Gas Prices
Where Has All The Gas Gone?
Sounds like a 60's protest song. But really, where has it gone? The answer is mergers!
In 1991, 189 firms owned 325 refineries and then in 2001, 65 firms owned 155 refineries. What does that have to do with the price? Companies are controlling supply and with that the demand is high, they make lots of cash. The small amount of refineries cannot keep up with supply and that drives prices upward.
Mergers have taken a toll on refineries. When the merger occurs, the company then closes some of the absorded companies refineries in an attempt to cut cost thus making the merger look like a success. Which in turn drives investors to invest--more profit made.
The remaining small amount are operating at 90%, leaving no room for exspansion of production during times of high demand. Then if for some reason a refinery is taken off line the supply decreases even more, driving prices up even further.
Today, in my area the price of gas is $2.90 and when the summer travel system arrives it will jump up and I am looking at about $3.25 per gallon by July.
Ok class--here is your summary of today's lecture.
Gasoline prices have become very volatile since 2001. While increased crude is a factor, tight supply and reduced refinery capacity plays a major roll in the volatility. Pricing schemes are used by oil companies to maximize their prices and profits.
Is there an answer that will help the American people find some relief from the problem of gas? Yes there is! Buy a bike!
CHUQ
10/05/07
3 comments:
Thanks for the education on this issue, Professor. I didn't know a whole lot about it, just one of those things I should read up on, but never have. Never know what you're going to learn in the classroom! :-)
It makes perfect sense, though, that they can now charge what they want to, I mean who is there to stop them? BTW, the lowest gas prices in our area is around $3.20.
Thanx, Marie, I try to help people understand what is what and on this issue; your local station is NOT the bad guy. Everyone oin the industry whines about the refinweries, but they closed them not the people. They closed them because of greed and investors have let this come to pass.
Yeah, and did you see in the news a few days back (or was it a week) where someone stopped selling gas, because they were told to stop giving discounts to the elderly and another group? I thought, "wait a minute, who owns the gas station... Who is paying for the difference"? THE OWNER, so it was no body's business but theirs, IMO.
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