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It's $3.39/gal for regular unleaded here in Nashville, IL...I had to get rid if my precious trans am last winter for a little go kart of a 4-banger ford :mad: ....oh well. The payments are cheaper and it gets twice the mileage, so I guess I should be happy:rolleyes: ...but I sure do miss my hot rod! LOL...
If I can get lucky, which I have been, around 2.85 for Gas... most offer is around 2.95 but thank you Tom Thumb discout 10 cents per gallon.
Now, you want cheap gas... and in the US...???
Look at what is costs in Alaska.
And, its great being just 1 mile from work. Thank you Mr. Bicycle
I got this by email a few weeks ago but never got around to posting it. Figured this was the perfect thread to do so. :D
New universal sign for gasoline ...
Where is Mobile on that?
Gas prices highest in almost two years: survey
Updated Tue. May. 22 2007 7:59 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Canada is experiencing its highest average pump price since the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The Calgary consulting firm M.J. Ervin and Associates found the average price of a litre of gasoline in Canada to be $1.15.
The national average price for regular gasoline peaked after Katrina in 2005, at $1.26 a litre. Thunder Bay, Ont. was the bargain capital for gas buyers, reporting a price of $1.02 per litre. People in Kelowna, B.C. are paying $1.28 per litre.
M.J. spokeswoman Cathy Hay told The Canadian Press that the culprit is higher wholesale gasoline prices driven by "extremely low" gasoline inventories.
Canada isn't the only country experiencing the problem. The United States and even Iran have their own troubles.
In the U.S, retail gas prices hit a record high for a second consecutive week and matched the inflation-adjusted peak experienced during the Iran-Iraq war of the early 1980s, the U.S. government reported Monday.
The national price hit US$3.22 per gallon, or about 92 cents (Cdn.) per litre, according to the Energy Information Agency, which surveyed 800 stations.
That price is up about US$1.05 per gallon since early February.
The Lundberg industry survey of 7,000 stations put the price at US$3.18 per gallon.
A study by the Government Accountability Office told the U.S. Congress on Tuesday that the spike in U.S. gasoline prices has taken US$20 billion out of the pockets of U.S. consumers, an average of US$146 for every passenger car in the country.
The EIA said the shutdown of several refineries for maintenance has led to tight supplies.
"We are expecting that things should improve in June," the agency's Guy Caruso told The Associated Press. "We still have some more of the wholesale (gasoline) prices to pass through (to the pump). We're not at the peak yet."
The U.S. is compensating by importing gasoline, and that has a ripple effect that's being felt in Iran.
The government there boosted the price of gasoline by 25 per cent, although the price is still very low by world standards.
Motorists awoke Tuesday to find themselves paying 11 cents per litre.
While Iran is OPEC's oil exporter, it has a lack of domestic refining capacity. Fuel rationing is being considered by the government, which is attempting to reduce its reliance on imported gasoline. A decision will be announced on June 5.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005 promising to reduce unemployment and getting a share of oil revenues to every family. The economic pressures of rising prices for gasoline, housing and food in Iran are driving up public discontent there.
With files from The Canadian Press and the Associated Press
This article came out a few days before the one posted above.
Quote:
Vancouver hardest hit by soaring gas prices
Updated Fri. May. 18 2007 10:23 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
As motorists fill their tanks for the long-weekend haul, gas prices are up around the country with Vancouver being the hardest hit by the petrol price hike.
The average price at a Vancouver pump on Friday is $1.27 a litre for regular unleaded gasoline.
The continuous rise in prices has spurred motorists in the city to make a switch from their vehicles to public transit, according to The Globe and Mail.
From January to April, Vancouver's Translink system saw an 11-per-cent increase in ridership on its lightrail service while the rest of the system saw a 3-per-cent rise.
National public transit use is reported to be at an all-time high, according to the Canadian Urban Transit Association.
Experts contend that while the environment may be a motivating factor for public transit use, the benefits are harder to see.
A price increase at the pumps is more likely to impact a consumer's wallet, prompting them to think about transit alternatives.
