Who is the most responsible for high gas prices?

[Jaga]

I think there are many reasons therefore I let you to select as many options as you want

[Atlantis5]

I was to choose:

1} Oil companies

2} Speculators

3} Inability to drill

Reasons of choice:


}Oil companies: The purchase the raw materials, design process the raw materials into various products for placement in the market place.

Their profit is the amount difference between {cost of purchase of materials/manufacturing storage and transportation} cost of research/development of domestic and foreign locales and all that is incurred in operation of a global business, then in the end as sales and re-investment.


}In ability to drill:

Oil business is as of commission sales, it is an ongoing for ever search type of business in oil exploration. It is fraught with high financial risk {for percentage of successful holes in low in comparison to successful producing fields}

Legal court battles:

oil companies are prevented from drilling for other various reasons of: {unsightly and noise/scenic view spoilage/injunctions against oil companies from drilling off shore in tourist areas of frequent {bad for business} possible pollution of land and possible detrimental to fishery areas and local wild life.

Court injunctions induced by various wild life organizations under various namen one well known group {Greenpeace} are active in blocking/interfering to any development of new oil exploration/mineral and mining in areas of wilderness.

} Speculators:

These people do not work with their hands, nor field experience. They not just speculate, or simply invest in futures {a type of betting the amount of a commodity will rise within a time line} They have smarted up now. To insure of their profit in investments. They will purchase a set quantity of the product {petroleum product-petrol stocks/diesel/paraffin/heating oil} then hold this for a set future market price, then sell. It is a race in time for them between storage cost/and what the market will bear to insure of their profit. {It is illegal in Europe and I believe as also in America to for a futures broker to purchase on credit}.

The petroleum companies do not care, for the products are still payed for to a purchaser rather it is direct to the public, or through a 3rd-4th party business.

Most petroleum product sales are 1st whole sale initial into a storage facilities for whole sale bidding. Various whole sale bidders bid on the storage level at differing bid offers {in storage, lighter elements of petrol peculate to a higher level depending upon the volitation of light elements. The height level, determines the amount of and type of additives that must be infused into the petrol for burning qualities determined by various grades for resistance to knocking/ease of start in cold weather/altitude effects upon the using vehicle.

Some whole sale business prefer to bid on the lower storage levels for the cost difference. Royal Dutch Shell is one that is very prominent in the strategy. For the lower ends are constructed through the distillation process as heavy ends. The heat value is not different, it is the rate of burn in the combustion chamber that differs. Then also the type and quality of additives that must be blended in for insurances the combustion process will not be detrimental to the motor. {The more costly requirement of additional additives, is off set by the savings in purchase of ends at bidding}.

All of this as cost, is added to the consumers bill at retail sale.

In conclusion:

as a personal note:

motor fuel would be much more economical with the removal of the blood sucking speculators/Federal action against the environmentalist, better balance between the protection of the environment with that of national requirements. removal of obstacles of prevention of oil exploration/ production.

Charles

[Jaga]

+++with the removal of the blood sucking speculators+++

I agree. I also agree with your other conclusions about oil companies etc. But SITUATION creates speculation. America's government should never allow the petroleum prices to go up so high in the first place! What this administration was doing for 8 years? They promised alternative sources and then what? They started 2 wars and wanted to do the third?

here is an interesting fragment from the article by THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN published in New York Times:

It baffles me that President Bush would rather go to Saudi Arabia twice in four months and beg the Saudi king for an oil price break than ask the American people to drive 55 miles an hour, buy more fuel-efficient cars or accept a carbon tax or gasoline tax that might actually help free us from what he called our “addiction to oil.”

The failure of Mr. Bush to fully mobilize the most powerful innovation engine in the world — the U.S. economy — to produce a scalable alternative to oil has helped to fuel the rise of a collection of petro-authoritarian states — from Russia to Venezuela to Iran — that are reshaping global politics in their own image.

www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/opinion/21friedman.html?em&ex=1211688000&en=7b8b78c1acea3d6c&ei=5087%0A

[kaima]

>>>here is an interesting fragment from the article by THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN published in New York Times:<<<


Jaga,

I was most impressed by his reportage: "If this huge transfer of wealth to the petro-authoritarians continues, power will follow. According to Congressional testimony Wednesday by the energy expert Gal Luft, with oil at $200 a barrel, OPEC could “potentially buy Bank of America in one month worth of production, Apple computers in a week and General Motors in just three days.”"

[Atlantis5]

Jaga

Yes with Mr. Thomas L. Friedman. This is a man with clear sight of the picture of reality. I was impressed with also his saying of: To stop digging whilst one is in a deep hole--

Some point he was to introduce that has been a puzzle to my self for quite some time.

The United States contains all the ingredients of a steam roller economy, but never to insert key, turn on ignition, and fire up the motors of progress. It is very puzzling. It is as if the operators are sound asleep with no wake up alarm clock.

Charles

[franek80]

WHAT! ME WORRY. NO WAY

Screw them all. We have coal and we are the breadbasket of the world.
Let them drink their oil. Seal our borders and tell the rest of the world to go to hell.

[Jaga]

Franek,

I see more and more people walking. They do not just jog, they walk because it is cheaper and I like it this way!

If there would be any good consequences of this crisis - it would be the fact that people will start exercising more!

[freetobe]

Franek,
I'm with you, only one problem. THE US GOVERNMENT WILL NEVER DO IT WITHOUT A FULL SCALE REVOLUTION. Our nation was founded through revolution, may be time for another.

[Jaga]

I was so surprised how laughably stupid were commentaries of FoxNews business boys about high gas prices. They were blaming ....Clinton and Democratic-run Congress (with emphasis on Democratic). They said that oil companies are right to increase prices because this is what capitalism is good for, so competitiveness, speculation and high prices means that gas companies are just good capitalist!

Of course 9-11 is also to blame, but not pres. Bush, not war in Iraq, not tax cuts on wealthy, not GOP that run Congress for 6 years.