Now... This Is Getting Rediculous!

[Sooner&RiceGrad]

[bruce_oneal]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

and it's getting worse. i think the real problem is that petrol is really on the way out in term o fa long term fuel source, demand far exceeds supply (china is coming online in big way), and we are really just burying our heads in the sand if we think that drilling in alaska is going to solve our fuel problems.

this problem is only going to get worse as time goes on and we need to either be thinking about renewable energy, hydrogen, etc. in a BIG way

[Parrothead]

I agree--we don't need to drill in Alaska. What we need to do is make California section off a part of their state down by the border to create some refineries. After all, they use the most oil out of any other state yet they have all sorts of laws protecting their precious land from harm. Not exactly fair play, is it?

Our refineries are so old and getting worse and until we build some new ones, this isn't going to get any better...if Texas or Louisiana has a major hurricane this year it's gonna seriously jack prices up even more....

perhaps we could outsource to Mexico... like everything else....

[bruce_oneal]

I agree--we don't need to drill in Alaska.  What we need to do is make California section off a part of their state down by the border to create some refineries.  After all, they use the most oil out of any other state yet they have all sorts of laws protecting their precious land from harm.  Not exactly fair play, is it?

Our refineries are so old and getting worse and until we build some new ones, this isn't going to get any better...if Texas or Louisiana has a major hurricane this year it's gonna seriously jack prices up even more....

perhaps we could outsource to Mexico...    like everything else....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yikes ... please don't talk about hurricanes. i do not even want to consider hurricanes this year and what they could do to the humans that encounter them, the economy, and the ecosystem. still kinda reeling from all the drama last year (even though i wasn't down there).

[kjb434]

Most people don't realized that the US is currently sitting on over 3 trillion barrels of oil. Where? it is located in shale layers across the US. These reserves make the what the Saudi's have a drop in the bucket. This number is from the US Geological Survery (USGS) which typically under estimates oil reserves. This government group is the group that determined the ANWR oil reserves. Oil company geologist believe more oil exists in ANWR than the USGS is reporting.

The big question is "Why don't we drill for shale oil if there is so much?" The reason oil companies haven't drilled for it yet is because they can't make a profit for it until the average price per barrel reaches $30. For years the price of oil remained under $30 usually around the $20-$25 range.

Now that the price per barrel has reached the $50 range for traditional oil, the oil companies are reinvestigating shale oil. These reserves could supply the US for the unforseeable future and not have China hurt the price per barrel demand as they do now. Also, the oil companies have to jump tons of hurdles the EPA and environmentalist set up, which most are pointless just to prevent progress.

In the 70s, environmentalists have clamored that drilling in the northern portion of Alaska and the building of the Alaskan Pipeline would devastate the environment. Not True!!! Because of the Alaskan Pipeline, wildlife have flourished and surged to numbers that the US Parks and Wildlife can't believe, but they are quite happy. The construction of the pipeline was delayed 6 years because the environmentalist would le the oil companies build it. Now that they have build it, it works beautifully with the environment and was designed to do so.

The drilling for oil in ANWR is on a small portion of the 19 million or so acres of land. Also, with the new technologies of oil drilling, the oil companies only have to set up one small location and they can drill all over the place. New oil rigs can drill at angles to reach oil without disturbing the land above it. Also, the portion of the ANWR that is to be constructed on is not a habitat for wildlife like the far eastern and southern portions are. This area was incorporated into ANWR by an environmental lobbiest as an attempt to punsh oil companies.

Remember, whenever there is a story about the environment, there is always more than one side. Please see both and look at the facts and not the news reports and statistics.

I know that this is long winded, but i had to get it out.

[Ashikaga]

and it's getting worse. i think the real problem is that petrol is really on the way out in term o fa long term fuel source, demand far exceeds supply (china is coming online in big way), and we are really just burying our heads in the sand if we think that drilling in alaska is going to solve our fuel problems.

this problem is only going to get worse as time goes on and we need to either be thinking about renewable energy, hydrogen, etc. in a BIG way

Yes, it has gotten worse. Many people in the past year have given their arms, legs, first born, and souls to EXXON.

[LarryDallas]

Well the prices are high but I see people who make choices which require cheap energy complain when they don't get it at a cheap price like they are entitled to it or something; and no I do not work for an oil company.

I mean people who live in the boonies with all new construction who commute alone in an SUV made to carry 9 people and tow 10,000 pounds have no reason to complain. Their situation is by choice.

[brijonmang]

E85 ethanol...i think this has tons of potential if we can really get the word out on this stuff and get enough cars to run off of it.

