From $2.00 gas to $5.00 gas in 4 years

shame privitization will never happen

it is too bad that the government will probably never get into the obviously lucritive oil buisness. established oil companies will pay so many politicians off in their usual way.that commen sense and commen folks will never have a chance at having a fair say in the decesion. it would be the best thing for the people if the gov got involved,even if only in drilling and refineing oil from PUBLIC lands ,instead of leasing public property to for profit private interests. abit of compitition with the established oil conglomerates would only help in keep wild flucuations and blatent profit taking out of the oil market.
but than again,we dont want to upset any mosquitos on the north slope of alaska do we?
4.09 a gal for gas in ft lauderdale today. 4.29 for diesel at harbortown marina. glad im running a blow boat.
feel bad for all the small buisness and small folks getting taxed .gonna get worse before it gets worse.

The time is long overdue for the oil companies to be taken over and nationalized. They are devastating the economies of the entire world, and have to be stopped.

They won't change until they have to

I can't even hear how cheap gas is for us in the US, that isn't justification for price gouging. I am still flabbergasted that the oil companies claim all of these bogus (Man I wish I could use the vocabulary that is edited between brain and hands.) reasons for price increases, yet every quarter for how many years now they have record profits, not sales dollars, profits and dividends paid. The year they said having to close refineries made them have to charge more was the year Mobil went from 4th or 5th largest company in the world in sales to first. That year they set the record for the most profits made by anyone ever. Whatever happened to that being illegal. I guess if you are a big enough company illegal is just a sick bird you ignore. I have for a few years changed my habits to limit my driving regardless of what I can afford, but to not give the bas um crooks a nickel more than necessary. Since people won't stop driving unnecessarily I think we should just pick the most profitable (Mobil) and no one that can avoid it buys there gas for 30 or 60 days. If you usually go to a Mobil still gets smokes, milk whatever there so the station owners and employees aren't hosed, but no gas. The owners make little and sometimes lose on gas anyway. If they but a truck and the price drops 3 cents a gallon (more than the their margin usually) they lose on every gallon they sell, while the %#(*&^#& oil company loses nothing. My thoughts and I already act on my own words with as much gas celibacy as I can and I haven’t bought Mobil gas in about 5 years.

$5 per gallon by Memorial Day?

Sure looks possible

The Great Oil Spike of 2011 (Tim Fields)

Ouch. This is going to hurt.

Today, oil prices spiked again, hitting the highest level since August of 2008.
What’s the deal?
Same ole, same ole. We got the Middle East which is essential on fire. North Africa is right behind and the good ole’ U.S greenback, which is on its way down for a couple of reasons…

We already know and understand the whole Middle East fire. But the U.S dollar, well that’s a different story.

There are two reasons for the dollar’s drop today:
1. The European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates by a ¼ point, a move that hasn’t been done since the financial crisis started back in 2008. The Euro has jumped to a 14 month high while the USD index was down almost a 1/2 percent.
2. Quantitative Easing. This is when the government buys their own debt, creating an absolute artificial environment and in turn, diluting the dollar.
QE is not only responsible for the dollar’s decline, but as a result it makes everything else more expensive because of the diluted dollar.

Oil is not the only product that is affected. Look at food prices; look at what Wal-Mart just said about major price increases.

Now, getting back to oil…
U.S. crude rose to its highest since September 2008, which is above $109. Brent crude was up $1 to break through $123 a barrel, its highest level since August 2008.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said on Wednesday at a conference in Paris they could do little to control prices driven by speculators betting on “worst case scenarios” and said the market had all the oil it needed.
That statement is exactly what we have come to understand from these dirt bags.
Libya’s oil production was almost ground to a halt and they say that oil levels are fine?
Ok sure…

But what should investor expect?
Today is April 6, 2011. Memorial Day is next month and that kicks off the summer driving season…
That being said, we’ll see a surge in demand, despite the fact that oil and gas prices have risen. People are still going to travel. They firmly believe that we, as a nation, are seeing signs of a recovery and these gas prices aren’t going to stop them from what they choose to do.
Once summer is here and the demand surges, which coupled with any unrest that is still happening or unrest that will begin to take place in the Middle East, it could really push oil prices to “highs of highs”.
This is something that we’re going to have to take into consideration. It’s something that will not only hurt our bottom lines, but has the potential to derail the improving economy.

So long as organizations like OPEC control the price of crude oil (at least that coming from the middle east and with our appetite for consumption of said oil) we should expect prices to rise, and fluctuate, and not to our (the consumers) advantage.

Scotland I think was at the $11 per gallon range. I'm not complaining at $3.75 locally.

COMPLAIN, and keep on complaining. This is extortion. The oil companies together are saying to the world "We control the oil so F.U. Pay us obscene profits or you don't drive and don't have heat". They are waging an economic war with the every nation on earth.

