GAS PRICES ?

The USA exports more oil than it imports. We produce more oil than any other country but Russia. About the only reason we import Mideast crude is that we trade Alaskan North Slope crude to the Asians who pay us in vouchers for Mideast or Brent crude oil. The lighter blends of Mideast oil are easier to refine and yield more $$ to the refiners.
Gasoline is used in the refining process and storage (aka supply/demand) influences the price greatly.
We have more oil reserves in the Bakken pool than 4X Saudi Arabia's reserves.

More interesting facts can be found on this US Gov't website:EIA.gov

The matter is a price war for oil with the Saudi's (the rest are irrelevant) taking on the N American producers. They are attempting to make alternative production means (fracking, shale oil, directional drilling, oil sands) economically unfeasible by allowing the price to continue to plunge. It will hurt some of these producers for a time and may make some fail but what they don't realize is all their doing is forcing enterprising free market companies into creating new ways to extract the oil by alternative means even cheaper to keep producing and making a profit. A free market will always innovate and implement technology to create a profit. A side benefit of all this is the Iranians, Venezuelans and the Russians are being used to mop the floor with a loss of hard currency. This price war will continue for a while longer and some national economies may collapse before it is over.

Oil Industry may be hit but the general economy is reflecting the price decrease in energy.
More furniture, cars,food and lots and homes further out from the city are being bought. I'm sure everyone has noticed the signifigant uptickin vvehicles, on the road.
People have an extra 20 to 100.00 to spend on other things.
The roads are more crowded first as an effect of cheaper fuel but then in reaction to a probably self fulfilling projected increase in price. They want to travel while fuel is cheap.
Meanwhile Commodity Traders, Hedge Funds and Others are filling tankers and running them in circles, in the oceans.
There appears to be coordination to drive prices back up starting with cutting crude production. It matters not that they put the People out of work.
They are still making money however they want to drive prices back up.
This is one reason I would prefer to see a National Company chartered and Keystone refined in the US for US and Canada and not adsorbed by Global Oil Cabal of Tradrs, hedge Funds, OPEC, and the new Seven Sisters. Remember Sohio?

OPEC has used this tactic many times before. An unsettled market, even when they lose money due to their policy is to their advantage in the long run.
Oil is a global commodity. OPEC is intentionally depressing prices with their continued production levels to break competitors, much like the gas wars of old.
No good comes of unstable markets. Enjoy for now cheap gas, we will all pay dearly later when they cut production to force prices up as they have done several times since the embargo of '73.
Volatility is their friend, our foe is our reliance on energy resources that are not within our borders or with our neighboring Nations.

Lower prices are having a very bad effect on our area. A lot of our camping trips are paid by oil royalites. One of my neighbors just lost his oilfield job, and is working hard to find another. Has 3 kids to take care of. Companies on the production side will not be in as much trouble, but anything that applies to drilling and new production has been cut by about 50%. Eventually supplies will go down. Ive seen the downside more then once and it will come back up. When we don't know buy some of the oil producers feel maybe just a few months.

mlts22 wrote:
Here in Austin, they are back over $2.00 a gallon. I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the $4 range by Memorial Day, just because OPEC turned off the taps.

According to this, gas is still under $1.70 in the Austin area...

It amazes me how many people choose to look anywhere except for basic economic principles when talking about economics. Conspiracy theories, rouge nations, evil government, evil corporations, etc., etc.
It's all about supply and demand. The US used to be a huge importer of oil. Mexico, Venezuela, and the Middle East sold us a lot of oil. Thanks to new discoveries of oil in the Dakotas and new drilling techniques to get it the US doesn't need to import as much oil anymore. When supply goes up and importing costs go down the price of petroleum products goes down. Oil production in this country is greater than it's ever been, largely thanks to the oil boom in North Dakota. It's basically the "drill baby, drill" philosophy that was made fun of by the left several years ago. The oil companies have indeed been drilling and prices have dropped. OPEC isn't happy about loosing market share so their dropping prices trying to keep selling us oil but we just don't need to import that much anymore.
If the Keystone pipeline gets built I would bet prices will go even lower because now the transportation costs of oil will be even lower. Domestic economic development, engineering, use of our own natural resources, etc. are leading to improved economic conditions. If more people understood these things we wouldn't be in half the economic mess we are in this country.

352 wrote:
Get ready to touch your toes and not straiten up for a while. If you want to make a great investment try oil. You will double your money in one year. And you really don't believe that the US government doesn't control the gas prices?????????????????? HAHAHA

The Saudi's don't even like that Michelle refused to wear a head scarf. You think that they're under our control?

Really?

Get ready to touch your toes and not straiten up for a while. If you want to make a great investment try oil. You will double your money in one year. And you really don't believe that the US government doesn't control the gas prices?????????????????? HAHAHA

Here in Northern IL the gas stations just raised prices about .30 cents a gallon! can`t figure out why! there are a couple that are holding at $2.05 but for the most part they all went up! crazy!