"I think in some ways environment still takes a back seat to a lot of people," he sad "You think you can put up with smelly air and you can't really see the immediate impact of what you're doing, but you can see the gasoline prices, Drew Snider, Translink spokesperson, told The Globe.
Prices were up an average of five cents a litre in the Toronto area Friday morning to about $1.10 a litre, while prices in Thunder Bay rose to around $1.20 a litre.
The hike was even bigger in Halifax, where the price jumped 7.2 cents a litre
Gas industry representatives maintain the long weekend price hike theory is a myth.
The summer months bring an increase in the amount Canadians drive compared to the summer with Victoria Day marking the unofficial start to cottage season. More motorists on the road and driving for long distances means demand is much higher in summer the summer months.
For this year, gas price increases are also due in part to higher-than-usual levels of maintenance at refineries in North America, which have caused an unprecedented seasonal production decline.
Ontario Energy Minister Dwight Duncan called on the federal government to give the Competition Bureau more power to investigate price fixing and gouging at the pumps.
The bureau also needs more power to request documents to determine if price fixing or gouging is actually taking place, he said.
"The time it takes even to launch an investigation into these things doesn't deal with the real concerns motorists have about short-term spikes in prices,'' Duncan told The Canadian Press.
"The (competition) act and the process are really stacked against ever finding out that there is collusive behaviour or in fact gouging going on.''
At a press conference on Thursday in Waterloo, Ont., Prime Minister Stephen Harper maintained the federal government is not looking at reducing gasoline taxes, despite a pledge first made in the 2004 election campaign.
"We became convinced that, quite frankly, there was a limited amount we could do in terms of helping consumers specifically with gas prices," Harper said at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ont.
"That's why; instead, we decided to cut consumption taxes more generally to help consumers in that way."
According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, taxes account for about 33 per cent of the price of gas at the pumps.
Harper blamed high gas prices on demand surpassing supply. He said a long-term solution would be to reduce the need for oil-based products, and urge consumers towards more sustainable fuels.
With files from the Canadian Press
I really hadn't intended on posting yet ANOTHER article :rolleyes: but speaking of gouging .... well I also ran across these earlier stories while looking for the other ones I already posted. :D
Quote:
Tories reject calls for inquiry into gas prices
Updated Thu. May. 3 2007 8:40 AM ET
Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- Rejecting explanations from big oil companies, the opposition parties are demanding the federal government investigate why gasoline prices have been surging.
But there's little Ottawa can do to curb prices at the pumps, say the Conservatives. The NDP demanded a public inquiry after gasoline prices reached as high as $1.28 a litre in Vancouver on Tuesday, and only slightly lower in other parts of Canada. Pump prices have since dropped but remained just under $1.10 a litre in many regions.
"Yesterday, Imperial Oil reported a 31 per cent increase in quarterly profits, on the very same day that gas prices went through the roof," New Democrat Judy Wasylycia-Leis said in the Commons on Wednesday.
"So here we have big oil companies making big profits and consumers still paying big prices. It doesn't add up," she said.
"Why doesn't this government take on these big gas makers?"
Ottawa has limited ability to counter rising gasoline pump prices, said Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn.
"There have been six federal studies of gas prices and each and every time the Competition Bureau has found there's been no price fixing," said Lunn.
"If the member has information and would like another investigation, they're welcome to bring that forward."
Lunn also cited Conservative government measures to mitigate the effects of higher gasoline prices.
"We brought in the $2-billion biofuels strategy," he told the Commons. "We're providing incentives for Canadians to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles ... and we have lowered the GST."
Rather than look at price fixing, the federal government should instead investigate why oil companies have been closing gasoline refineries, said Bloc MP Robert Vincent.
"The sharp increase in gas prices is not explained by international factors alone," he said. "It's also due to the intentional closure of some refineries.
"We know prices at the pump come under provincial jurisdiction, but can't the federal government check the profit margin of refining since that's under its jurisdiction?"
