Posted on 04/26/2006 4:17:15 PM PDT by Conservative Coulter Fan
The cost to produce and deliver gasoline to consumers includes the cost of crude oil to refiners, refinery processing costs, marketing and distribution costs, and finally the retail station costs and taxes. The prices paid by consumers at the pump reflect these costs, as well as the profits (and some- times losses) of refiners, marketers, distributors, and retail station owners.
In 2003, the price of crude oil averaged $28.50 per barrel, and crude oil accounted for about 44% of the cost of a gallon of regular grade gasoline. In comparison, the average price for crude oil in 2002 was $24.09 per barrel, and it composed 43% of the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline. The share of the retail price of regular grade gasoline that crude oil costs represent varies somewhat over time and among regions.
What Do We Pay for in a Gallon of Regular Grade?
Federal, State, and local taxes are a large component of the retail price of gasoline. Taxes (not including county and local taxes) account for approximately 27 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline. Within this national average, Federal excise taxes are 18.4 cents per gallon and State excise taxes average about 21 cents per gallon. 2 Also, eleven States levy additional State sales and other taxes, some of which are applied to the Federal and State excise taxes. Additional local county and city taxes can have a significant impact on the price of gasoline.
Refining costs and profits comprise about 15% of the retail price of gasoline. This component varies from region to region due to the different formulations required in different parts of the country.
Distribution, marketing and retail dealer costs and profits combined make up 14% of the cost of a gallon of gasoline. From the refinery, most gasoline is shipped first by pipeline to terminals near consuming areas, then loaded into trucks for delivery to individual stations. Some retail outlets are owned and operated by refiners, while others are independent businesses that purchase gasoline for resale to the public. The price on the pump reflects both the retailer’s purchase cost for the product and the other costs of operating the service station. It also reflects local market condi- tions and factors, such as the desirability of the location and the marketing strategy of the owner.
Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov
aka SPR-II, in my book.
Sounds like you should get into that business.....You'd be rich!
Anyone who has sold a house (or a stock) at a marked-up price over what they paid for it is also screwing us.....right?
No matter hou you put it, they are screwing us.
Assuming you have a job......do you charge you employer any more than your "cost" for your time? I'll bet you have raised your price up to the market level for your job.....Who's screwing who?
The oil company apologists just never end. When you don't like the message, attack the messenger.
And throw this into the mix:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1621039/posts
Things are heating up.
Huh???
Thanks for the info. How are the royalty payments indexed ? Are they tied to the current price of crude ?
???
What was your basis for that statement?
I am a FREE MARKET apologist. The oil companies (and you, too) get the benefit of my apologies as long they function as a part of the free markets.
There is NO doubt that government regulation leads to poverty, misery, and shortage. All over the world and throughout history, this has consistently been the case.
You consider it an "attack" that I say that you (and likely 99.9% of the world) get the maximum amount of pay they can from their employer, independent of whether they could live on less or not???
Fact. ;-)
Actually, read the recent ExxonMobil statements...the spokesman even acknowledged the profit margin on the crude-production side, but pointing out that the refining and distribution margins were much smaller.
My problem with the tax, if memory and data serve me correct, was that it wasn't just paying for the roads...it was being used to fund mass transit...the Amtrak boondoggle...and so forth.
In point of fact, after reading several recent statements to try to see what you were seeing, they said just the opposite. Crude production itself was up 5%, but the profit margin wasn't. They are having to replace more than ever because of their declining fields, so it's pretty much a wash, in volume. And now they are spending 3x times as much on exploration, from a year ago. That eats up profit.
They *said* that refining profit margins were up: "Earnings from refining and marketing, excluding special items, came in at $1.3 billion, up $128 million from last year, largely due to higher marketing margins, improved refining operations and positive foreign-exchange effects, according to the company."
I heard the very same proposal put forth on a number of radio shows the past few days...
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