Posted on 08/31/2005 3:30:39 PM PDT by Sender
Anyone who understands free markets understands what that will do.
I offered a fairly rosy assessment yesterday about the status of the offshore rigs and platforms yesterday based on my company's aerial assessment. All the deepwater facilities look to be okay from the air although a final assessment can't be made until we put crews back on deck.
Shell's Mars platform is significantly damaged, though, and that's a big piece of Gulf production. It will take months to restore that. In the meantime, none of the production is coming ashore until pipeline integrity can be assured. The offshore oil terminal for foreign imports looks to have only minor damage, but since it has no power, it's out of action.
Then word came late today that seven of my company's platforms can't be assessed for damage because they can't be found at all. They're gone. These are NOT the kind that float away. They're the kind that sink when knocked off their foundation.
I don't know how much production they were making. It's probable that they won't be replaced if the cost of doing so exceeds the value of the oil and gas remaining under them.
So we're going to have a shortage for awhile. Worse at first, but getting better over time.
In the meantime, the market is doing what it does best, allocating resources based on cost.
You wouldn't pay $5,000 for a diamond if you could dig around in your garden and find one if you wanted to get a little sweaty. If they were priced at 50 cents, the jewelry stores would all run out and those who wanted one could find one. The market figures this out.
That's why there will be enough gas at $3 or even $4 to get us through the time of shortage. Enough people won't buy gas at those prices to make it available to those who choose to buy it.
Hey, all my in-laws are in Lawrenceburg! I'll be there in the next month probably. I lived across the river from Wild Turkey for years...on the Woodford side ;)
WSB is 750 AM
Those are the two biggie news/talk rivals.
Shortage fears fuel long lines; prices top $3
From staff reports
An unfounded — yet, detailed — rumor apparently sparked a gas-buying panic in Athens today, as locals rushed to stores to buy up fuel.
The panic caused long lines, tense nerves and shortages at some stations, but suppliers and store owners said the widespread concern that local retailers would stop selling gas at 3 p.m. was false.
The long lines at many gas stations continued well after 4 p.m., however, as motorists raced to fill up their gas tanks to beat a string of price increases during the day.
Motorists saw steep price increases at gas stations all over town - some topping $3 a gallon - as area wholesalers reacted to steep hikes on the gasoline commodity market.
But the rumor that local retailers would stop selling at 3 p.m. may have created an area gasoline shortage, said Bobby Tweedell of Tweedell & Van Buren Oil Co. The supplier had about a five-day supply of gasoline on hand, but today’s run on gasoline meant the supply could run out late Friday or early Saturday, Tweedell said.
The pipeline that supplies oil to the area was shut down by Hurricane Katrina, but will reportedly resume pumping Sunday, he said.
Overreaction by Athens-area drivers to the unfounded rumor has exacerbated pressure on an already thin distribution system, said Harriett Lay with Lay Brothers Oil in Athens.
"This panic is not doing anything but making things worse," Lay said. "We have no idea where the rumor (about gas stations closing at a certain time) started, but I sure would like to get my hands on the idiot that started it."
Paid $2.73 here in SE Iowa about an hour ago. Place has been pretty busy, saw a woman filling a 5 gal can as I pulled in. A little nervousness but basically calm. I put enough in to get me thru work this weekend, and have 1/4 tank in the beater.
I can't physically bicycle one-way 20 miles, but I am resorting to my two-tier motorcycle arsenal. I'll ride the comfy 750 until I can't afford to, then switch to the thrifty 350.
Yep, another reason everybody should go home and wait it out.
Since the price of gas went way up I now ride my bike more often for short trips to the store. It's good excercise, I save money and I'm helping to conserve.
I heard the 'gas panic' stories on WSB 750, mainly because WGST 640 gave up its repeater on 105.1 so an all-Spanish station could have the bandwidth. Now I have only WSB.
The problem with that situation is this. It only takes one assult, if you're a woman, to screw up your whole life.
Yes, mass transit seems like a good idea. I just think women particularly are playing Russian Roulette by using it.
They may ride 250 times without a single incident. Then one day a guy gets on who's drunk, very unkempt and has mental problems to boot.
I watched this happen one day. There was a nice attractive twenty-something woman in a business suit. She was approached by a really seedy looking guy who wouldn't leave her alone. By the time she had firmly rejected him, he was getting quite upset. I had my eye on him about ready to move in. While it didn't escalate to the point that I had to jump in, it was on the verge of getting there.
I just don't recommend this to women, or even men who don't want to take their health into their own hands on a public conveyance.
I would gladly bicycle or moped to work if only we in Atlanta didn't have the longest average commute in the nation, and surely one of the highest average speeds.
$2.83 here.
Also some companies are idiots by denying us the ability to telecommute from home even when we only need a phone line and a computer. Idiot companies. (not necessarily related to any companies rhyming with 'Philips')
I don't think so. If I remember correctly, WGST is 640 on the radio dial and 750 is WSB.
Other than to drive up prices, I do not know.
No you don't. It's a very low-margin business.
Most of the time, there are exceptions.
Was she hugh? Maybe biking will do her good...
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