Community Forums

Big Oil Guy · 05-03-2012, 12:01 PM

Bobby88, it's complicated... and I can only scratch the surface. People get frustrated and attempt to make it simple by blaming the oil companies, or govt. Human nature is to lash out at whatever target is in front of us when we feel victimized.

I'll try to lay out some basics, but over simplification is the norm with such efforts. First, there is supply/demand. Not in a 10 mile radius, but globally... We tend to get wrapped up in me and mine, us and ours, but oil is a global commodity. Many books are written on supply/demand alone. In a 10 mile radius you have John Smith who owns a station and buys his gas from Exxon, Valero, or ??? You also have company owned stations who lease to a guy humping to make a living on a few cents/gal of product sold. You also have almost any scenario you can imagine with ownership and management. The decision to raise/lower prices at the pumps of these various stations is just as diverse, depending on management. These are businessmen, and it's called capitalism.

The govt and oil companies have some influence in pump prices, but competition keeps this in check over the long haul (remember.. capitalism). The govts role is mostly due to politics.. i.e.: political moves that influence public or global sentiment that will allow speculators to move in and "capitalize" on mood swings of the market. You can make your own mind up on what's been happening in that regard.

Not all gas is created equal! While all gasoline is very similar as it comes out of the refinery spigot, each brand has it's own particular additives it puts in the raw stock. Some of the more expensive brands use more expensive additives than brand X. Of course, they can then price them according to what the market allows... (free enterprise).

Prices can vary due to supply, demand, weather, transportation costs, local availability, global availability, pipeline availability, a bottleneck of tanker ships, politics in the middle east, reserves in Cushing, OK, variations in the NYMEX oil price, political posturing, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

I'm not qualified to really answer your question, but hope that some of the above helps to shed a little light on the subject, rather than simply muddying the waters.

vincee · 05-04-2012, 08:03 AM

I think the one thing Big Oil Guy forgot to mention in his analysis is competition. In the Western New York area we have very little. Case in point, at one intersection on two different corners are Sunoco Stations. One block up was a Kwik Fill station. When Sunoco filled the vacumm left after Mobil picked up stakes and vacated the area, you suddenly saw brand new Sunoco stations next to, you guessed it, Sunoco stations. The Kwik Fill (American Oil from PA) suddenly was closed, tore down, tanks removed and grass planted. Oh, one other point is that station owners today do not make just "a few pennies per gallon". After the last gas price spike a couple years back when prices got into the $4 plus range and then fell back down, gas prices in WNY were some of the hightest price gas in the nation. Why? Lack of competition and greedy station owners that according to local news reports were making in excess of $.40 per gallon and did not want to give up their windfall profits just yet.

Bobby88 · 05-04-2012, 09:17 AM

Thanks, Big Oil, I had a colonoscopi procedure done this morning and it was actually less painful than filling up at the pumps...ha! I do know that "price gouging" at the pumps were investigated here in Virginia...and actually there were some proven instances of that when gas went to $5 gallon a couple years ago - so I know it does happen...

scenic route · 05-04-2012, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobby88

I had a colonoscopi procedure done this morning and it was actually less painful than filling up at the pumps...ha!

LOL! Not much difference though, is there?...both will CLEAN you out and will leave you with GAS!

Bob

Bobby88 · 05-05-2012, 06:32 AM

You are sooooo correct..........

Old Trucker · 05-06-2012, 04:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mangum2camp

I was wondering what will campers do if gas goes over $4.00 a gallon? THE news said it will be here in md. by may.I know it will keep us close to home

I just read 13 replies to your thread... I think all Y'all are sufferin from "pump shock"

I am a retired cross country trucker. The only way I know to figure travel cost and fuel cost is on a per mile basis X the number of miles I expect to travel. Lets take a look.

Example;

Gas prices increase 50 cents per gallon, on a 7 mpg Rv, it will cost an ADDITIONAL 7 cents a mile, so 1000 miles costs $70. more than before

Diesel prices increase 50 cents per gallon at 9mpg, it will cost
5.5 cents per mile or $55.00 on a l000 mile trip.

For those of us that have a diesel pusher, at todays prices ($4.25 in North Vernon, In) I just use a quick easy figure of 50 cents per mile, thats close enough for me.

Its a catch 22, if we cant afford to operate our Rv and enjoy our travels, we might as well sell it and stay home. On the other side, the market is limited for all the same reasons.

Happy travels, don't let fuel prices ruin your enjoyable days of retirement. Think positive; the kids won't have as much to fight over. If you do not know how to spend it... they will show you when you are gone.. old trucker

vincee · 05-07-2012, 07:03 AM

Old Trucker, I think you put everthing in perspective quite nicely! Very nice advice.

lv2bgoing · 05-13-2012, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Gas is 3.559 as I came to work, diesel at the same station was 4.199. The gas is among the cheapest but I can get diesel cheaper.
Headed out for Phoenix in a while, hope it doesn't go up too much more but I don't think our government is helping hold the prices down!

I am in Phoenix and the price yesterday was 3.77 for gas and 3.89 for diesel it is pretty hot here are you sure you want to come this way. it was 101 on my back porch today. We are leaving on Wed. to head to Seattle ,Wa. by June 26. going up 395 in California then to the coast where it is cooler.

GuyWhoTris · 05-14-2012, 09:28 AM

We won't RV less. We will just drink more when we arrive. That way we forget how much it cost to get there. :-)

Actually our trips are fairly short. It is still more economical than the 2 hotel rooms required for my family so we won't change anything.

RedneckExpress · 05-14-2012, 12:27 PM

Did Rug peg for any of the rest of you over the last week?

It was $3.889 a week ago, and in three days jumped up to $4.20.

chuckinthebus · 05-14-2012, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedneckExpress

Did Rug peg for any of the rest of you over the last week?

It was $3.889 a week ago, and in three days jumped up to $4.20.

It has been in a slow decline around TN till last week when it dropped almost $.20 overnight. Seeing Reg @ $3.37 -$3.47 and bought Diesel last night for the work truck @ $3.82 (P/FJ discount). May be able to go somewhere this summer other than the driveway.