POLL:Who's responsible for soaring oil prices?

Who's responsible for soaring oil prices?

 

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It's "stock holders..." and "India and China".... but I chose stock holders because they're more of an effect.

It's not the cost of production, because a decade ago oil at the pump cost 3 times less. If anything, the cost of production would decrease because of improving technologies. And it's not supply/demand because the supply disruptions are minor, and demand has not increased 3-fold since 10 years ago. This leaves the speculators that with their wild gambling and ways of manipulating the markets increase the price to a huge level.

 

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The poll option was more in reference to the environmentalists blocking the development of domestic production/drilling in the USA.

Maybe you're reply has to do with the fact that oil companies haven't built a new gasoline refinery in the USA in 30 years?

I can only speak of things from the veiw of an American as I've never been elswhere.

 

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It's a little bit of some of those, but mostly it's due to the dynamics of oil supply and production. We are at the top of the peak oil bell curve, so prices will fluctuate wildly from now on. People are looking for someone to blame, but the fact is the age of cheap energy is over.

Why oil costs over $120 per barrel

More domestic production and more refinery capacity won't change the basic problem. ANWR is about a 3 month supply for the US. Refineries are happy at 90% of maximum production, it's not profitable to refine more.

Off limits exploration

True, there are vast tracts of the USA that are under-explored in the ANWR and off the east and west coasts where the US has placed a high price on protecting their own environment. But it is not true that the Middle East and Russia are under-explored and that greater access to these areas by OECD companies would transform the current situation.




In summary these secondary factors touted by the MSM, politicians and oil companies are nothing more than an excuse and a distraction from the core problem which is demand growth running ahead of supply growth for over three years now. If the USA, Russia or Saudi Arabia could turn on the taps and produce an additional 3 mmbpd, the oil price would fall tomorrow. But they can't and the only way the oil price will come down is by reduced demand brought about by pricing poor people out of the energy market and by deepening recession.

Conclusion
We are now in the early stages of a full blown energy crisis that was predictable if not wholly avoidable. Politicians are awaking to the crisis now that escalating energy costs make its existence plain to see. It is highly unlikely that politicians will now grasp the gravity of the situation that the OECD and rest of the world faces and the responses will likely be ineffectual and too little too late.

The principal reason for current high oil price is the proximity of a peak in global oil production. Politicians must understand this and then grasp that natural gas and coal supplies will follow oil down by mid century. Reducing taxes on energy consumption right now is the wrong thing to do. Taxation structure needs to be adjusted to oblige energy producing companies to re-invest wind fall profits in alternative energy sources on a truly massive scale.

Energy efficiency should be the guiding beacon of all policy decisions and this must apply equally to energy production and energy consumption.​

 

Your poll belies the real truth. There isn't one single thing that's caused the soaring oil prices. It's a combination of numerous factors:

• American drivers who buy gas guzzling automobiles
• Western industrialized nations consuming huge quantities (far more than in the 80's or 90's) of petrol based goods (i.e. plastics)
• Politicians -- with total lack of vision -- who carelessly built an electricity industry on fossil fuels when it should have been a combination of nuclear & renewable power supplies
• OPEC nations who see the writing on the wall and are trying to glean every dime out of today, knowing damned good and well that their "advertised" oil reserves are a fraction of what they are and will soon be running dry. They needed to (a) in no way step up production because they'd run out too quickly and (b) keep prices rising so that they can re-invest the revenues into diversification of the home industry
• Industrializing nations like India, Vietnam, and China (especially China) are increasing their petrol imports at a geometric rate. There are only so many wells to dip from, and there are many more hands dipping from them. It's only rational that the price goes up.

Oil company revenues aren't that high. They make money because people buy their products and oil sells... quite well. Ranting about their profits is like complaining that McDonald's makes too much money on it's burgers. The profit percentage that the "Big Six" make isn't that extreme. Even if the oil companies ran on a profit margin of zero, we'd still be paying out the ass for petrol. It's a diminishing resource, people should have planned better.

~String

 

Americans, of course! The minivan and SUV (gas guzzlers) became the norm and that was the in thing. Doesn't matter which class, even the poor ended up buying older SUVs to fit in. Now these people are whining about the price of gas. Now that it is above $4 a gallon, everyone is scrambling on what to do. The idiots out here going and paying premium prices on the hybrid cars in which most will not get their moneys worth unless they keep the car more years than the average American does. They would have been better to have gotten an efficient car with less gas mileage. We have two gas guzzlers at home, which are used only for recreational purposes and on bad weather days. Otherwise, I always drive one of my motorcycles and my wife drives her G5. Gas impact to us is minimal.

Secondly, why should I feel sorry for them? I don't see many cars, in fact few and far between, on the roads that have slowed down to conserve gas. I normally speed 5 mph over the speed limit and I look like I am sitting still in comparison to other vehicles. It is proven that if you slow down, you save gas. It must not be that important, or they would try and do something about that. I said this the other day and the person responded that they had to get to work on time. I responded "so leave a little earlier!" DUH!

We had the perfect time back in the 1970's to convert to an alternative energy source. Once the crisis was over with, Americans went back to their old habits as usual. Now we are back to the same thing again. If the prices went back down to levels of 5 years ago, America would revert back to their old habits and forget about alternative sources.

Finally, what did Americans think....did they think that gas prices would always stay under the $2 mark? Simple...economic supply and demand. Oil is not an unlimited resource.

 

Of course it does. kindly pick from the list or simply write "peak oil".

Just being a smartass string. Great info, as per usual.Love ya, buddy.

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Here is the article I was looking for on this topic.

 

I could only chose one... and feel morally obligated to chose one of each.

Damn yer blasted poll!

Hmmm... I am a moderator. I could edit it.

~String

 

Mod Note: Poll edited. Votes reset.

 

A quote from Cal Thomas regarding US oil supply.

 

my vote isn't there

 

I reset the poll. You can't vote again? If not, I'll add your vote to the tally. Lemme' know.

~String

 

Amen.

If there wasn't so much demand, then they wouldn't charge so much for it.

 

it won't let me vote again i voted for the top option.

 

oil shortage is the reason

 

Eventually, when the price of oil gets high enough, Americans will start carpooling and using buses and stuff. I think the price is already high enough, but it will just take some time before people change their habits.