What Is Making Gasoline Prices Higher..................

[chargermike]

it cost what it costs. when your tank reads E. you will pay the price. oh and i am bitching. dont care what worthless piece of shit president we have. the last two have sucked. yes the black one and the white one. but will just fill up and spend 200 a week for gas. 800 a month for gas. but trucks dont run without fuel. but i have work and will just pass it on to the custermer. bummer for my charger. it will now cost me about 50 bucks everytime i take her out. but dont care. glad i dont drink or have a meth problem just a music and car problem. now watch how many people go buy small cars to save on gas.  and i need a new truck. maybe get a great price now. they will be giving them away.

[chargerboy69]

and i need a new truck. maybe get a great price now. they will be giving them away.

That is what I am hoping for too.  I will be looking for a F-450 or F-350, and if diesel is $5.00-$6.00 a gallon, they will not be as desirable.

[Chad L. Magee]

Brock - Yep, any good ol' plastic source will do.  Plastic is basically a long hydrocarbon (containing carbon and hydrogen atoms) molecule linked together in a chain via covalent bonds.  The main backbone of the chain is composed of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms sticking outside.  The differences in the properties of each type of plastic depends upon their particular order (strait vs branched vs web vs disordered), what functional groups are present (either in the backbone or on a side chain) and their overall chain length.  Most modern plastics are made from crude oil that has been processed to make precursor compounds (plastic building blocks).  If you break the bonds within the chains, the plastic starts to degrade back to what it was made from (and in some cases, even smaller molecules).  Oil is basically hydrocarbons that do not have very long chains like plastics, with the exception of tars.  So, when enough bonds have been broken, plastic really does go back to oil.  The trick is to make it go back to a specific type of hydrocarbon that we can use directly.  Currently, all of the devices that I have heard of reduce the plastics back to crude oil, which must be reprocessed (distilled) to separate the usable fractions, such as gasoline, kerosene, etc.  The process is far from perfect as it uses microwave radiation which costs a bit of energy to do and can be hazardous if the wrong type of materials are thrown in.  Still, the prospect of turning local dumps into fuel is promising, as most plastics don't degrade fast enough either in the ground or at sea....

I think that there is a way to specify what type of hydrocarbon chain length the products can be, but the details will need to be worked out in time in research.  My other interest in this area is in the conversion of plastics into carbon nanotubes as a side product of the above reaction process.  These CNTs materials are stronger than steel, yet lightweight enough that they can be used for many things (think car bodies).....  

[Mike DC]

We are running out of oil, thats why.  I guess "running out" is a misuse of the term. More like unable to produce enough to satisfy our insatiable thirst for it.  Saudi Arabia's reserves are greatly overestimated.


"WikiLeaks: Saudi Arabias oil reserves exaggerated
Submitted by Mikael Höök on Thu, 2011-02-10 10:37. Headline news
The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in Riyadh show. The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%.

It also reported major project delays and accidents as "evidence that the Saudi Aramco is having to run harder to stay in place – to replace the decline in existing production." While fears of premature "peak oil" and Saudi production problems had been expressed before, no US official has come close to saying this in public.

Jeremy Leggett, convenor of the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security, said: "We are asleep at the wheel here: choosing to ignore a threat to the global economy that is quite as bad as the credit crunch, quite possibly worse."


 Some will argue that this is not true but, how would you explain several middle eastern countries move to offshore drilling?  This is by far the MOST expensive way to produce oil.  If they have so much in the ground, why would they spend hundreds of millions of dollars per offshore rig when an onshore rig of the same capacity can be built for under a million?

 Oil will not suddenly run out, it will just get increasingly more expensive, causing food prices to skyrocket and generally turning the world economy upside down.
Check this site out:     http://www.oilcrisis.com/

It isn't just SA that's been radically overstated.  The problem is OPEC-wide.  

The OPEC system basically lets the countries make more profit in the present if they overstate their remaining reserves.  So, big surprise, all the OPEC countries' reserve figures started increasing as soon as that system was put in place.  


Iraq might be the only middle eastern oil giant that isn't already peaked and struggling to hold onto its past production levels.  The embargo that we put on Saddam for all those years was keeping him from pumping more than a fraction of what he could have done.  So now Iraq still has a lot more cheap good oil left than its neighbors.

 

[CB]

$8.55 / gallon for 95 oct., tomorrow at the pumps...

[John_Kunkel]

Brock - Yep, any good ol' plastic source will do.

Yep, "Doc" took it straight from the trash can to the fuel tank.   

[Brock Samson]

Thanks for the explanation, the use/s of recycled plastic has long fascinated me. 

[greasyspider]

We are running out of oil, thats why.  I guess "running out" is a misuse of the term. More like unable to produce enough to satisfy our insatiable thirst for it.  Saudi Arabia's reserves are greatly overestimated.


