What's Going On Over At Exxon?

[sevfiv]

too bad it takes certain people getting freakin' rich for us to change our thoughts about fuel and the environment

[RedScare]

This moronic post makes the email rounds every 6 months or so. With gas above $2.60, I suppose it was time to dredge it up again. I think high fuel costs will eventually force us to think of more conservative approaches to gasoline use as well. I still wish that the price had more tax built in, so we'd get something back for the money we spend, as opposed to giving it to Saudi Arabia.

[citykid09]

Mabe with gas prices so high, more developers will build more inner city urban homes.

[Lowbrow]

I still think that OPEC over estimates their reserves. They have never made ALL the numbers public. They stated once that they were sure that new technology (fuel cells) would someday make their remaining oil in the ground useless. I think that was all PR on their side since we will continue to need long hydrocarbons for use in most chemical and plastics manufacturing.

I also take exception to the idea that Mobil WAS one of the two largest oil companies. Mobil was closer to 5th or 6th before the merger. The current ranking goes something like BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and ENI (thought I'd throw that in there for my friends there). If you were just rating them on reserves, I think ExxonMobil, Shell, BP.. etc.

[HeightsGuy]

These don't work. Gas is a commodity for most people. If we don't buy it today, it just means we will buy it tomorrow. There is no net-loss in gas purchases.

[pineda]

You know what would be funny? If this e-mail was written by someone from Shell or BP or Diamond Shamrock.....

[RedScare]

Lowbrow, I think ExxonMobil is the largest oil company in all categories, reserves, revenue, etc.

For what it's worth.

[Lowbrow]

Actually BP's revenue this year is 15-20 billion higher that ExxonMobil.

[RedScare]

Actually BP's revenue this year is 15-20 billion higher that ExxonMobil.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Never let it be said that I don't admit when I am wrong.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/10/10537.html

Good call, lowbrow.

Does this mean I should sell my XOM stock?

Edited August 24, 2005 by RedScare

[Lowbrow]

Never let it be said that I don't admit when I am wrong.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/10/10537.html

Good call, lowbrow. 

Does this mean I should sell my XOM stock? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LOL I wouldnt.

Exxon has more cash on hand than any other o&g company and probably only 3rd or 4th of any company in the world. That is alot of net.

[RedScare]

Yes, and up until WalMart passed them a couple of years ago, XOM was the largest corporation in the world, revenuewise. I just had not heard that BP passed them up. They probably have both passed WalMart back up at this point, given oil prices.

[RedScare]

Wrong again, RedScare!

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/global500/f...24394,1,00.html

Man, I suck on my nebulous trivia today, don't I?

[Lowbrow]

Wrong again, RedScare! 

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/global500/f...24394,1,00.html

Man, I suck on my nebulous trivia today, don't I?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, those numbers are a little old. If you look at the most recent statements:

BP 316B

Exxon 295B

Walmart 291B

So, not too bad.

[RedScare]

Well, those numbers are a little old. If you look at the most recent statements:

BP 316B

Exxon 295B

Walmart 291B

So, not too bad.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thank you for the new numbers, lowbrow. I feel much better. I'm going to come in off the ledge, now.

[Crash]

good lesson in economics that will dispel this boycott idea coming from of all places snopes.com

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/gasout.htm

[Lowbrow]

This is interesting:

Shell partners with CHOREN in the world

[kjb434]

Good article Crash.

[Trophy Property]

(this was just sent to me via e-mail, interesting idea, but would it really work?)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Uggh, That is lame to pick on the two largest companies. I own stock in Exxon and have for years. This would not be good for Exxon but great for say the third largest company who would be getting all the love and would soon be the biggest Oil company.

Pineda, I know you did not write this and have already gotten a lot of flack for posting it, but I agree that this idea is lame. Thanks for posting. Sometimes I like to read the flames.

[lowspark]

By the time you pump that gasoline into your tank at some local station, the only one you're hurting by "boycotting" a particular station or brand is the owner of that station.

Exxon & Shell & whoever have already made their money buying & selling the crude oil & refining ALL the products which come out of that barrel.

When you buy Exxon gas, that doesn't mean you're buying something that Exxon pulled out of the ground, refined, and delivered to the pump.

