Community Chat

[geezerette]

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@granddi wrote:

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@Kachina624 wrote:

Since the US has chosen to EXPORT oil drilled here, what difference does it make?   I'll be darned if I understand why we can't drill, refine and use our own oil.  Does anyone know?

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That's why I asked. You gotta have supplies and workers to drill. I'm a West Texas Gal. We were driving I 20 Pecos, Midland, Odessa etc and the yards were emply. The "yard" is where pipe and other drilling stuff is stored until needed. 

My friend is mainly involved in obtaining (oil/gas) leases off government land. They have no obstacles to getting the leases but cannot get the equipment needed to drill. 

States have the option of reducing/eliminating STATE TAXES on fuel. I think EPA has changed/relaxed requirement for "summer blend" additives in gasoline. I'm told summer blend is more expensive.

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Well, for one thing, oil was so low for so long, they quit drilling.  And then many of the pipeline manufacturers went out of business.  So that leaves imported pipe.  Which is under pressure from the dreaded supply chain.

Feast or famine.

[millieshops]

@Kachina624    Most likely because if we withdraw from the increasingly growing global economy, countries around the globe will attempt to do the same thing.  Lots of what we manufacture in this country is exported. I know oil is included  but I never bothered to learn what the various kinds of oil going in and out.

I'd like to think there will be another stretch of easy years ahead of us within my lifetime, but in the meantime there are days I abhor listening to the news.   

[Kachina624]

@granddi    The last time I was through Odessa, about 23 years ago, it appeared that every crappy, old rusted piece of  equipment that ever existed was in junk yards lining I-20.  It was a disgrace, so you mean it's gone?  I lived in Midland for 7 years and am familiar with the cycles in the industry.

[hckynutjohn]

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@granddi wrote:

Interesting conversation with someone in the oil and gas industry. His company is holding many leases ready to drill but they cannot get PIPE anywhere. There is none to be had. This is just crazy.

@granddi 

There are many companies that have leases, and all the equipment needed to drill. Without permits, they are not allowed to drill. 

You can take it from there to it's end results. Unless someone is living in la la land somewhere, or independently wealthy, it is pretty easy to run smack into it every single day.

hckynut 🇺🇸

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[Porcelain]

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@granddi wrote:

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@ValuSkr wrote:

Where is pipe coming from?  China?  Or is it made-in-America?

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I asked. Not US made.

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The point of all those regulations and tariffs was to force US companies to use US made materials. US companies are supposed to have rushed to manufacture things like pipeline piping.

Law of unintended consequences. Turned out there aren't enough workers here and the US corporations didn't decide to make everything here. We don't want guest workers from other countries and we don't want foreign made parts. So we end up having nothing.

You guys wanted us to stop using 'Made in China.' So we did. Now what? Where are all the factories you promised?

[geezerette]

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@Porcelain wrote:

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@granddi wrote:

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@ValuSkr wrote:

Where is pipe coming from?  China?  Or is it made-in-America?

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I asked. Not US made.

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The point of all those regulations and tariffs was to force US companies to use US made materials. US companies are supposed to have rushed to manufacture things like pipeline piping.

Law of unintended consequences. Turned out there aren't enough workers here and the US corporations didn't decide to make everything here. We don't want guest workers from other countries and we don't want foreign made parts. So we end up having nothing.

You guys wanted us to stop using 'Made in China.' So we did. Now what? Where are all the factories you promised?

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We had a pipe manufacturer build a plant in my state the last time oil was at profitable levels.  Just recently, because no one had been buying their pipe for so long, they closed the plant.

No one complained about things like that when gasoline was $2 a gallon.  Except the employees that lost their jobs.

[Trailrun23]

Doesn't sound like we will be exporting oil if the pipelines cannot get the oil to the tankers for export. I know US Steel was operational at full steam a couole of years ago but has been forced to slow production....maybe that's part of the " supply chain" issue. 

[Trailrun23]

Some states did eliminate taxes on fuel but some are reinstating it now. They are putting so much ethanol in the gas here it really changes how the car runs. Some places are using way too much.

[Sooner]

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@geezerette wrote:

The oil and gas industry is a difficult and complicated one.  It's not necessarily just a case of "good guy vs. bad guys".  And all oil is not created equal. 

The industry actually doesn't like oil to get priced as high as it is.  Oil that is, not gasoline.  Because behind the high is always a crash.  You can't turn it on with a switch, but you can turn it off that quickly.

As @Sooner has said, it's always been a volatile industry.

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@geezerette You are right.  It takes a long time to bring the supply chain back when prices dip so low.  And the industry is always presented as evil--to the benefit of those for whom it is an easy mark.  The ones responsible for the high prices and shortages who bark loudest and act like they are going to do something about it.