Summertime shocker: Gas could hit $3 a gallon

Chicago Sun-Times ^ | 1/16/04 | Lucio Guerrero

[FITZ]

Mexico has the second highest oil reserves in this hemisphere --- we're making many deals with them --- giving them our jobs, taking in their poverty-stricken classes --- why not demand something in return? For all we're doing for them, they could give us oil and we should have cheap gas prices.

[Dallas59]

"What? Me Worry?"

[Beck_isright]

IF gas tops $3.00 per gallon next summer W will lose the election badly.

[newgeezer]

And I wonder what share of that $3.00 would be taxes? Now it's approximately half or so! Seems to me we'd be payin' about .75 cents/gal. right now if Uncle Sam didn't have "sticky fingers."

Really? From what I can find, it looks like the Federal tax was 18.4 cents per gallon as of 1/1/03. Sure, there's some taxes between the well and the pump. But, 60 cents' worth? I doubt it but, I'm listening.

[newgeezer]

Even for the most destitute -- for whatever reason -- it boils down to a matter of choices. The ones who've already given up smoking, drinking, gambling, etc., and they're faced with whether to cut cable TV or Internet access, ... now I'm moved.

[Gefreiter]

Good point. Milk in my neck of the woods is about $3.40/gallon.

On the one hand, if my Pathfinder ran on milk, I'd be screwed.

On the other hand, if it DID run on milk, maybe it's waste exhaust product would be delicious custard.

Huh.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Didn't we have supply problems in early 2003 that caused us to dip deeper into the reserve tanks? Wasn't that caused by a virtual stoppage of oil being produced in Venezuala?

Chavez has weathered that storm and will likely not make the same mistakes this year. Plus, with Iraq back on track to start pumping crude in the next few months and OPEC's failure to deal with disobedient members, I can't imagine that a one year dip in supply will be so damaging that the larger production numbers by Venezuala, Iraq, and various other OPEC members will be causing a crude shortage by April or May.

[tubebender]

$3.00 gas would bring in another .11 cents a gallon sales tax alone here in Cal. This will make the 'Rats happy...

[RockyMtnMan]

In Colorado the total tax is 40 cents a gallon state and federal.

[palmer]

Yes, and implicit in my 'build more refineries' is the imperative to change whatever is necessary to get new refining capacity online eventually, someday, soonest possible.

Why would oil companies invest in more refineries if they can't get enough reasonably priced oil to fully utilize the ones they have now? Utilization is currently about 90% As the price continues to spike, oil use will decrease along with utilization.

[Axenolith]

This will be a wholly dollar fall created increase. Right now the price per barrel is the equivalent of ~21.00\barrel oil 2-3 years ago. OPEC isn't stupid, if the presses keep firehosing out dollars the price has to rise...

[zook]

Yawn. We hear this every year.

[Axenolith]

Ping to my 51...

[T.Smith]

$3.00 per gallon would just mean more time behind the wheel of the Triumph. That would be too bad, wouldn't it? :^)

[hope]

The Saudis are hoping to get a rat elected in 04...They may be successful...

[hope]

LOL!

There was a rumor in Phoenix last week that the Kinder/Morgan pipeline had a small hole in it...It started gaslines in minutes...It turned out that the rumor was false, but it goes to show how little it takes for a panic.

[discostu]

Wow, it's a bit early for the annual "gas is going to hit $3 a gallon" scare that always turns out wrong. It's especially odd to get the scare this early in an election, media must be bored with the election already.

[gathersnomoss]

And the reserve will have little or no affect on our ongoing price.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

This can be traced directly to the different kinds of gasoline now mandated by the all-knowing Feds.

[gathersnomoss]

..."don't build a wind farm in my front yard."

Do you have some sort of problem with filet-o-bird?