Community Chat

[granddi]

WaPost is reporting that cut backs in coal facilities could lead to rolling black outs in some parts of the country. 

We have the famous Texas only grid. It is mostly powered by natural gas. We are being warned about black outs due to extreme temperatures this summer. 

[sunshine 919]

What I don't understand if the oil companies are making profits why can't they lower the price.  Something is not right.  There should be an investigation of how Chevron is making profits, and by the way where I live the chevron stations are always the highest price

[gardenman]

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@sunshine 919 wrote:

What I don't understand if the oil companies are making profits why can't they lower the price.  Something is not right.  There should be an investigation of how Chevron is making profits, and by the way where I live the chevron stations are always the highest price

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I did the math on a post a while back on oil company profits using the numbers from Shell and Shell was making something like $0.64 per gallon of oil extracted in profit. In previous years they'd averaged something like $0.34 in profit. If they went back to their old profits, the price would only fall $0.30 and if they took no profit at all, the price would only drop $0.64. With gas prices here now closing in on $5.00 a gallon and still climbing, it's not the oil companies' profits that are to blame. They were making a $0.34 profit per gallon when gas was under $2.00. They aren't making $3.34 a gallon profit now that the prices are closing in on $5.00 a gallon. They're making a little more, but they're the least of the problem. 

Companies' earnings reports are all out there for examination. The math gets a bit tricky as there are gallons and barrels and lots of converting to do, but the oil companies aren't the big issue. It's the lack of supply. I used Shell for that example as they were reporting the highest profits among oil companies. If they're doing the best, the rest are making less and are even less of a problem.

[JamandBread]

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@Sooner wrote:

If you are interested in energy issues and news, check out eia.gov.  Lots of fascinating charts, graphs, statics and information!  Some of it is quite surprising. 

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Thank you. It is a great site. You can clearly see that every month since 1984 we have imported hundreds of thousands of barrels of foreign oil.

[granddi]

According to the Energy Information Administration. The price of the oil accounted for 56% of the retail price of gasoline in the decade through 2020, making it the most important factor. Refining and distribution & marketing each accounted for 14% of the total and taxes accounted for roughly 16% of the cost at the pump.

The Highest and Lowest State Gas Tax Rates

The federal government, plus every state, levies a tax on the price of gasoline. The federal gasoline tax has been 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993. The average state gasoline tax is about 19.0 cents per gallon as of February 2021. Which states have the highest gasoline tax? Which have the lowest tax?

As of January 2021, California had the highest effective gas tax, followed by Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, and Nevada.

From: Forbes

[ScarletDove]

This morning gas at the Shell station listed $5.19gal, Montgomery County, MD suburbs of DC. Last time I bought gas was about 3 wks ago, it was $4.49gal.

[hckynutjohn]

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@JamandBread wrote:

No, we have never, not one time in 20 years, not imported oil on a monthly basis.

@JamandBread 

There are these things called Trade Agreements with other countries. We agree to import X amount of oil they agres to import Z amount of say, corn from us.

In late 2019-2020 the United States was Energy Independent. Oil was Imported, not because it was needed, but because it was a part of a Trade Agreement.

hckynut 🇺🇸

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[Isobel Archer]

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@hckynutjohn wrote:

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@JamandBread wrote:

No, we have never, not one time in 20 years, not imported oil on a monthly basis.

@JamandBread 

There are these things called Trade Agreements with other countries. We agree to import X amount of oil they agres to import Z amount of say, corn from us.

In late 2019-2020 the United States was Energy Independent. Oil was Imported, not because it was needed, but because it was a part of a Trade Agreement.

hckynut 🇺🇸

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Exactly

[sunshine 919]

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@gardenman wrote:

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@sunshine 919 wrote:

What I don't understand if the oil companies are making profits why can't they lower the price.  Something is not right.  There should be an investigation of how Chevron is making profits, and by the way where I live the chevron stations are always the highest price

---

I did the math on a post a while back on oil company profits using the numbers from Shell and Shell was making something like $0.64 per gallon of oil extracted in profit. In previous years they'd averaged something like $0.34 in profit. If they went back to their old profits, the price would only fall $0.30 and if they took no profit at all, the price would only drop $0.64. With gas prices here now closing in on $5.00 a gallon and still climbing, it's not the oil companies' profits that are to blame. They were making a $0.34 profit per gallon when gas was under $2.00. They aren't making $3.34 a gallon profit now that the prices are closing in on $5.00 a gallon. They're making a little more, but they're the least of the problem. 

Companies' earnings reports are all out there for examination. The math gets a bit tricky as there are gallons and barrels and lots of converting to do, but the oil companies aren't the big issue. It's the lack of supply. I used Shell for that example as they were reporting the highest profits among oil companies. If they're doing the best, the rest are making less and are even less of a problem.

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They are still making profits.  Where I live gas is going up daily.

[Isobel Archer]

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@sunshine 919 wrote:

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@gardenman wrote:

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@sunshine 919 wrote:

What I don't understand if the oil companies are making profits why can't they lower the price.  Something is not right.  There should be an investigation of how Chevron is making profits, and by the way where I live the chevron stations are always the highest price

---

I did the math on a post a while back on oil company profits using the numbers from Shell and Shell was making something like $0.64 per gallon of oil extracted in profit. In previous years they'd averaged something like $0.34 in profit. If they went back to their old profits, the price would only fall $0.30 and if they took no profit at all, the price would only drop $0.64. With gas prices here now closing in on $5.00 a gallon and still climbing, it's not the oil companies' profits that are to blame. They were making a $0.34 profit per gallon when gas was under $2.00. They aren't making $3.34 a gallon profit now that the prices are closing in on $5.00 a gallon. They're making a little more, but they're the least of the problem. 

Companies' earnings reports are all out there for examination. The math gets a bit tricky as there are gallons and barrels and lots of converting to do, but the oil companies aren't the big issue. It's the lack of supply. I used Shell for that example as they were reporting the highest profits among oil companies. If they're doing the best, the rest are making less and are even less of a problem.

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They are still making profits.  Where I live gas is going up daily.

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So do you have math examples to refute Gardenman's overall explanation - that it's not profits that are driving the price increases?