posted
BTW? the pundits who blame it on supply and demand and not the oil co's, are full of chit...
it takes MUCH,MUCH, LESS than one quarter of EXXON profits to build a new refinery.. the last refinery built in the US was '76...
US appears to have built its last refinery
12-06-01 No new refineries have been built in the US in the past 25 years. And petroleum industry experts say anyone would have to be crazy to launch such an effort -- even though present refineries are running at nearly 100 % of capacity and local gasoline shortages are beginning to crop up.
Why does the industry appear to have built its last refinery? Three reasons: Refineries are not particularly profitable, environmentalists fight planning and construction every step of the way and government red-tape makes the task all but impossible. The last refinery built in the US was in Garyville, Louisiana, and it started up in 1976. Energy proposed building a refinery near Portsmouth, Virginia, in the late 1970s, environmental groups and local residents fought the plan -- and it took almost nine years of battles in court and before federal and state regulators before the company cancelled the project in 1984.
Industry officials estimate the cost of building a new refinery at between $ 2 bn and $ 4 bn -- at a time the industry must devote close to $ 20 bn over the next decade to reducing the sulphur content in gasoline and other fuels -- and approval could mean having to collect up to 800 different permits. As if those hurdles weren't enough, the industry's long-term rate of return on capital is just 5 % -- less than could be realized by simply buying US Treasury bonds. "I'm sure that at some point in the last 20 years someone has considered building a new refinery," says James Halloran, an energy analyst with National City Corp. "But they quickly came to their senses," he adds.
Source: Investor's Business Daily
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise.
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"it takes MUCH,MUCH, LESS than one quarter of EXXON profits build a new refinery.. the last refinery built in the US was '76..."
Look at the cars produced in 1976 compared to today.....I cant imagine how outdated the tech is at these refineries.....LMAO are there even computers in them?......I know the cars didnt have
-------------------- "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication"
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posted
Big oil tanks up: Exxon's profit nears $10B By Matt Krantz, USA TODAY
Posted 10/27/2005 9:12 AM While drivers have been painfully paying up at the pump, oil companies have been racking up eye-popping profits.
Thursday, ExxonMobil (XOM) became the most stark example yet of how much big oil companies benefited from the huge run-up in oil prices during the third quarter even as two major hurricanes ripped through the industry's Gulf Coast infrastructure. Exxon reported:
• Net income up 75% to $9.92 billion. That is the most a U.S. company has earned from operations in a three-month period and greater than the annual gross domestic product of entire nations including Cameroon and Zimbabwe.
• Revenue up 32% to $100.7 billion. That is greater than the annual GDP of all but just 38 of the world's economies.
Exxon illustrates the energy's sector's tremendous profit amid record-high energy prices. The industry is on pace to earn $96 billion this year — more than what the USA's industrial and telecom companies will earn, combined, says Standard & Poor's based on members of the S&P 500 index. (Vote: Are oil companies' high profits justified?)
and a refinery costs how much to build? 4-8 billion? (just doubling what the estimate was in '01)
this is what happens when free markets aren't FREE anymore...
And it's not just ExxonMobil that's raking it in. Royal Dutch Shell reported net income up 68% to $9 billion Thursday. Earlier this week, BP (BP) reported a $6.5 billion third-quarter profit and ConocoPhillips (COP) a $3.8 billion profit. Today, ChevronTexaco (CVX) is expected to post 53% higher earnings of $3.9 billion, says Reuters Estimates
posted
NEW YORK -- Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. kicked off 2007 with a 10 percent rise in profits, its best-ever first quarter, as higher margins on refining and chemical operations offset lower prices for crude oil and natural gas.
Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said Thursday it earned $9.3 billion in the January-March period, beating Wall Street expectations, even as revenue slipped and fell well short of analysts' forecast
posted
the reason,i see, that prices keep going up?...is cuz we keep saying "shall i bend over a little farther.sir, so you can stick it in a little deeper?"Big business cares absolutely NOTHING (except for our money)for us.they'll keep sticking it to us as long as they possibly can.
posted
There was a time when the oil industry, including the refineries, were regulated.