A barrel of oil can (and does) go through several owners before it gets to a refinery, and when that gasoline comes out of the refinery, it doesn't necessarily go to the gas station owned by the same company as the refinery. Particular refineries serve particular cities. When an Exxon tanker truck needs to deliver gasoline to an exxon station, it picks up from the particular supplier for that station.

It's just a bit more complicated than boycotting tea from the XYZ company in England.

[Trophy Property]

By the time you pump that gasoline into your tank at some local station, the only one you're hurting by "boycotting" a particular station or brand is the owner of that station.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Great Point. The independent seller is gonna get screwed.

[CDeb]

By the time you pump that gasoline into your tank at some local station, the only one you're hurting by "boycotting" a particular station or brand is the owner of that station.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not only that, but the owner of that Exxon, Mobil or Chevron gas station makes very little money when prices are high. Competition is fierce when prices are high and more people buy the cheaper sludge.

[lowspark]

Oh, and one more thing I wanted to say.

If you think gas is too expensive, then cut down on your driving and buy a car which gets better milage. Because in point of fact, although the price of gasoline has been steadily rising for a while now, demand is not only NOT declining, it is rising.

I always say, when you start seeing more compact cars than SUVs, you'll know the price of gasoline is high. Until then, it might be rising, but it's still affordable. That happened back in the 70s when the price of a gallon of gas was higher (in comparable $) than today.

So yes! Vote with your dollars! Not by attempting to "boycott" a corporation which is comprised of employees & stockholders and who has made its money long before the gas arrives at the pump. Instead vote by reducing YOUR need for gasoline, thereby purchasing less. Period.

Cuz baby, till the demand goes down, you will not see prices go down. (Not that I'm saying prices WILL ever go down, I don't know the answer to that! But they definitely have no reason to drop as long as demand continues to grow.)

[RedScare]

Way to tell it like it is, lowspark. This whole high gas price boycott was created by someone who would not acknowledge that the cost of his gasoline was directly tied to how much he drove.

I normally drive 800 miles a month. Lately, with the help of some fortuitous scheduling (I didn't have to drive to Conroe this month), I only drove 375. I replaced the others with the bus, my bike and shoe leather. So, I've paid less for my gasoline since the price shot up. And, I've lost 4 lbs.

[west20th]

Oh, and one more thing I wanted to say.

If you think gas is too expensive, then cut down on your driving and buy a car which gets better milage. Because in point of fact, although the price of gasoline has been steadily rising for a while now, demand is not only NOT declining, it is rising.

I always say, when you start seeing more compact cars than SUVs, you'll know the price of gasoline is high. Until then, it might be rising, but it's still affordable. That happened back in the 70s when the price of a gallon of gas was higher (in comparable $) than today.

So yes! Vote with your dollars! Not by attempting to "boycott" a corporation which is comprised of employees & stockholders and who has made its money long before the gas arrives at the pump. Instead vote by reducing YOUR need for gasoline, thereby purchasing less. Period.

Cuz baby, till the demand goes down, you will not see prices go down. (Not that I'm saying prices WILL ever go down, I don't know the answer to that! But they definitely have no reason to drop as long as demand continues to grow.)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well I've always been told to Boycott all things Exxon/Mobil and deal with Shell because they are more socially responsible.

[Lowbrow]

By the time you pump that gasoline into your tank at some local station, the only one you're hurting by "boycotting" a particular station or brand is the owner of that station.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is amazing how many people associate the price trends of "Barrels of Crude" to "Price per Gallon at the pump". The two have alot less to do with each other than most think. Only about 40% of the cost of gas is attributed to the cost of crude. The other 60% is driven by refining capacity (probably the biggest culprit), taxes, station owners and transportation (something of a catch-22).

Considering that the demand for fuel is outpacing our ability to refine it you can see why refining capacity becomes the weak link. We havent built a new refinery in 30 years, while we have definately increased our consumption.

[lowspark]

Well I've always been told to Boycott all things Exxon/Mobil and deal with Shell because they are more socially responsible.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I can't really speak to that -- I don't know the facts of how Exxon or Shell deal with their social responsibilities.

But again, when you drive up to a Chevron or a Randalls or wherever to pump your gas, you could be pumping oil from Exxon or Shell or any other producer or refiner.

