.  Oil companies are not turning their 7% profit, but rather a loss.  So they do not pay some one to drill for them.  Lots more shut down in the Dakotas with more to come.  Over 100,000 people laid off, mostly jobs that pay 50K or more a year.

Saudi is pumping over quota as is much of OPEC as they want our drilling out of business.  The USA just helped then buy lifting sanctions on Iran and letting them flood the market with more oil.

Very soon we will be dependent on the Middle east again for all our fuel.

[JCZ]

California gas prices have gone up, even though oil prices are down....    http://www.ocregister.com/articles/prices-697048-refinery-gas.html

Happens in Calif. every time the oil prices go down....the refineries start shutting down for unscheduled maint. until the prices go back up.

On the news yesterday, they said that gas prices in San Diego went up 35 cents a gallon over night...5 cents a gallon more than the 30 cents a gallon they projected....  http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/feb/25/ca-gas-prices-expected-to-jump-30-cents-by-weekend/

Today's Los Angeles Times....  http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gasoline-manipulation-20150706-story.html

It's been in the news that the federal government and the Calif. government are investigating why the Calif. refineries go off line for unscheduled maint. every time the prices drop a bit.  Here's an article from Sacramento Bee nine months ago....  http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article20524758.html

And from four months ago....  http://www.capitolwatchdog.org/article/big-oil-gives-ca-energy-commission-and-californians-finger-0

[DesertHOG]

On the way up in NM too but pretty good compared to some.

[JCZ]

Yep, that's real low compared to us Simon.  Like Lou says.....it's the price we pay to play. 

Went for a ride today....I'll post those pics in another thread....here....  http://www.cvoharley.com/smf/index.php?topic=99194.msg1369499#msg1369499