Back then, there were small privately owned refineries all over the country, cranking out gasoline and kerosene and oil and all manner of whatever some customer ordered.....i.e., competition.
Then started the love of busting the trust busters in worshipful obedience to the free marketers.
WOW!
What a wonderful thing the did for us. Are there maybe 1/20th as many oil companies now? Are there competitors for the few remaining refineries left after the free marketers got their way?
If there were competition, that figure of only running the country's refineries at 88% capacity would not exists.
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posted
How about if we just do not buy from the big guys? Exxon Mobil...They are the ones that set the tone for the other smaller guys to follow. Any thoughts of this?
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posted
May 15th is national don't buy gas day. I've seen several emails going around telling people not to buy gas on May 15th. I'm not sure what effects it would have on the oil companies but I'll give it a shot.
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posted
That's the only way something of that nature would have any impact, if it has an impact on the companies at all. People have to boycott gas stations that are owned by oil companies. Not buying gas on a certain day at your local "mom & Pop" station only hurt the local owners and the local economy. "Mom&Pop" have already paid for their gas shippment so the oil co's have their money already. Also, this probably won't cause much of a ripple anyways even if everyone didn't buy gas on the 15th, the revenue from the 16th would just be double, thasall IMO.
-------------------- If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?
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posted
one thing is for sure......we gotta do something..... im not pumping on the 15th. even though i agree with what cottonjim said
"Also, this probably won't cause much of a ripple anyways even if everyone didn't buy gas on the 15th, the revenue from the 16th would just be double, thasall IMO."
-------------------- "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication"
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posted
NR, you miss reality again with your too quick to lay blame on the people.
The individual service stations have no option as to the price they charge for gas. That's set by the big boys, who maximize their profits by letting the blame fall on the people and hiking to suit themselves.
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quote:Originally posted by rimasco: IM OPENING A RICKSHAW BUSINESS!!
hopfully this gouging will bite them in the arse, encouraging more people to car pool use mass transit....and forgive me but.....WALK!
If people are serious about "sticking it to the man" they are better off focusing their energies on alternative fuel sources, like leg-power YOU FAT-*$$ED LAZY AMERICANS.... Time to get off your butts and burn off those Big Macs and Whoppers and Diet Cokes....
Walk, ride a bike, take a bus, take a trolley, carpool, organize your errands to minimize travel distance, buy a fuel efficient/electric car, quit buying gas guzzlers.....
It is going to take months, probably even years of serious determined effort to make these co's feel it in their pocketbooks, not one day of not filling up your gas tank.
While it is good to see people getting organized regarding this issue, IMO, not buying gas on the 15th is merely a fruitless waste of time and effort.
-------------------- One is never completely useless. One can always serve as a bad example.
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posted
the semi-trucks should shut their engines down while at truck stops...use generators if they have to, to power the a.c. and heater...millions of gals would be saved.some truckers use this method to save on fuel
quote:Originally posted by bdgee: NR, you miss reality again with your too quick to lay blame on the people.
The individual service stations have no option as to the price they charge for gas. That's set by the big boys, who maximize their profits by letting the blame fall on the people and hiking to suit themselves.
That is only a half-truth Bdgee. While service stations may have a MINIMUM price based on what they buy it from the "big boys" for, they are pretty much free to charge what they want above that minimum price.
Anybody who has ever had the misfortune of hitting the "last gas station for the next 100 miles" knows this. In reality, most cases of "price gouging" that you hear about on the news are individual stations that use "emergency" situations to jack up the price and doesn't have anything to do with what the "big boys" are selling it for.
Another thing, people like to cry about how much more expensive gasoline has become. What they fail to realize is that a big part of that increase in price is a direct result of widespread environmentalism and the good ole "NIMBY" attitude. So the people themselves, in a big way, are indeed to blame for increased gas prices.
Let's say for a minute that Exxon wants to build a new refinery to help ease gas prices. Would you let them build one in your community Bdgee?
-------------------- One is never completely useless. One can always serve as a bad example.
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