Have you SEEN THE GAS PRICES???

[Sir Goulum]

We've actually been over $3 a gallon here for a while. (As my calculations go, 80 cents a litre=about $3 a gallon)

[Arvon]

$6.00 in Atlanta this PM....Fights breaking out at pumps.

[Timber Loftis]

Originally posted by Zink Whistlefly: Ah well you US peeps still have it easy - us poor UK suckers currently pay £0.90 per litre = £4.05 per gallon = $7.30!!!!

Your math is a little off since 1 gal. = 3.7 litres. But, point taken.

[T-D-C]

We are paying around AUD $1.25 - $1.30 a litre at tme moment here in Sydney.

Its pretty funny that as soon as there is a spike in the barrel the prices shoot straight up. When the price per barrel comes down it takes ages to come down at the pump.

[Arvon]

Originally posted by T-D-C: We are paying around AUD $1.25 - $1.30 a litre at tme moment here in Sydney. Its pretty funny that as soon as there is a spike in the barrel the prices shoot straight up. When the price per barrel comes down it takes ages to come down at the pump.

Can you say gouge?

[Seraph]

I think they'll cap the prices if they reach $3.50. (hope).

Why on earth would you hope for that? A price-cap would create a gas shortage. I would rather be able to get expensive gas then not be able to get any gas at all.

[T-D-C]

Originally posted by Arvon: quote: Originally posted by T-D-C: We are paying around AUD $1.25 - $1.30 a litre at tme moment here in Sydney. Its pretty funny that as soon as there is a spike in the barrel the prices shoot straight up. When the price per barrel comes down it takes ages to come down at the pump.

Can you say gouge? [/QUOTE]Yeah and about 50c of that goes straight to the goverment. Boo Hiss!

[Ziroc]

Originally posted by Seraph: quote: I think they'll cap the prices if they reach $3.50. (hope).

Why on earth would you hope for that? A price-cap would create a gas shortage. I would rather be able to get expensive gas then not be able to get any gas at all. [/QUOTE]There is no shortage. It's price gouging. There are 10 days of reserve from the Gulf, plus many platforms are back up. The cap will stop leeches. The only reason there WOULD be a short-term gas shortage is people freaking out, and everyone buying gas. There is no need to freak out. Things will be back to normal in days. And opening the reserves is just to lower prices a tiny bit..

Atlanta buys directly from the hit areas, so thats why they are freaking out. there are still 8 days of reserve, so no worries.

[ 08-31-2005, 09:47 PM: Message edited by: Ziroc ]

[Ziroc]

Originally posted by Arvon: $6.00 in Atlanta this PM....Fights breaking out at pumps.

That is pathetic.

[mad=dog]

I think the concerns are

1) A depot or reserve is usually build to be maintained (as to avoid complete overnight depletion) and not as a rubberband used in a normal supply chain. Basically anything less than 10 days reserve means shortage as the oil influx is smaller than the efflux.

2) While many Gulf rigs are operational there is no indication as to the impact it could have had on their yield. There could be an overall decrease in production even if all wells are operating as repairs are made (which is not true as at least some appears damaged beyond repair).

There are other aspects as well. Oil will not make a car go anywhere. Petrol will. How is the operational status of the refineries that process the Gulf oil? If these are non-operational or at low capacity crude oil may have to be stockpiled until it can be processed again. This will aggravate the situation even more.
Naturally such a situation is generally shortlived. Other wells in high production fields such as Texas ect. will be able to fill the supply gap. But it requires an alteration in supply chains and that will take time. Until then the prices WILL go haywire.
Take it from a logical point of view. If a petrol station owner runs out of petrol he has nothing to sell. Since he cannot control neither supply nor demand he will have to resort to price elevation. Not to earn a pretty penny, but to ensure he has something to sell if things has not normalized within a week. After all it is better to have petrol you can buy at $6 than no petrol at all.

I have to say that my knowlegde on the US oil supply and processing system is minimal. I have presumed it is the same as here.

Also there is a priority here. Oil shortage is not an isolated problem.
1) Save lives in affected areas (N.O.)
2) Secure temporary living space for the affected
3) Clean up and reconstruct (among other things normalize fuel supply)

EDIT: A few corrections.
EDIT[2]:
I have had some time to get an overview. A good summary can be found here:
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news...d=aHqhEmdWCp4U

Select quotes:

The government's oil "is not going to be of much help unless we get refineries running again," Adam Sieminski, global oil strategist at Deutsche Bank AG in New York, said before the announcement. "Releasing oil from the SPR right now would be actually inappropriate because there would be no place to put it." ........ Eight refineries in Louisiana and Mississippi closed during the weekend, halting at least 1.79 million barrels a day of capacity. Four pipelines carrying refined oil products between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are also shut, Royal Dutch Shell Plc said. Colonial Pipeline Co., which runs the world's biggest network of petroleum-product pipelines, said it would restore shipments on two fuel lines this weekend. ........ About 1.4 million barrels a day is still shuttered as oil companies assess damage from one of the strongest hurricanes on record. The lost supplies represent almost 7 percent of U.S. daily oil consumption, forcing refiners that are running to draw on inventories.

[ 09-01-2005, 01:03 AM: Message edited by: mad=dog ]