Oil Subsidies

[RickN]

why do you always put a political spin on everything?

anything one can say about the extreme left can be said about the ultra right.
both are wrong... both have done HUGE damage to our economy.

both Busch and Clinton administration had a hand in allowing these MEGA mergers at heart of the problem of allowing too much control vested in too few hands. for all practical purposes post merger a few MEGA giants control some 90% of certain sectors.

Obama has royally screwed up things worst! among the few things his administration has done right is blocking merger of AT&T and TMobile. if allowed to complete, Verizon and AT&T alone would control some 80% of the total market. Was totally flabbergasted that DOJ was suiting to stop yet another MEGA merger. until now ALL of them flew right on by without so much as a peep from DOJ.

by the way your OP was and still is full of horse manure!!!!

Even the stories in support of doing away with the oil subsidies agree the OP is correct both in the amount and the facts behind it. If you do not want to do your own research I can provide the links.

And I blame most of the problems on politics because that is where most of the problems come from. The government, not so much any company as they would have you believe. Yes companies do cause problems, but the government makes them worse under the guise of trying to fix them.

 

[RidgeHunter]

What shortages? There were no shortages.

Semantics.

If I tell you I'm not giving you a beer because I only have one left, but I really have 20....guess who still ain't getting a beer? A manufactured shortage is still a shortage.

I agree. Oil is all over. We just have to get rid of the people who are making it hard to drill.

Same logic as above. Oil we can't access is oil we don't have. Birds in hands and bushes and whatnot.

See, this is what's called parroting what you've been told is true, when you only listen to one side.
____________________________________________________________

Number of the Week: How Many Rigs Are Drilling for Oil?

1,069: The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. this week.

The figure reflects a huge surge in U.S. oil drilling, up nearly 60% in the past year and the highest total since at least 1987, when oil services company Baker Hughes Inc. began keeping track.

The drilling boom is being driven by a variety of factors. New technologies have allowed companies to tap vast new oil reserves in places like North Dakota, Texas and, most recently, Ohio. High oil prices are making once-unprofitable fields more tempting. And low natural-gas prices are leading companies to shift their focus to finding oil. Natural-gas drilling, which generally uses the same rigs but in different places, is down 8% in the past year.

All that drilling is helping to boost U.S. oil production. The U.S. pumped 3.9 million barrels a day from onshore fields in March, up 5.9% from a year earlier and the most in nearly a decade.


http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/08/27/number-of-the-week-how-many-rigs-are-drilling-for-oil/

LOL, nice graph. So a higher rig count correlates with higher oil prices? Whodda thunk it?

This is by far the most circular debate in OSA history; you guys are agreeing with each other as much as you're disagreeing and you don't even realize it.

The world's oil consumption is not sustainable. That's all that matters. Cheap prices are not sustainable; they are able to be propped up for a bit and that's it. We need to move on.

 

[JB Books]

Rick:

I think CY asked why you ONLY blame the left. THe right has just as much guilt.

 

[Hobbes]

LOL, nice graph. So a higher rig count correlates with higher oil prices? Whodda thunk it?

That's what I want answered by the "Drill Baby Drill" cheerleaders.

Anyone? Sarah?

 

[RidgeHunter]

That's what I want answered by my "Drill Baby Drill" cheerleaders.

Yeah, the drill baby drill crowd is goofy as hell too.

Talk of oil and gasoline prices brings out the goofy in folks for some reason. I think it's all based around denial of the fact we can't go on like this forever, and the old days ain't coming back.

 

[_CY_]

there never was petroleum shortages. official report is at any given time there's 8-9 Billion barrels in storage (90 day supply). my former neighbor, a refinery specialist claims actual number is MUCH higher. when underground caverns filled with oil are accounted for.

here's a few hard numbers for you to chew on... during Aug 2005 when Katrina hit, there was 5 refineries idle in USA. the entire ramp up for gasoline prices was cooked up. Oil companies took advantage of the mass hysteria caused by Katrina by claiming there was a huge disruption to USA supply of gasoline.

again FACTS on the ground says otherwise. a total of Two refineries was taken off-line due to Katrina. most refineries operate operate at below capacity. meaning overnight, refinery can ramp up to 110% of production. this means the two refinery's total production taken off-line by Katrina could be covered literately overnight by nearby refineries.

there was no shortage then, there is no shortage today. after Katrina in 2006 that number went up to 7 idle refineries from 5 idle when Katrina hit. the number of fully operable, but idled refineries has gone up to eleven in 2010 and 2011.

source of data is US Energy Information Agency. (EIA) http://205.254.135.24/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=8_NA_8OI_NUS_C&f=A

unlike your Fox news data, mine are verifiable.