So vote with your consumer dollars. Heat your house with solar and electricity or natural gas and buy a hybrid or electric car. People will pay the price, so long as it's not "too" much of a PITA and doesn't require notable modifications in the manner in which they choose to live. The consumer creates the very market of supply and demand. This is econ101.

You may have noticed that few are buying boats, and even fewer are using the ones they have. That's a bit of a PITA and a notable modification. Someone doesn't care though, because it's not their industry. If they happen to sell less they'll just charge more. Until price controls are enacted against the oil companies they don't give a .... about electric cars and solar reflectors. It won't affect them 10 cents worth for decades if ever.

price of oil

Does anyone honestly believe that the Government would not use oil revenues to help their budgets ??? if oil Co's were nationalized today, the price would not drop, in fact it would be a cash cow for the Government. Unless the populace exerts restraint and uses less product the price will continue to rise, I bet if NYC
owned an oil Company, he would not hand it over to the Fed unless forced.

We had an instance here where an ex Prime Minister , Pierre Trudeau threatened to bring in a National Energy policy, the Government of Alberta was all set to leave the the Confederation and a few other Provinces may have followed, it would be a disaster for the people.

Yes, and virtually every government needs more revenue. I'd rather see a government build a new road than a BP executive buy another yacht or jet. At least there would be some accountability. The oil companies have zero. No government could possibly match the greed and abuse of the current system. And yes, forced is the way to go. This is an economic war. It's long past time to take them on. Tomorrow may be too late.

oil prices

What a giggle.....if any business ran up a debt like the US Government they would not be worth Nationalizing, just look at most Governments around the world, technically bankrupt and also highly taxed population and you think Nationalizing oil Co's would help ?? sure did not help the Soviet Union.

If the market place cannot control the pricing then it's the market place that is failing which Governments have been working hard to accomplish so that they can do what's best for the economy and have they succeeded in spades ..lol..

That's nothing but diversion. Has the price of crude or refining doubled or tripled in the last 5 years? Oil company profits have. There is no justification for the prices other than greed, opportunism, profiteering, and a desire to take over the world's economies. The oil companies must be recognized for what they are and stopped. Whether that be through nationalization or price controls, they must be stopped.

ummmmmmm the reason it is $11 in Scotland and $3.75 here, is because of the $7.25 in extra taxes the Scottish government and EU put on it to pay for all of their social programs

And maybe there would be less need for those social programs if the citizens could afford to drive to work, have a job to drive to, and heat in their homes. In fact, since we're dreaming, wouldn't it be nice if they had homes to heat.
I think every country should begin investigations of every aspect of the oil industry with an eye towards price fixing and bribery, and prosecute whatever they find.

Ahhh, but you're leaving out the most important element to your argument... consumption. Our consumption continues to rise, and basic econ tells us, that when consumption rises, (demand) so does price.

Oil companies are publicly traded companies. They are doing *exactly* what we hire them to do by in effect, buying their stock. They are turning a profit. They are providing for their shareholders exactly what the shareholders expect. Money in return for money.

If we (the US) reduced our demand for consumption by 50%, what do you think would happen to the price at the pump?
Granted, I'm throwing a very hypothetical question out there, but I want to see if were even in the same ballpark of thought process in understanding global economics and elastic markets based on supply and demand.

And I get a good chuckle out of people who throw the argument out that the US petroleum business should be owned and operated by the Government.

You think fuel is expensive now?

The price of fuel permeates every aspect of our lives, from propelling the farm equipment that affect the price of our food to the plastic that makes our I-phones,TV's, cars and medical equipment so expensive. There are 3 things necessary for the human race to exist today,i.e. water, air and oil. No corporate entity should be allowed the power to control those resources, especially when they are blatant with the fact that they intend to destroy to nations of the world for their own profit.
That old 'You think fuel is expensive now?' and 'you think you pay a lot for fuel look at------. You shouldn't complain.' diversions no longer hold water. It passed that point about a dollar a gallon ago. The most corrupt government in the world couldn't match the profiteering of the oil industry.

There are so many things wrong with your various (above) statements, that I don't even know where to begin in this reply to formulate something that would a) not completely derail the conversation and take the time to explain how economics works, b) do so in a manner in which you'd understand and be able to intelligently carry out a debate on the topic, and finally, not make enemies out of one another, which I'd like to make clear, is not my intention.

So, with all due respect, if that's the way you feel, awesome. You win.
Give 'er hell. I'll agree to disagree.

Cheers!

You're a good man, with a different point of view from mine. Respected.
Cheers.

Ah, but doesn't that point to the very root of the issue?

The oil companies have bought and paid for the "public servants" we elected to protect our interests. The oil companies will demand that their political servants make any threat, pass any law, and commit any act that benefits the oil company at the expense of the citizen.

The citizens of Alberta weren't ready to leave the Confederation, the politicians were ready to destroy the Conferation in order to protect their masters in Calgary.