Fuel Prices

[scott h]

3 hours ago, Greglm said:

Oil is an international commodity

I have been wondering about this..

I understand the different qualities of crude.  But what is keeping it that way? Lets use the USA as an example. If they produce 50% of the crude that they need, and it only costs $50 a barrel to pump, refine and distribute, why pay the international price of $100? Sell the type that you dont use and use that money to buy the type you need....

[GeoffH]

16 minutes ago, scott h said:

Sell the type that you dont use and use that money to buy the type you need....

Pretty sure different types of crude fetch different prices on the open market, sulphur levels and other factors make them easier or harder to turn into some types of fuel.

Edited March 27, 2022 by GeoffH

[Mike J]

45 minutes ago, scott h said:

I have been wondering about this..

I understand the different qualities of crude.  But what is keeping it that way? Lets use the USA as an example. If they produce 50% of the crude that they need, and it only costs $50 a barrel to pump, refine and distribute, why pay the international price of $100? Sell the type that you dont use and use that money to buy the type you need....

When the price for oil went way up a couple decades back Americans began to frack oil wells and production of oil in the US went way up.  The US became an oil exporter at that time.  About a decade or so goes by and the oil prices drop as OPEC and Russia expand production.  The cost of oil no longer is high enough to offset the additional expense of fracking wells or drilling new wells.   Starting in 2015 wells in the US are capped, drilling companies go out of business, and workers laid off.  With the current price per barrel over $100 it would be economically viable to reopen those fracked wells and frack older wells.  But the industry is not going to do that if they expect prices to drop in the future.  The reality is that the USA could become energy dependent but at the current time is substantially cheaper to import the oil.   Beginning in 2019 the USA became a net exporter of oil.  As others have mentioned we import higher quality oil because it is easier/cheaper to produce distillate products from imported oil than domestic oil.  When/if the price of oil reaches a high enough price, and oil companies see it remaining there, you will see a dramatic increase in oil production in the USA.  But that does not mean the price of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, etc. in the USA will decrease.  I worked 30+ years for a large trucking company and the price of oil and diesel was something we watched on a weekly basis.  My "spit ball" estimate at the time was a price of $85 per barrel to reopen fracked wells.  I expect that number is now closer to $100 per barrel.

<snip>Shale oil is a substitute for conventional crude oil; however, extracting shale oil is costlier than the production of conventional crude oil both financially and in terms of its environmental impact.<end snip>

<snip>In November 2019, the United States became a net exporter of all oil products, including both refined petroleum products and crude oil. By 2021 the US was the world's largest producer.<end snip>

[Dave Hounddriver]

12 minutes ago, Mike J said:

<snip>Shale oil is a substitute for conventional crude oil; however, extracting shale oil is costlier than the production of conventional crude oil both financially and in terms of its environmental impact.<end snip>

Yep, US has loads of that and it is cost effective but environmentally unfriendly, so the US companies do it in Canada, near Fort MacMurray. 

[OnMyWay]

Side topic...

My sister and BIL in California own an EV.  I think it is one of the Nissans.  Yesterday they took a drive out of the vehicle range, I think for the first time.  My sister posted this picture and commented:

"I am not fond of stopping to charge the car but we charged up 14% for $5. Im guessing that would be equivalent to $15 of gas".

Not sure about her equivalent calc.

[OnMyWay]

8 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Side topic...

My sister and BIL in California own an EV.  I think it is one of the Nissans.  Yesterday they took a drive out of the vehicle range, I think for the first time.  My sister posted this picture and commented:

"I am not fond of stopping to charge the car but we charged up 14% for $5. Im guessing that would be equivalent to $15 of gas".

Not sure about her equivalent calc.

Some people were asking about the car and the trip, so my sister had another comment. 

"We have a KIA Niro. We love it! But it is challenging on a long trip. We did the short charge so we could make Fresno w/o stress. A full charge takes around an hour so we plan meals or walks when we stop. There is no reason that EV drivers should be stressed finding charging stations! It would be easy to add them to gas stations, but I think the oil companies are not embracing this idea."

I was curious, so I used Google maps to find the distance from their house in SoCal to Fresno.  237 miles.  They were on the way to Yosemite.  Full charge in an hour ain't bad but you sure have to plan a lot more.

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 3/27/2022 at 4:28 PM, Dave Hounddriver said:

Sacrilege!  That's like telling an Aussie to stop buying Vegemite!  Its tradition!

Never eaten vegemite in my life after first try so just another myth. 

[Jollygoodfellow]

Reading replies I came to a conclusion. This subject is similar to the right to bear arms. Will never be an agreement.

Anyway who needs to carry a gun 

[Mike J]

6 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

This subject is similar to the right to bear arms.

I have always wondered why bear arms and what did they do with the rest of bear. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

8 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Anyway who needs to carry a gun 

Anyone in an SUV with a full tank of gas needs to carry a gun