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That was during one of the many shortages and did not last long. Also it will climb that high again. It all depends on supply and demand and I hope you have noticed that the price of gas has not come down anywhere near matching the price of a barrel of oil in that time.

 

[Shadowrider]

This is by far the most circular debate in OSA history; you guys are agreeing with each other as much as you're disagreeing and you don't even realize it.

QFT! I caught that and I've just skimmed it.

I find it extremely amusing and at the same time downright depressing that people are just so uninformed. How about we just pull the plug on all the oil companies for about 3 months? Just have the .gov order them to cease and desist ALL operations. We would have Armageddon for sure then and probably inside of a month. I don't think that people are going to "see the light" until it hits them straight upside the head.

It's already been touched on but why isn't the profit margin of Microsoft, Apple, GE and such criticized? Hmm? It's only several times MORE than ALL the evil big mega conglomerate oil companies afterall.

Why is it NEVER recognized that the oil and gas industry is what built this country? Without it where would we be? What if we were in the same boat as, oh let's say Germany, and we had to import basically all of our oil?

Why is it never recognized that the oil and gas industry pumps billions into the economy and employs thousands of people in almost every state with good paying jobs that provide a great standard of living?

Why is it never recognized that the little mom & pop dry cleaner around the corner from where you live just might still be in business because a good portion the management at Chesapeake, Devon, Sandridge or whoever happens to have their wives drop their dry cleaning off to be done there every week?

Why is it NEVER recognized that the oil companies donate heavily to charities and local community projects?

Why is it never recognized that the oil companies spend an average of in excess of $2,000,000 dollars on EVERY SINGLE well they drill, all the while not knowing if they are ever going to see one red cent for their efforts? Yes, they do still drill dry holes folks....

 

[RickN]

there never was petroleum shortages. official report is at any given time there's 8-9 Billion barrels in storage (90 day supply). my former neighbor, a refinery specialist claims actual number is MUCH higher. when underground caverns filled with oil are accounted for.

here's a few hard numbers for you to chew on... during Aug 2005 when Katrina hit, there was 5 refineries idle in USA. the entire ramp up for gasoline prices was cooked up. Oil companies took advantage of the mass hysteria caused by Katrina by claiming there was a huge disruption to USA supply of gasoline.

again FACTS on the ground says otherwise. a total of Two refineries was taken off-line due to Katrina. most refineries operate operate at below capacity. meaning overnight, refinery can ramp up to 110% of production. this means the two refinery's total production taken off-line by Katrina could be covered literately overnight by nearby refineries.

there was no shortage then, there is no shortage today. after Katrina in 2006 that number went up to 7 idle refineries from 5 idle when Katrina hit. the number of fully operable, but idled refineries has gone up to eleven in 2010 and 2011.

source of data is US Energy Information Agency. (EIA) http://205.254.135.24/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=8_NA_8OI_NUS_C&f=A

unlike your Fox news data, mine are verifiable.

[Broken External Image]

Again though you will not catch it, my data does not come from Fox News and is verifiable and if you care to see facts, here is a link to Forbes piece that agrees with ending the "subsidies" the only difference in the figures is the OP went by one year while the Forbes goes by 10 years.

http://www.forbes.com/2011/05/02/eliminate-oil-subsidies.html

As for the refineries being idle. That is because we are exporting more crude. The heavy bitter crude not used to make gasoline. Instead of refining it here they export it as crude.

