Posted on 04/11/2007 7:45:49 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Democrats Demand Answers From Oil Companies By Susan Jones CNSNews.com Senior Editor April 11, 2007
(CNSNews.com) - Gasoline prices are going up again -- particularly in California -- and this time, Democrats may be feeling the heat.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a liberal Democrat from Ohio, has sent letters to seven major oil refiners, asking them to explain how they plan to "remedy the disparity" in gasoline prices, which are running about 50-cents-a-gallon above the national average in California.
"Congress can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch as escalating prices continue to take a heavy economic toll on consumers and risk further harming our economy," Kucinich said in a news release.
"As we approach this year's peak driving season, my subcommittee endeavors to know how the actions of the major oil companies play a role in raising the price of gasoline."
Kucinich chairs the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
In his April 10 letter to oil company CEOs, he specifically mentions decreasing refinery capacity, decreasing gasoline inventories, rising oil company profitability and increasing market concentration in the oil industry as the "root cause" of rising gasoline prices.
The letter asks the CEOs of BP, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Valero Energy Corp., Tesoro Corp., and Shell Oil to "provide the Subcommittee with detailed answers" to 13 specific questions, including the following:
1. What is your strategic plan to raise the supply of gasoline for the onset of the peak driving season, which is only weeks away?
2. What steps are you planning to take, and when do you plan to take them, to bring back online refining capacity that you have removed from production? When do you plan to have attained maximum refining capacity?
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Being overwhelmed by the fallacies in this news/opinion/polemic piece, I wish to mention just this one: the fallacy of seasonal variation was destroyed and obliterated forever by thackney's chart of yesterday.
"Gasoline expands as it warms, thus providing less value per gallon."
As if any company in any industry would reveal a strategic plan to do anything, particularly to an idiot Congresscritter. Bah.
Kucinich/Hagel in ‘08.
How many different types of gasoline do they have to make for CA (and every other state for that matter) due to ridiculous regulations imposed by democrats? How much cost has this added all along to every gallon?
These do tend, historically, to expand at this time of year, BUT, a 66-cent gasoline crack (right now, basis May futures) is just ridiculous. Were I the CEO of an integrated oil company, I should take steps immediately to max out refining capability before the Regress gets some ludicrous notion of a ''solution'' into its tiny, tiny brain.
As to the price of motor gasoline in CA, there's not one person in the industry, to my knowledge, who hasn't long since said that this development was going to be inevitable, given that CA has demanded a customised blend for which no other state has any use. Another practical lesson in why the political class shouldn't be allowed to have any influence at all in product specification and/or setting market pricing.
Kook alert!
If Kucinich is for it, I’m against it. I don’t even need to know what it is. :)
What a DOOFUS.....how about we send him letters demanding answers about his economic intelligence....
Isn’t there a problem with NOT ENOUGH REFINERIES, also?
What! Only 50¢/gal. over the nat. average? This is Kali. Give em time. They’’ll think of a way to get the price on up, to a level more to you shitheads liking. Yippee!!
Their answer should be:
We intend to continue to submit plans for building new refineries in the California area to improve the supply of gasoline. However, if past trends of the Democrat controlled state continue, we will be denied these permits and will not be allowed to build the required refineries.
Now that the Dems are in charge, we should see gasoline prices plummet. Go to it fellas. LOL.
I don’t know what a ‘thackney’s chart’ is but would you agree that seasonal blends (as many as 42 from what I understand) and the cost/time/interruption at refineries might have an affect? And this at a time when, IIRC, 2 refineries are shut down dor safety reasons.
But it is BUSH that has caused all the price increase.
Well gee.... ya little midget! Do you think perhaps the high gasoline tax in California has something to do with it! It's the second highest in the nation right behind Hawaii!
What a moron! Someone teach that little dwarf how to Google!
I’ll bet California has a higher Gas Tax than the national average.
No.
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