When you buy milk, maybe you could trace that gallon to a particular producer (Borden for example) and even to a particular cow - I don't know! But gasoline is not like that. Crude oil is traded on a world market and between the time it is pulled out of the ground and loaded onto a ship and sailed across the world, it's been bought & sold a dozen times. And then when it reaches the refinery, it might be blended with other crudes before it's refined. Then as I said above, it's not necessarily going from the Exxon refinery to the Exxon station on your corner.

It just doesn't work that way. So you might think you're keeping your $$ from Exxon by buying your gas at Chevron, but don't bet on it.

[matth1231]

My mom still works here and I visit her often. The lobby and elevator banks are really nice (including the food court in the basement, with a nice piramid in an atrium kinda thing). They have recently added a class enclosure around the elevator banks for security reasons so you can't really appreaciate that. Inside the office could use some work. All of the walls are magnetic and an off white yellowish color.

I really appreaciate the uniquness of the building. The only thing that bothers me is how on the top floor (where the Petrolium Club is) how sometimes not all the drapes are clossed or opened at the same time. They either need to get rid of the drapes or tint the windows.

Don't forget this building had the first tunnel downtown. Tobad it still doesn't really go anywhere besides their garage...

[ferronsfunctionals]

I can't really speak to that -- I don't know the facts of how Exxon or Shell deal with their social responsibilities.

But again, when you drive up to a Chevron or a Randalls or wherever to pump your gas, you could be pumping oil from Exxon or Shell or any other producer or refiner.

When you buy milk, maybe you could trace that gallon to a particular producer (Borden for example) and even to a particular cow - I don't know! But gasoline is not like that. Crude oil is traded on a world market and between the time it is pulled out of the ground and loaded onto a ship and sailed across the world, it's been bought & sold a dozen times. And then when it reaches the refinery, it might be blended with other crudes before it's refined. Then as I said above, it's not necessarily going from the Exxon refinery to the Exxon station on your corner.

It just doesn't work that way. So you might think you're keeping your $$ from Exxon by buying your gas at Chevron, but don't bet on it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree with you and I think that was the most morronic message I have seen in a while. I know that the various oil companies get the actual oil from all over the place. It depends on the pipelines out there and which ones are near by. the names on the gas stations are usually franchises.

Aside from that, what is really causing the issue isn't purely the american consumer. Although we can make much better choices in our consumption, there are other factors too. I think Houston is probably the poster child for a gas guzzling haven. Not only does everyone drive an SUV, but they all live 30 miles from their jobs. Everyone seems to think it is ok to get 15 mpg and drive 20,000 miles a year. Tell me if that doesn't increase your risk to increase gas prices, and at the same time fuel the consumption.

Second - over the last 5 years 80% of the demand increase has come from Asia. This is one of the biggest driveres, along with the forecasts of what the future holds for oil. What is worse is India and China (two of the biggest growth areas) governments subsidize their energy consumption. Therefore, the consumers are much less price sensitive over the long term than we are here.

[sevfiv]

yes, the demand increases from asia are what's driving this...plus, the US has nothing but crap-oil, while our saudi pals have it nice n clean (relatively)...

[djrage]

(this was just sent to me via e-mail, interesting idea, but would it really work?)

Do you have a spark of rebellion in you? Would you like to start a modern day Boston Tea Party?

THEN JOIN the RESISTANCE!!!!

I hear we are going to hit close to $3.00 a gallon by the end of summer and it might go higher!!

Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action.

Phillip Hollsworth, offered this good idea:

This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May!

The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas.

It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.

BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read it and join with us! By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at ! about $1.50 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $2.43 for regular unleaded in my town. Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50- $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the market place.... not sellers. With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.

HOW?

Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea:

For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the TWO BIGGEST COMPANIES (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers.

It's really simple to do!!

Now, don't wimp out on me at this point... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I am sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000)... and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers. If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all You have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all.

How long would all that take? If each of us ! sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, al l 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!!

I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you! Acting together we can make a difference.

If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on.

PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $1.30 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN.

THIS CAN REALLY WORK

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've been way ahead of you all on this because I haven't bought gas in over a year

now!

Of course it wouldn't make sense to being that I don't have a car anymore.....

.....and I am SOOO glad that I dont own a car right now because these gas prices would leave me broke!