 

[_CY_]

oh please... you are going back to the assumption everyone assumes Oil companies are evil.

oil companies are no different than any other company, except their product is a commodity. meaning it would be very difficult if not impossible for society to operate in it's current form without oil based fuels.

especially due to oil companies strategic position, the busted up remnants of Standard Oil should have NEVER been allowed to merge back together. they recognized this back in early 1900 when Standard oil was busted up to prevent the exact same thing that's happened to America and the world.

Clinton started it by giving BP/Amoco the go ahead to merge. that MEGA merger was finalized under Bush. then the flood gates of MEGA MERGERS opened under Bush. Ma Bell was allowed to rejoin again to form the new AT&T. Conoco/Phillips, Chevron/Texaco, etc, etc.

Former rules preventing any one entity from owning too many news outlets in any one geographic zone was canned. result was MASS consolidation of ownership of news media in a very few hands. ever wonder why the news is homogenized ... small wonder when it's all owned by the same folks.

want lower fuel prices.. it's very simple... break up the MEGA GIANTS ... that's the only way we will ever see lower prices ever again. a tiny number MEGA GIANTS control 90%+ of all petroleum products in the USA.

that's why we have $3.75 gal fuel with $85 barrel oil.... supply and demand has had nothing to do with what we pay for fuel for several years now. Oil companies charge what the market will bear. not because they are evil... they do it because they can.

QFT! I caught that and I've just skimmed it.

I find it extremely amusing and at the same time downright depressing that people are just so uninformed. How about we just pull the plug on all the oil companies for about 3 months? Just have the .gov order them to cease and desist ALL operations. We would have Armageddon for sure then and probably inside of a month. I don't think that people are going to "see the light" until it hits them straight upside the head.

It's already been touched on but why isn't the profit margin of Microsoft, Apple, GE and such criticized? Hmm? It's only several times MORE than ALL the evil big mega conglomerate oil companies afterall.

Why is it NEVER recognized that the oil and gas industry is what built this country? Without it where would we be? What if we were in the same boat as, oh let's say Germany, and we had to import basically all of our oil?

Why is it never recognized that the oil and gas industry pumps billions into the economy and employs thousands of people in almost every state with good paying jobs that provide a great standard of living?

Why is it never recognized that the little mom & pop dry cleaner around the corner from where you live just might still be in business because a good portion the management at Chesapeake, Devon, Sandridge or whoever happens to have their wives drop their dry cleaning off to be done there every week?

Why is it NEVER recognized that the oil companies donate heavily to charities and local community projects?

Why is it never recognized that the oil companies spend an average of in excess of $2,000,000 dollars on EVERY SINGLE well they drill, all the while not knowing if they are ever going to see one red cent for their efforts? Yes, they do still drill dry holes folks....

 

[Biggsly]

See, this is what's called parroting what you've been told is true, when you only listen to one side.
____________________________________________________________

Number of the Week: How Many Rigs Are Drilling for Oil?

1,069: The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. this week.

The figure reflects a huge surge in U.S. oil drilling, up nearly 60% in the past year and the highest total since at least 1987, when oil services company Baker Hughes Inc. began keeping track.

The drilling boom is being driven by a variety of factors. New technologies have allowed companies to tap vast new oil reserves in places like North Dakota, Texas and, most recently, Ohio. High oil prices are making once-unprofitable fields more tempting. And low natural-gas prices are leading companies to shift their focus to finding oil. Natural-gas drilling, which generally uses the same rigs but in different places, is down 8% in the past year.

All that drilling is helping to boost U.S. oil production. The U.S. pumped 3.9 million barrels a day from onshore fields in March, up 5.9% from a year earlier and the most in nearly a decade.


http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/08/27/number-of-the-week-how-many-rigs-are-drilling-for-oil/

Could be that I have spent 15+ years in the oil patch. I have seen all sides. You can look good on tv telling people that you are going to let them drill. You would not believe how much the Government wants in return. But then I have owned 4 other businesses, so I have seen how much they take from every business owner. I guess that is where I get my crazy views. People who have not been there, will never get it. They may think they know, but they don't. There is a reason why you never hear "BIG GOV" talking about how much they take from "big oil". You just get to hear about how much more they want.