What brand of gas you should REALLY boycott!

05/19/04 | self

[Steven W.]

also note that the Saudi oil is virtually useless for US now because it has too high sulfer content.

[agrace]

Great rant. :)

[richardtavor]

Thank you for making sense. I have been in the business for 30 years, and it sickens me to hear how ignorant people are of the oil and gas industry. We are a small domestic company. Those Greedy oil companies have lost close to 800,000 jobs in the last 15 years, due to the lack of a coherent domestic energy policy. If you are looking to assess blame, blame congress and John Kerry. 30% of that $2.04 is tax that fuels your state and national government. Kerry wanted to put another $.50 tax on a gallon. The reason the price is so high now, is that the world economy is booming. 10 years ago, 95% of the Chinese rode bicycles. Now, a lot are driving. Their economy and others are causing a shortage. Their is only 1 million barrels of swing production in an 80 million barrel per day world. But, be of good cheer. As any commodity, when the price gets too high, there will be a downturn in the economy, and thus, more oil on the market. In actuality, if we had an energy policy that allowed ourselves to flatten a price, we producers could do a better job of trying to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. If we had allowed the drilling of ANWR in 1996, when proposed, it is estimated that we would be producing 1 million bbls. per day in addition to the 5.6 million we produce domestically. Therefore, we are our own worst enemy.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

also note that the Saudi oil is virtually useless for US now because it has too high sulfer content.

That mearly raises the cost of refining. Plus a lot of residule oil that can only be burned in specially equiped boilers made for high sulfer fuel.

[Cobra64]

I'm sure Citgo is not the only US refiner/retailer buying crude from Venezuela.

[CyberAnt]

Just what is your beef with this oil company? I'm curious, because I never saw any Venezuelan influence in the Texas offices - none whatsoever. To say Venezuela "owns" the company .. it was not evident where I worked.

I have better car performance with Citgo gas .. that's why I'm so curious why you are so against the company. If you think there's a real issue here, I want to know.

[Cobra64]

What about a FRENCH company.

Yup. Take the Michelens off the car. I try to boycott French products, but most countries have their products in the US market. It's tough to keep track. Last year I printed out a list of French associated companies marketing their products here.

[CyberAnt]

I worked in the Tulsa office in 1993, and I never saw any "Vens" influence in our office.

[Agamemnon]

also note that the Saudi oil is virtually useless for US now because it has too high sulfer content.

That's Russian oil. Saudi is some of the best.

[CyberAnt]

And your problem with this is ..?? I mean are they really ripping us off .. what is the "real" problem with Citgo - except that it's foreign owned.

[BJungNan]

Thanks, I didn't know that. No more Citgo for me!

[television is just wrong]

ditto

[steve86]

Saudi oil is virtually useless for US now

I was hoping for a big up day in the markets today but didn't know it would be in the petro markets

[BJungNan]

also note that the Saudi oil is virtually useless for US now because it has too high sulfer content.

Do you have a source detailing this, detailing the Saudi oil can not be used because of high sulfer content? Thanks.

[BJungNan]

Nice links on gas prices. Thanks!

[pickemuphere]

I'm not that old, but I actually remember when there used to be "Mom-and-Pop" gas stations on a lot of the corners in our town. There also used to be "Mom-and-Pop" convenient stores, grocery stores, etc. Heck, this was only 5-10 years ago.

Now almost every gas station/convenient store is part of a multi-national corporation of some type. Mom and Pop are dead; they have been replaced by "Ameristop" and "Citgo."

You could always find cool stuff in Mom and Pop stores.. Now it's all about conformity! This is the only part of post-modern capitalism that I passionately hate.

[Nowhere Man]

Well, I think another type of gas to boycott is all the hot air from Kerry's mouth, but I digress. B-)

I remember back in 1989 when mom and I drove to Texas to see my aunt. We took her 1985 Nissan Pulsar and filled it up with Citgo down there and soon after, the car had problems with stalling and so on, the fuel filter got gunked up and had to be replaced. Mom told me that "if you ever, EVER put Citgo in my car (or your car) again, I'll kill you!" Ever since then, no Citgo. B-P

[Eric in the Ozarks]

That's not true. Saudi produces several varieties, all of them useful at a given price. Some of the heaviest crude is Cold Lake, north of Edmonton, and US refineries chew this up OK. It contains a lot of asphalt and sulfur, but refineries have "soured up," to accomodate it.

[Pagey]

Links BUMP!

[eyespysomething]

I like Reds Minit Mart in the town I live in. You can buy your bait there too. And gas, at least this a.m., was 1.889, about the lowest I've seen.

Its locally owned.