Gas Prices

[cableguy]

i do heat my house with gas, and i sincerely doubt it will be much more than it was last year... in any case, it will cost what it will cost, and i wont complain about it... why dont you quit your bitching--all of you--and buy stock in those companies... it is doing rather well of late... naturally, they wouldnt be so "evil" if you had an ownership stake in them and were making some of those "obscene profits" for yourself...

grow up and smell reality... it truly isnt so bad...

http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=nSP289065&imageid=top-news-view-2005-10-26-171422-eRPPISA%5B73%5D.jpg&cap=Major%20Lukoil%20oil%20refinery%20near%20town%20of%20Kagalym%20in%20western%20Siberia,%20in%20July%207,%202004,%20file%20photo.%20Photo%20by%20Viktor%20Korotayev/Reuters.

yep.... demand is down... oh, sorry, thats the demand for HEATING OIL that is down, and dragging the barrel price with it...

more misguided ado about absolutely nothing... i am used to hearing it by now...

 

[mindido]

cartman,

"i sincerely doubt it will be much more than it was last year..."

Well, lets see, we'll do some basic arithmetic. Last year at this time, natural gas hovered between $5 to $7, and has been in that general range for years. Now, gas is at $11.72 (as of 9:50 a.m. CDT) and was, within the last few weeks, above $14.

So, it is probable that you, and everyone else, will probably pay about double for your heating bill this winter. Given that most people out there are not millionaires and are concerned with where their money goes, I would suggest that very few people have your attitude.

"buy stock in those companies... it is doing rather well of late..."

No doubt about that. 3rd quarterly earnings for the five largest oil companies were just announced................. just a hair under $100 billion!!!! The largest profit in history!!!! And its not only Dems charging gouging, the Reps are also now asking for an investigation into their gouging.

"naturally, they wouldnt be so "evil" if you had an ownership stake in them and were making some of those "obscene profits" for yourself..."

Sorry cartman, I wouldn't own their stock, I don't believe in hurting people for the sake of a buck. My parents taught me differently.

"yep.... demand is down"

Did you actually read your article? Why is demand down? Most people DON'T want to pay these rediculous prices, and many can't afford it. So their using less. Simple basic economics.

"more misguided ado about absolutely nothing..."

Maybe if your extremely rich, but if your like the rest of us that aren't, energy prices do have an effect on our lives.

 

[cableguy]

mindido, there is this maxim i am sure you have heard... it is "living within your means." try it sometime... its rather nice knowing that no matter what happens, i will not be sunk by anything short of a complete economic collapse... i have my bills, i have emergency funds, and i know that prices change... as such, with a little advance planning, there will be NO hardship in my home as a result of increased heating costs...

i again point to irresponsibility as the problem, not the price of anything... if you didnt plan for contingencies, if missing a paycheck seriously threatens your livlihood, if you are carrying signifigant credit card and loan debts, if you are barely staying afloat and a small thing like paying 20-30 bucks more a month for gas is an actual problem, you need to take a serious look at your lifestyle... you are living beyond your means... if you are living beyond your means, that is YOUR problem, and NOT mine...

where i live, the power companies are offering customers a chance to pay a flat fee for 12 months for natural gas usage... this price is based on previous usage and some price that seems a bit high to me, but that is neither here nor there... if the companies that distribute the gas thought the high price was going to hold, why would they offer this new plan??? i forgot to mention--if the price falls, you do NOT get a refund of the difference...

time will tell, but i do have my hunches... currently, they all point to a slightly increased, but mostly "normal" bill for heating homes this winter... if i am wrong, i know you will shout it from the rooftops, and if i am correct, i know that you will have some handy excuse... you always do...

 

[fearnefan]

lol your joking its 1 pound a LITER in the UK f**King rip off

 

[Texan]

Regular Unleaded $1.89
Diesel $2.33

Keep dropping baby

 

[cableguy]

2.09 here, tex... i am standing by my under 2 bucks by new years/christmas... ahhh, the smell of petroleum in the morning...

fear, what the hell is a liter??? you live in a largely socialist nation, which means the government pays for a lot of things... it also means the government must take that money from working people in order to provide those services... your gas, or petrol, as i believe you call it, is simply taxed an an alarmingly high rate... if your government gave back a chunk of the money it takes (taxes), the British people would have more money, but also be responsible for more of their own services... the sooner that happens, the better off you will be... the government NEVER is the best way to pay for something...