"WikiLeaks: Saudi Arabias oil reserves exaggerated
Submitted by Mikael Höök on Thu, 2011-02-10 10:37. Headline news
The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in Riyadh show. The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%.

It also reported major project delays and accidents as "evidence that the Saudi Aramco is having to run harder to stay in place – to replace the decline in existing production." While fears of premature "peak oil" and Saudi production problems had been expressed before, no US official has come close to saying this in public.

Jeremy Leggett, convenor of the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security, said: "We are asleep at the wheel here: choosing to ignore a threat to the global economy that is quite as bad as the credit crunch, quite possibly worse."


 Some will argue that this is not true but, how would you explain several middle eastern countries move to offshore drilling?  This is by far the MOST expensive way to produce oil.  If they have so much in the ground, why would they spend hundreds of millions of dollars per offshore rig when an onshore rig of the same capacity can be built for under a million?

 Oil will not suddenly run out, it will just get increasingly more expensive, causing food prices to skyrocket and generally turning the world economy upside down.
Check this site out:     http://www.oilcrisis.com/

It isn't just SA that's been radically overstated.  The problem is OPEC-wide.  

The OPEC system basically lets the countries make more profit in the present if they overstate their remaining reserves.  So, big surprise, all the OPEC countries' reserve figures started increasing as soon as that system was put in place.  


Iraq might be the only middle eastern oil giant that isn't already peaked and struggling to hold onto its past production levels.  The embargo that we put on Saddam for all those years was keeping him from pumping more than a fraction of what he could have done.  So now Iraq still has a lot more cheap good oil left than its neighbors.

 

Agreed.  SA has the largest reserves (supposedly) and is a great bellweather for others. Iraq does have a lot of oil. (hence the war there.)  I truly believe that the peak oil issue was the real reason for the Iraq war. But,  Iraq's reserves will only last so long.  I read somewhere that BP estimates that the world will not have enough oil to satisfy demand by 2025.

[twodko]

Crap, gas just hit $4 for regular in Santa Rosa.

[Brock Samson]

Crap, gas just hit $4 for regular in Santa Rosa.

you know about "cheapgas.com"?..

http://www.sanfrangasprices.com/GasPriceSearch.aspx?typ=adv&fuel=A&srch=1&state=CA&area=Santa+Rosa&site=SanFran,California&tme_limit=36

[bull]

dont care what worthless piece of shit president we have. the last two have sucked. yes the black one and the white one.

The black one and the white one? That is Obama. Funny how he's always referred to as black when he's only half so (as far as we know). If your father was from Kenya and your mother is a white woman from Kansas you're not really black are you?

[twodko]

Yeah, local radio just said a Valero station in SR has reg for $3.89. woohoo

Drill in ANWR - Gulf of Mex - along the coasts!

[Chad L. Magee]

Over on moparts, one of the members listed this on the topic of new fuels:

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-03-besc-scores-isobutanol-cellulose.html

Basically, it is a process to convert cellulose (paper, wood pulp, etc.) into isobutanol.  [Cellulose is basically a series of long-linked sugar chains that humans can not digest, but certain animals can.  It contains carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms in its structure.]  Isobutanol is a burnable alcohol that can be used as a fuel source if needed.  Think about all of the excess vegetation that we have in the fall seasons that could be used to produce fuel supplies, that typically go into the dumps.

But, I can do this one better.  If you used the right catalysts/temperatures, one might be able to make synthetic gasolines out of the isobutanol product (or derivatives).  Whether or not it is economically worth it is the real question.  However, this would put an end to the constant fear that we will not be able to drive our cars if all of the oil is used up (plastic to oil conversions can supply the other part of the equation).  Now I need to get to work on the process that I theorized.....

[Chad L. Magee]

Thanks for the explanation, the use/s of recycled plastic has long fascinated me. 

Brock- Look at polystyrene plastic (Styrofoam is the trademark name) and acetone reactions on the internet search sites.  It should peak your interest some more.  Unfortunately, some of the older polystyrene materials contain CFCs (basically Freon-12s) and can't be used in this reaction.  Foam coffee cups don't typically have the bad CFCs (they have air as the foaming material) so they are safe to work with this process per the information that I have found.  Most of these materials are thrown away and decompose over thousands of years to toxic products (styrenes and substituted benzenes).  I have been working with a group to convert them (non-CFCs) over to recyclable #2 plastics for reusing (for our products)....

[Mike DC]

                                                   

Agreed.  SA has the largest reserves (supposedly) and is a great bellweather for others. Iraq does have a lot of oil. (hence the war there.)  I truly believe that the peak oil issue was the real reason for the Iraq war. But,  Iraq's reserves will only last so long.  I read somewhere that BP estimates that the world will not have enough oil to satisfy demand by 2025.

