Text 19809, 39 rader
Skriven 2006-05-10 12:15:20 av John Hull (1:123/789.0)
  Kommentar till text 19792 av JOHNJWILSON (1:123/140)
Ärende: Refinery shortage?
==========================
JOHNJWILSON -> BOB SAKOWSKI wrote:


 VH>>> No, Bob, I'm showing how EVEN IF YOU COULD get a gallon of
 VH>>> gasoline from a gallon of crude, the price would still be
 VH>>> high.

 J> .

 ->> ...tell us how inexpensive
 ->> it is to run a refinery operation, right?

 J> The POINT is profits from crude oil are much higher than
 J> refining it.
 J> The fewer refineries the higher price of oil the bigger profits.
 J> Refineries take six year to build, are expensive, and
 J> return less profit.
 J> Why are oil companies reluctant?
 J> Well, DUH!

You really don't understand economics, do you?  The cost in real dollars to
produce that barrel of oil, and to refine it is the same now as it was ten
years ago; probably less in fact, since technology has automated many things,
and made the process more efficient to some degree.  The cost we pay has
nothing to do with actual cost.  It is determined by supply and demand at work
in the global market, and by speculators in the futures markets for gas and oil
and petroleum products.  Beyond that, it is determined by the taxes that are
put on by government.

If you could eliminate the tax (as we've done away with most tax on food,
etc.), and stop the speculators we'd drop the price by at least a third
immediately.  Then, eliminate the boutique blend bullshit required by the EPA;
and finally, go back to pegging the price at the pump based on what the station
owner actually had to pay for that gas instead of what the speculators say its
worth (ALWAYS inflated).  That would knock the price to half of what it is now,
maybe even a bit less than half.

--- Thunderbird 1.5.0.2 (Windows/20060308)
 * Origin:  (1:123/789.0)