We can only refine so much gas

Houston Chronicle ^ | May 2, 2004 | MICHAEL D. TUSIANI

[blanknoone]

We can only refine so much gas

Not true. We can refine all the gas we could ever need. We can build more refineries. We just have to curb the power of the enviro-nazis.

[Pikamax]

bttt

[xrp]

Our leaders...must now demonstrate courage and vision.

Hah, Washington is filled with nothing but cowardly, spineless wimps bent on being re-elected.

[The_Victor]

We already burn more of this precious but cheap commodity...

This just demonstrates how woefully inept economics education is in the ranks of journalists (not to mention the rest of the country). Economics dictates that a commodity cannot be both precious and cheap. One of this conditions precludes the other.

[mathluv]

One of the reasons for gas shortages is lack of new refineries. If rationing were to become necessary, I think states should be rationed based on the number of refineries they have. Hellooooooo, California.

[Doe Eyes]

We can build more refineries.

Not the only solution. We can also expand capacity at exising refineries. They are located where the oil comes in, and already connected to the distribution pipelines.

[Doe Eyes]

We can build more refineries.

Not the only solution. We can also expand capacity at exising refineries. They are located where the oil comes in, and already connected to the distribution pipelines.

[snopercod]

Good article until the non-sequitur of the last paragraph.

[Dog Gone]

I think I can safely predict that no new refinery will ever be built in California again. Yet, the population there is expected to increase by 20 million in the next 16 years.

It's not hard to see the train wreck that is going to happen.

[Dog Gone]

Good article until the non-sequitur of the last paragraph.

That was exactly my take on the article.

[snopercod]

Gas at $2.00 Per Gallon May Seem Cheap by Autumn (industry analyst)

[CitizenUSA]

Let the free market reign! If the supply of gasoline is truly too small for demand, prices will rise. Rising prices will increase the incentive for companies to increase production or manufacture more fuel-efficient vehicles. I, personally, dislike SUVs, but I support the right of every citizen to buy what they want, even if it's wasteful. The free market has an amazing way of encouraging people to be responsible citizens by forcing them to pay an increasing price for poor decisions. I know there are a lot of SUV fans here, but I think we can agree they are terribly inefficient, right? Most people really don't need them.

[marron]

We already burn more of this precious but cheap commodity than U.S. refineries can make.

This of course is not an unstoppable force of nature. High prices under normal economic rules is the incentive to build and expand refining capacity. The inability to do so is purely political. You can ignore economics but you can't escape them. If you effectively outlaw expanding refineries you guarantee high gasoline prices. You can escape the political fallout by blaming the oil companies, but the energy bottleneck can't be finessed.

We buy more thirsty SUVs than thrifty sedans.

Oh, the SUV canard. People buy the vehicle they need and pay a price for it. The shortage of gasoline doesn't come because your neighbor needs a station wagon and can't buy one, it comes because your elected and unelected leaders won't allow a refinery in your neighborhood. The same problem applies to other energy projects. We have an existing generating plant in our town that is being shutdown because the local leaders won't allow it to operate anymore; they want the plant razed and replaced with shopping centers. Only a few months ago we were beset with blackouts and importing power at enormous cost; memories are short, though.

Most foreign refineries are unable to make gas that is suitable for sale in the United States

This again is not a law of nature. The problem of politically designed gasoline is self-inflicted. We can't import gasoline from one state to the other for the same reason. Elect morons to office and this is what you get. If you imagine that eggs come from the supermarket and electricity is your birthright, and gasoline is evil and should nonetheless be cheap, you are a candidate for manipulation by people who aren't fit to rule you, but will.

It takes three years to build and install those big, costly, complex units.

Three years is nothing. This is what a lot of people do for a living. Open the gates and get out of the way. The sky is not falling; people are throwing rocks in the air and blaming the sky.

An early warning could allow people of moderate means to buy efficient vehicles in time

People don't need to be encouraged to buy efficient vehicles. At three dollars a gallon people will do it without one dollar being spent on a PR campaign.

But if people don't get realistic about where oil and gas come from, the price will only continue to rise and no amount of bellyaching will prevent it. Only a change in political attitudes toward energy production can do that. Either you're for it or you aren't. If you aren't, get ready to pay a lot more.

[lelio]

Economics dictates that a commodity cannot be both precious and cheap.

I think you're mixing metaphors. Water's cheap and precious, but precious means "needed to sustain life."

[Dog Gone]

If you imagine that eggs come from the supermarket and electricity is your birthright, and gasoline is evil and should nonetheless be cheap, you are a candidate for manipulation by people who aren't fit to rule you, but will.

Great line.

[CitizenUSA]

Marron: "People buy the vehicle they need and pay a price for it."

Oh come on! Certainly you aren't making the claim that people buy transportation based solely on NEED? I can only speak for myself, but I own a high-performance vehicle that I most certainly do not need. I bought it because I like they way it snaps my neck when I punch the accelerator. It's pure luxury--completely unnecessary--both a lot of fun to drive and expensive to feed. NEED isn't the top concern on most buyer's minds, I think. Otherwise, how do you explain all of the Hummers, Mustangs, Exhibitions (or is it Expeditions?) and other similar vehicles on the roads today?

[KAUAIBOUND]

Here in Hawaii, the Democrat-controlled legislature has passed legislation imposing price controls on gas. They were due to take effect this summer, but will apparently be delayed until after the election to avoid any political fallout. There is only one refinery in Hawaii (Chevron on Oahu) and regular gas here on Kauai is $2.40 a gallon. We spend between $200 and $300 per month on gas.

[jjackson]

"lead us toward reducing consumption."

High prices will take care of this.

They will also stimulate increased supplies.

Thank goodness for the invisible hand of the market place.

[Starve The Beast]

Let the free market reign!

Roger that!

BUT... the free market doesn't work if government regulations interfere too heavily, and that's the situation now. I live in California, and lemme tell you, the free market doesn't dictate how refineries are built out here. If the Left can't crush free enterprise directly, they'll sabotage it clandestinely.