 

[cableguy]

at 4am, saturday, november 19, gas prices dropped below $2.00... since then, some are hogher, but if you dont want to pay 2 bucks per gallon, you dont have to... shucks, i was off by more than a month... but i was absolutely right...

next prediction--heating costs will be most definitely affordable this winter as well... the cure for high prices--is high prices... the market, when allowed to do so, will fix nearly every abnormality that shows up.. the average home, nay, all homes, will cost a comparable amount to heat this winter as they did last winter...

 

[mindido]

Everyone having fun paying your heating bills so far? Get ready again, natural gas hit an all time high yesterday above $15 (and is just below that record this a.m.) Do remember that last year at this time the price was at about $6.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051209/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices

 

[cableguy]

and yet strangely, my bill seems about the same... last month was actually about 15 bucks less than last year...

 

[mindido]

Everybody ready for oil prices in the $105 to $135 per barrel range? Goldman Sachs sees that as a real possibility soon.

http://www.energybulletin.net/5017.html

 

[mindido]

Don't understand the term "peak oil"? This is probably the best explanation of it I've seen in a long time.

http://www.energybulletin.net/primer.php

 

[cableguy]

more panic... go figure...

 

[mindido]

Lumbaugh,

Oh yes, Goldman-Sachs, one of the largest investment firms in the world, is certainly known for panicking. And since their management and board of directors are virtually all high powered Republicans, no reason to listen to them?

 

[Texan]

Production companies are solving the problem of "peak oil". Pulling oil out of the ground is getting cheaper and easier.

 

[mindido]

Tex,

Did you read the articles? The key word is "cheap" oil.

"Pulling oil out of the ground is getting cheaper and easier."

That is incorrect, totally. Virtually all of the fields now appear past peak (as they are producing less) and require additional measures (water injection, etc.) to keep production levels up. But that adds to the cost of production, thus making the oil more expensive. The days of "cheap" oil are rapidly coming to a close. That was the point of the articles.

 

[Texan]

Mindido, have you ever worked in the oil field? Do you know anyone who works oil production?

On a per hole basis, yes it is more expensive to produce oil. But modern day wells are capable of producing what 4-5 single wells where producing in the 'old days'.

In the early 90's a single well would run about $450,000 to $700,000 turn key price. Now the number floats around a cool Million not much of increase considering inflation.

 

[mindido]

Tex,

No, I've never worked in an oil field and don't think I'd ever want to. As described in the article, modern wells are more efficient, but the availability of "cheap" oil is decreasing rapidly. Modern oil companies are having to drill deeper, inject more, and go to less hospitable areas of the world to find oil. All of that (plus more) means that "cheap" oil (which our ecomomy is built on) is now getting pretty scarce. And thats also why we will probably never see oil in the $20 to $30 per barrel range any time soon (if ever).

 

[Texan]

Min you are right we might never see $20/barrel unless we take over opec and china...LOL. Dont quote these figures, last time I checked the cost to produce a barrel of oil in America runs about $17 +/- and the middle east is about $13 +/-.

It is possible that we might see a $35/barrel.

 

[mindido]

Tex,

I've seen the same figures and think they are probably correct (although I haven't seen them recently).

Personally, from what I've been reading recently, I think it will be at least several years before we see $35 per barrel. First, OPEC (and the oil companies) now want the price to hover between $50 to $60 per barrel. Second, if we have more summers like the last one (have you seen the U of Colorado projections for next year?), supply interruptions will become more commonplace. Third, China and India's ecomomies are increasing rapidly and China is aggressively trying to get every oil contract they can get their hands on. Fourth, the Russian oil scandal isn't going to allow for increased production anytime soon. I could go on and on.

So no, we're more likely to see $100 per barrel (in the short term) than $35 per barrel.

 

[Texan]

well lets pray that we never see $100/barrel.

Hopefully with the recent cooling of the gulf stream the '06 hurricane season won't be as productive as the '05 season.