No look at WHY refiners have merged, its been a bad business for many, many years, mandated enviro capital spending, with no return. I didn't seen stories on how the refining industry was hurting when prices were low.....
It has nothing to do with mergers. It has everything to do with the increase in the price of crude. If the refinery industry has anything to do with it, it's because we have not built a new refinery in this country for more than 15 years.
Bloomberg is a conundrum: they talk about capitalism while banging the Anti-Bush drum.
All their radio updates include some sort of dig against the President: "Stocks remained stable today, suggesting a continuation of the worst economy since September 2000".
Democrat schills.
"ConocoPhillips, which produces a sixth of the nation's gasoline, said its plants are operating at 97 percent of capacity. No new refineries have been built in the U.S. since 1976 because of the difficulty in getting approval to build plants and the cost of construction, said Drevna of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association".
I suspect the above has far more to do with the supply problem than mergers. I just read an article on the CNN website of all places that said there's currently a $5 to $10 premium on the price of a barrel of oil because of the terrorist problem. Seems to me that mergers don't even come into play as far as gas prices are concerned but that's the best way for this author to try and pin the blame on Bush. What a pile of feces!
Regardless of who is responsible for the rise in gas prices, the auto manufacturers need to use improved technology so that cars can run efficiently on renewable sources of energy. And the vehicles and energy sources needs to be affordable for every income bracket. Speaking from the perspective of fixed income living, these rising prices - gas, food, medical care - makes my so-called budget look like a piece of Swiss Cheese! Dang, I just paid $1.90 for regular and almost $20 to fill the tank. Haven't had my full measure of caffiene yet so I'm just a tad cranky.
Exxon Mobil Corp., the second-largest U.S. refiner, on April 29 reported its highest first-quarter refining earnings in 13 years. Valero Energy Corp., the No. 3 U.S. refiner, said on April 28 that profit will almost triple in the current quarter after increased demand for gasoline spurred a 46 percent earnings gain in this year's first three months.
If this is true, then higher crude prices are not all of the problem. Higher crude prices don't make the refining effort less expensive.
They are dangerous, so there is a great deal of legal exposure with every accident, and the government increasingly requires expensive new equipment, for environmental, safety, or the boutique gasoline formulas.
If you were a major oil company, you'd make far more money investing in Treasury Bills than spending it on a refinery on a historical level. That's not true today during this price squeeze, but the price squeeze is the result of years of policies which made refineries a horrible investment.
You forgot the barf alert (for the title, not necessarily for the article info)
I think this oil price issue has been in the works for a while. Democrats jumped on this issue very early even when gas prices were not that big of a deal. I do believe OPEC and the Middle Eastern nations have been planning this for a while. They cannot stand Bush.
It is all the fault of Bush. He just doesn't have enough time to run those refinery's with the war and all.
Exactly how does the refineries having to pay $42/barrel make it THEIR fault that gas prices are so high?
Refinery margins have ranged anywhere from $1 - $3 dollars per barrel over the last twenty years. Refiners are hardly to blame when the price of crude has gone up $20 dollars per barrel over the last few years.
Nice article by the dnc.
So you can expect gas prices to rise well above their current levels in the next year...says Liberallarry, 66.
Only an idiot (or a Democrat Party hack, whether you call yourself a "Republican" or not) would think this: the administration has consistently advocated greater exploration and extraction of our own oil resources in order to keep us from being oil-dependent.
Additonally, the merging of refinery companies proves nothing.
Our increase in oil is due to the increased demand from Asia, China particularly, and due to an inability to refine the crude...OPEC could help by increasing production, but if you don't have the ability to refine the stuff, it won't make a huge difference.
No new refineries have been built in the USA in at least, what, 10 years? That is a huge problem...
I am amazed how fast some people are to point fingers at the current administration. :) Some simple, simple economic lessons are in order for a lot of people. I am hopeful, though: I think more people are "getting it" when it comes to some of these basic economic facts.
Is there nothing bad that he cannot do?
Actually it is really Abe Lincoln's fault. Hey anyone knows that!
8 Years of a democrat/enviromental adminstration where the business enviromnet was so hostile not one new refinery has been built in the last 10 yrs!
Something not mentioned, or really understood, is not all the oil in a barrel of oil goes for gasoline. If I remember right, it's only about ten percent of the oil in the barrel is suitable for gasoline production. That means, consumers should be aware of other prices rising as well. Such things as plastics, denim and anything that uses oil in the product.
Looks like a straight demand and supply issue demand is up supply unchanged. What happened in 1976 that resulted in no more refineries being built?
Folks this will get much worse. If refineries are opeating at 97% capacity that means that not much preventative maintenace is goin on. Look for major refinery outages.