[uncertaintraveler]

E85 ethanol...i think this has tons of potential if we can really get the word out on this stuff and get enough cars to run off of it.

E85, or any ethanol fuel, is a net loss in terms of energy consumption. It takes more hydrocarbons to produce ethanol than the hydrocarbon substitution that you get in return...as in, it uses more energy than it replaces. Plus, it reduces car mileage when used as an additive to gasoline, and actually contributes, instead of reduces, smog problems. Lastly, when you consider the existing tax exemptions to corn producers and agribusiness, ethanol is actually almost twice as expensive to produce as gasoline, because of the diversion in tax revenue (or tax subsidy that must be paid out, depending on your viewpoint). E85 has no real potential as alternative fuel.

[editor]

E85, or any ethanol fuel, is a net loss in terms of energy consumption. It takes more hydrocarbons to produce ethanol than the hydrocarbon substitution that you get in return...as in, it uses more energy than it replaces. Plus, it reduces car mileage when used as an additive to gasoline, and actually contributes, instead of reduces, smog problems. Lastly, when you consider the existing tax exemptions to corn producers and agribusiness, ethanol is actually almost twice as expensive to produce as gasoline, because of the diversion in tax revenue (or tax subsidy that must be paid out, depending on your viewpoint). E85 has no real potential as alternative fuel.

I've always hoped that if E85 became widely adopted it would drive corn prices up, enabling us to wean corn farmers from their subsidies.

[brijonmang]

i would hope that with more time spent with it then the technology and manufacturing process for E85 would make it as useful as i see it in the future

[PureAuteur]

The last time I filled up my tank at Texaco a few days ago, I noticed something a bit odd. The needle on the gas gauge wasn't moving down as fast as usual. In fact, the amount of driving that ordinaly would take me down to a half tank only took me down to the 2/3 mark. The last time I filled up was also the first time I noticed the sign on the pump saying "may contain up to 10% ethanol. So, maybe it depends on your car, but I'm pretty convinced that it improved my mileage.

[editor]

There was an interesting article in BusinessWeek last week that gave the E85 thing a pretty even look. Among the problems with it -- All E85 has to be moved by truck or barge. It can't go in pipelines with regular gas because it picks up water and impurities.

Also, right now the wholesale price of E85 is well above the wholesale price of regular gas, so it's actually driving average pump prices up.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

Here's a question for you...why is gas cheaper in the middle of BFE New Mexico than in Houston?

I just got back from a road trip to the Silver City/Gila River in New Mexico. Since we were paying $2.95/gallon when we left Houston, I expected to see gas well over $3.00 in West Texas and New Mexico. Just based on a trip out there earlier this year, gas was $0.30-$0.50 more expensive in West Texas than in Houston.

On our trip last week, the most expensive gas we bought was the tank we filled up in Houston...$2.95. The only gas that I saw that even came close to that was the $2.90 gas at the one-pump gas station in Mimbres, an isolated town of 300 up in the mountains, more than 3 hours from the nearest interstate.

Gas was consistently $2.75-$2.85 on our trip, all the way from Sealy to Gila Hot Springs and back. It wasn't until we got to Sealy that we started seeing $2.90 gas, and it was $2.95-$2.99 once we got into Houston.

So...how is gas cheaper in small isolated mountain towns in New Mexico than right here in Houston, adjacent to the refineries that produce the gasoline?

[TheNiche]

Here's a question for you...why is gas cheaper in the middle of BFE New Mexico than in Houston?

I just got back from a road trip to the Silver City/Gila River in New Mexico. Since we were paying $2.95/gallon when we left Houston, I expected to see gas well over $3.00 in West Texas and New Mexico. Just based on a trip out there earlier this year, gas was $0.30-$0.50 more expensive in West Texas than in Houston.

On our trip last week, the most expensive gas we bought was the tank we filled up in Houston...$2.95. The only gas that I saw that even came close to that was the $2.90 gas at the one-pump gas station in Mimbres, an isolated town of 300 up in the mountains, more than 3 hours from the nearest interstate.

Gas was consistently $2.75-$2.85 on our trip, all the way from Sealy to Gila Hot Springs and back. It wasn't until we got to Sealy that we started seeing $2.90 gas, and it was $2.95-$2.99 once we got into Houston.

So...how is gas cheaper in small isolated mountain towns in New Mexico than right here in Houston, adjacent to the refineries that produce the gasoline?

On the flip side, I was driving back through town from way out east a couple weeks ago. it was $1.84 along the East Freeway inside the Beltway and $1.95 in west Houston. I wouldn't have guessed that the price differential would be so big.