Posted on 05/21/2008 7:51:41 AM PDT by tobyhill
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Amid increasing public outcry over record-shattering oil and gas prices, senators hauled company executives in to testify Wednesday to ask what's behind the recent runup.
The Senate Judiciary Committee called the hearing to explore the skyrocketing price of oil, which topped $130 a barrel earlier in the day. The committee is set to question executives from Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500), ConocoPhillips (COP, Fortune 500), Shell Oil Co. (RDSA), Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and BP (BP).
"Normal supply and demand says prices should be around $55 to $60 a barrel," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the committee. "Prices should not skyrocket like this in a properly functioning, competitive market."
Before the hearing even began, a heckler in the crowd shouted: "Stop ripping off the American public - bring these oil prices down."
But a top executive from BP said the high prices are being driven by global forces.
"We cannot change the world market," said Robert Malone, chairman and president of BP America Inc. "Today's high prices are linked to the failure both here and abroad to increase supplies, renewables and conservation."
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
1. Remove the restrictions on drilling offshore, in ANWR and in the mountain states.
2. Increase the minimum margin requirements on commodity accounts from 25% to 50%.
3. Immediately repeal the 8,000,000,000 barrel mandate for ethanol use and remove the subsidy for corn growers, ethanol refiners and ethanol dealers.
4. Freeze the wages of Congress until inflation goes back under 1%.
5. Repeal the $1M cap on tax deduction of CEO pay (Clinton did this in 1993 and it directly caused the practice of paying CEOs with stock options which sent CEO compensation through the roof and led to the massive corruption in accounting which boosted stock prices temporarily).
6. If Congress can’t do these things, then ritual suicide is always an option.
I kid around a lot, but I’m for real right now: We really are right in line for a huge, horrible depression because we really are at Peak Oil, and 132$ a barrel will really seem like the good old days in about a year, huh?
Yes, this is Peak Oil. Aside from sending the military to occupy the oilfields, a stopgap and not cheap, there is nothing to be done but reconfigure the old corpulent lifestyle.
Are you suggesting that we refuse to pay the current world market price? That Congress direct oil companies to do that?
The price will come down if we reduce demand either by conservation (55 mph speed limits again?) or by having a recession where our economy slows or retracts until there is less need for oil (which may happen whether we like it or not). Our attempt to finesse the market by devaluing the dollar is backfiring now and “inflating” oil prices (as well as food prices - see ethanol).
Obvious consensus here at FR is to increase supply from more “stable” sources (i.e., U.S. as in ANWAR) to limit market reaction to political instability (i.e., Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, etc.).
What our politicians are doing now is self destructive because all potential solutions require lead time and until we start things are just going to get worse.
BS.. Futures trading GREED TAX is what the price is all about.. the execs saying its simply a supply issue is just as idiotic as the tobacco execs standing up there and saying cigarettes aren’t addictive.
While I believe we should be tapping our domestic supplies, and securing this hemisphere, mainly so we aren’t dealing with a part of the world that makes 800 ad look modern. Blaming the current price of gas on shortages of supply is no less a lie than the cigarettes aren’t addictive line.
Oky.
Typing too fast for my brain, we purchase 50% of our oil from the world. The rest is domestically produced.
As the largest single consumer of oil in the world I’m suggesting that we put our boot heels on the throats of the bastards that are artificially inflating the prices and keep them there until they submit or suffocate.
Now that the democrats control congress they can no longer blame Republicans for the rise in prices. As a matter of fact the price was $2.19 a gallon when they took control saying they would fix the problem. Well, here we are at close to $4.00 a gallon and Nancy and Harry bitching about how all Bush wants to do is drill, drill, drill. If they continue to block domestic drilling I see $8.00 to $10.00 gas.
The strait at its narrowest is 21 miles wide. Not the same as sinking a battleship at the mouth of Pearl Harbor.
“That’s a bald faced lie. The U.S. purchases and consumes over 50% of the world’s oil. As the largest consumer we control the market and it’s time for the oil execs to stop lying about that.”
Actually we use about 23% of the world oil supply, with 5% of the world population. However, our economy is about 25% of the world GDP, so its actually about right four our consumption as we supply the world with products and services. Just adding a few facts to the argument....
Our government officials are the main bastards artificially inflating prices by not allowing the exploring, drilling, and refining of domestic oil on government owned property. Alaska and 85% of off shore is off limits. The so called “BIG OIL” that they like to bitch about only controls 6% of the world's oil supply. We are importing 60% of our oil. Some from people who hate our guts. Those who are against the war are against domestic drilling. Those who are for OPEC increasing their supplies to us are against domestic drilling. The only way this makes since is they believe OPEC’s oil will not create “man made global warming” but ours will.
"Peak Oil" except for the billions of barrels in oil shale, tar sands, in ANWR, and offshore.
We need to start drilling all of our oil deposits. The price of foreign oil would drop like a rock.
And we could still tell them to shove it while we happily drill our own oil.
How can you control the price by being the biggest consumer while at the same time you import 60% of your supply?
I’ll take the Asian.
She’ll eat your brain.
Put our boot heels on their necks by doing what? Big talk with strong metaphors sounds great, but there’s no real world thing we can do. The only way a buyer can force a seller to do anything is buy not buying, but when it comes to oil that’s not an option. We can’t stop going to work, stop lighting our homes, and stop eating food, we can’t not buy. We can’t not buy, we have no boot heel.
Gilmore has got my complete support. I'm thrilled to have a conservative rrrunning that I can support!
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