I saw a whole TV show on this and they stated that the estimated quantity is less than 4% of what the US would consume in 1 year. So this means we'd consume the whole supply in 1 yr if it does not replenish itself. With replenishing supply they didn't expect it to last more than 5 yrs before going dry. Chevron was the only company allowed to do a test drill to see how deep and explore the quantity and they will not release any data on the drilling because the govn't shut it down. It's considered an emergency field for defense purposes.

technology needs to find a replenishable supply of fuel the issue is the technology is being based on a fuel supply that generates an economy. Water will never happen because it's free and neither will the air compression car like they have in the cities in India.

 

I heard a few discussions on this recently. Something like $120-ish per barrel to produce gas from coal...at least with their OLD reference points to likely OLD technology processes. And with the price of crude over this point, will the world look to coal instead? Was also a mention that IF coal was turned to, the middle east would be SOL...and the US, especially Texas, would be in the money. But I personally doubt any conversion to coal. How much infrastructure is lacking to produce from coal? How much would it cost to build that infrastructure, and why would the gas manufacturers be motivated to make any investment when business wise they are making record profits?

I do wish E-85 would take over though. I'm not so much for the environmental impacts one way or another, but the price is great...or could be. E-85 can be sold for $1.25 and make the same profit of unleaded at any price. E-85 pricing is unregulated by the government, so the price is based on slightly undercutting regular unleaded to make it attractive to the average consumer. There's less mpg with E-85 versus unleaded, but IF I was saving $2~3 per gallon...I'd be fine with that. Just need to the government to step in and stop the price gouging on E-85.

 

You really think the government is going to step in and make E85 $1.25 a gallon!! I live in cornland and it's about .20 to .30 cents a gallon cheaper. I can't afford it, when it's 27% less efficient. And what happens this year when the rain is keeping us from getting into the fields and everyone has to change crops because they can't get the corn in in time. Now they're really going to stick it to us. It's NOT CHEAPER for anyojne!!!

 

Hold up; who hasn't heard of the new shelfs being found recently; I think there are something like 5; all of which are massive! There is one in between Colorado and Utah that has 3 times the supply of the Saudi reserve; and yes that is enough oil to supply the US's need for like 50+ years; not to mention what has been found in Brazil; off the Coast of Mexico, Alaska and other regions. We could be totally independant from OPEC by 2020 if we built refineries and started processing our own oil today!

 

I don't expect the USG to step in, but if they did the public would profit.

 

I hear this daily and I don't get it. These new sources will be in the supply in the next few years, but not today. There is still a set amount being drilled in a given day which 'should be' the supply side pricing que. The oil companies are supposed to price stuff for a fixed profit margin...right?

So I watch the news and I hear a report that the price of crude went up today. The price at the pump goes up immediately, yet that increased cost of crude should only affect the gas that is about to be made...correct? And when the market price of crude goes down, I don't see the pump price go down immediately.

If the US price was regulated according to the laws, the price changes at the pump should lag what the oil companies crude oil costs are by say 90+ days (or however long it takes to buy crude, process to gas, and deliver to a local gas station). This is why there are record breaking profits being recorded. -- Said another way, the oil company buys crude for $90 today, but by the time it's processed and delivered 90+ days from now the market price of crude has gone to $130, so the FALSELY markup the price based on the current market price. And you can bet IF the current price of crude was ever lower than they started with, they'd keep it at the higher one.

AND why does the current stock market price of crude really affect the price of gas at the pump? "That's the way it has been from the beginning." is not good enough. The stock market prices are based on perception. Those people never even see crude oil. The big oil companies explore, find, drill, and harvest their own supplies. The fact that someone on wall street thinks it's worth a little more today than yesterday does not change the cost of drilling. That guy on the oil rig is earning the same pay, using the same equipment, and the process hasn't changed. They do rent some of their piping and drilling equipment, and the price of that increases when there is more drilling going on and less inventory going on, but that is not a major factor in the stock market price of crude...in fact, it's opposite of stock market pricing logic.

It's just a matter of time before the people of the world force the governments to better regulate the oil companies. I wouldn't mind if the government took over oil production and refining. It would be basically operated as non profit and the price would be more constant. It'll never happen.

Ok....off my soapbox.

 

I know that the CEO of Exxon Mobil said that it takes about 6 weeks for the price of a barrel of oil to affect the price of gas at the pump. I know I heard on the news that gas went up at the pump due to the oil price increase on Friday, however it has been far less than 6 weeks . I think that mentally we heard it went up Friday, and Americans have a hard time remembering what happened a week ago, so if they raise the price now people will think that it is simply from the price of oil going up.

Another thing I have been reading about is that it isn't the price of oil we are seeing going up, as much as the value of the American dollar. If we can raise the value of a dollar we should see prices stabilize, and eventually decrease.

 

I agree with you about it being rediculous to think the gov will be able to do anything. As far as making ethanol goes, corn isn't the efficient way to make E85. Corn is for making jack daniels, George Dickle and Maker's Mark.

 

Why? The government already gets 5 or 6 times what the profit margin of gasoline is at the pump. Then state governments do the same so the taxes are already 10 to 12 times the profit margin. The government can sit on their ass and collect huge revenue for doing very little.

I think there is more than that in Alaska. As far a defense reserve, thats total bullshit. By the time it was on line we'd be speaking Chinese or Russian. I saw a show once that said the hottest days on record were since WWII. Turns out the data has errors in it that were corrected putting some of those hot days before WWII. The movie got a bunch of awards and the guy a Nobel Peace Prize even though it turns out to be fiction.

 

people need to keep in mind that some of the pseudo-environmental groups like Green Piece etc. have been wanting $5/gallon gasoline for over 20 years. They should be happier than pig in shit.