I think the long term demand for oil is more flexible than we give it credit for IMHO.  We will scream bloody murder and our economy will go to total shit, but we will eventually stop buying it before it goes to several hundred dollars a barrel.  So will the rest of the world.  

I don't think we will ever see gigantic gasoline prices in the USA.  The govt will fight a dozen more wars and tax us 90% if that's what it takes to keep our gasoline cheap by worldwide standards.

[Brock Samson]

dont care what worthless piece of shit president we have. the last two have sucked. yes the black one and the white one.

The black one and the white one? That is Obama. Funny how he's always referred to as black when he's only half so (as far as we know). If your father was from Kenya and your mother is a white woman from Kansas you're not really black are you?

  Nope, Gray. 

[PocketThunder]

dont care what worthless piece of shit president we have. the last two have sucked. yes the black one and the white one.

The black one and the white one? That is Obama. Funny how he's always referred to as black when he's only half so (as far as we know). If your father was from Kenya and your mother is a white woman from Kansas you're not really black are you?

  Nope, Gray. 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_v1nI6iOCT9U/SlvVCP4cD6I/AAAAAAAABjs/8P2OdSqtIsU/s1600-h/obamas44strip1.jpg

[69rtse4spd]

Greedy assholes.

[bull]

dont care what worthless piece of shit president we have. the last two have sucked. yes the black one and the white one.

The black one and the white one? That is Obama. Funny how he's always referred to as black when he's only half so (as far as we know). If your father was from Kenya and your mother is a white woman from Kansas you're not really black are you?

 Nope, Gray.

Or white with a good tan.  

[TK73]

"What Is Making Gasoline Prices Higher.................. "

Either not enough F-in dinosaurs died or god did not make enough oil   

[bull]

"What Is Making Gasoline Prices Higher.................. "

Either not enough F-in dinosaurs died or god did not make enough oil   

Nah, some of those dry wells are filling back up. http://www.rense.com/general63/refil.htm
We're going to make oil out of algae http://www.smartplanet.com/people/video/turning-algae-into-oil-the-nasa-way/334386/

And all your liberal friends are going ride bikes and take the bus so I can get cheap gas.

[Todd Wilson]

it cost what it costs. when your tank reads E. you will pay the price. oh and i am bitching. dont care what worthless piece of shit president we have. the last two have sucked. yes the black one and the white one. but will just fill up and spend 200 a week for gas. 800 a month for gas. but trucks dont run without fuel. but i have work and will just pass it on to the custermer.

Lots of people dont have 800$ a month to spend on gas.  Passing the costs onto the customers will only work for you for a while. Eventually customers will no longer be able to afford your services and your income will drop. I saw this happen with my field mowing side business. I started out at 89cents a gallon diesel  and $1.25 a gallon gas. It got to the point it would cost me 30$ in fuel to do a 50$ job. I raised my prices some and heard a lot of bitching from customers. Most did understand the situation and continued to have me mow. It finally come down to they stopped calling. Some just decided they didnt need the few acres behind their house in the country mowed anymore.


Todd

[Todd Wilson]

Speculators.  That's it.

That pretty much sums it up.   They are not required to take delivery on the oil they buy. They buy it all on paper and can jack the prices in no time at all.   

Theres plenty of oil still in the ground.  Theres just a few oil companys left. They arent competing for your business anymore. They just tell what a little conv. store will charge for gas and call it good.

The government has got things so f'd up with regulations that we couldnt drill and process the oil in our own ground if we wanted too.


The current administration isnt going to do a thing to lower oil prices. They want it high. As high as they can get.



Todd

[Mike DC]

Nah, some of those dry wells are filling back up. http://www.rense.com/general63/refil.html

We might pump out a field at a rate of a 100,000 barrels per day, and then it might start to refill at a rate of a 100,000 barrels per decade or century.  The math doesn't work.  The refilling phenomenon is interesting but it won't solve our oil supply problems. 

[Brock Samson]

http://www.thenation.com/article/159078/will-federal-regulators-crack-down-oil-speculation

Excerpt:
"In the wake of the price explosion in the summer of 2008, a bubble that extended to all kinds of commodities, including copper and wheat, a number of observers from George Soros to Hedge Fund manager Michael Masters to former Commodities Future Trading Commission staffer and derivatives expert Michael Greenberg concluded that the underlying supply-and-demand fundamentals couldn't account for the sharp rise in prices. In the first six months of 2008, US economic output was declining while global supply was increasing. And even if supply and demand were, over the long run, pushing the price of oil up, that alone couldn't explain the massive volatility in the market. Oil cost $65 per barrel in June 2007, $147 a year later, down to $30 in December 2008 and back up to $72 in June 2009.

The culprits, they concluded, were Wall Street speculators".