Oil companies and industry observers have blamed rising gas prices on everything from unrest in oil-rich Nigeria and tensions in the Middle East to high demand and low inventories. The cost of buying gasoline also moved higher in the United States, with an average gallon of gas at American pumps rising Tuesday to US$2.96, up nearly 80 cents US a litre.
The national average price of gas in Canada on Tuesday was just over $1.10 a litre, up nearly five cents from the average price in March, and 19 cents higher than the average price in January, said MJ Ervin and Associates Inc., a Calgary-based consulting firm.
Quote:
Opposition urges action on gas gouging report
Updated Thu. May. 10 2007 8:15 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Opposition parties are demanding that the government take action after a report Thursday suggested Canadians are being gouged at gas pumps across the country by as much as 27 cents a litre.
The study, completed by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), found an unjustified hike in prices after Hurricane Katrina. The study says ever since the disaster, Canadians and Americans have been paying much more at the pump than would be justified by the cost of crude oil, production and profit margins, before the devastating hurricane.
NDP Leader Jack Layton urged a government inquiry into record oil company profits and high gasoline prices.
"Despite these so-called increases in costs, actually these big companies are simply profiteering,'' said Layton. "If there is competition it's the most unusual competition I've ever witnessed, where everyone changes direction at exactly the same time.''
Gas prices have hovered above $1 a litre for in most cities across Canada for several weeks.
Although the Liberals did not intervene on the issue of gas prices when they were in power, the party also expressed concern on the issue.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said he felt the Competition Bureau needed increased powers to deal with the rising prices at the pumps.
"The Competition Bureau must have more tools, and National Resources must have the possibility to make studies ... to make sure nothing inappropriate is happening,'' he said.
Responding to the views of the opposition parties, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier conceded that the price of gas "is high right now,'' but felt an attempt to control gas prices was unrealistic.
"If you look at all the countries in the world, when you try to control prices it doesn't work,'' he said. "What we have now is a problem with the inventory and the stock problem in the U.S... I think in the near future the price will go down.''
Earlier, Tony Macerollo of the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, rejected the study, saying there are a number of justifiable reasons for the price increases.
He told The Canadian Press that increased demand, speculation and the fact that many North American oil refineries postponed upgrades in the wake of Katrina are factors in the price hike.
The CCPA report said that the crude oil that is used in vehicle tanks today does not cost any more to produce than it did in 2001 when the price of gas was less than 60 cents a litre
Hugh Mackenzie, an economist researcher with the CCPA said there was a psychological barrier in Canada about paying more than $1 a litre for gasoline. But, after Katrina, the psychological factor was broken and exploited by gas companies.
With a report from the Canadian Press
See. I call BS on the The Canadian Press that the culprit is higher wholesale gasoline prices driven by "extremely low" gasoline inventories." line. When I lived in Caglary, I had a friend who was an electrician for CYNCRUDE (pardon my spelling of it - I dont know the proper spelling) anyhow, he said they were making oil out of the tar sands of northern Alberta faster than anyone could possibly burn it. There are huge stock piles of it all over remote areas (gee could that be so that no one actually takes count of it?) and I am pretty sure the same goes for the Alaskan oil fields too.
Where natural resources are concerned, I've always been and still am of the opinion.... Look after YOUR OWN backyard BEFORE sprucing up someone else's.
There is no reason on this planet why North America should have to "import" oil that it produces in more than sufficient quantity to look after itself. Other than the afore mentioned "31% profit margin" for this past quarter. :mad:
You can have 900 billion barrels of oil but without the refining capacity to meet demand it will cause prices to rise. There hasn't been a new refinery built in the U.S. in over 30 years. Nobody is willing to allow a refinery to be built in there area, so what is the answer to the problem of the refined product. The government requires refineries to shut down partial operations twice a year in order to reformulate gas (summer/winter blends). Even if the country decided to begin building new refineries today, it would take years to build with all the regulations being followed. As Sharkie mentioned Ethanol will be no cheaper. Supply and demand is the name of the game. If you watch the commodities market, it's not uncommon for the price of a barrel of oil to drop and the price of the refined product to rise. Until we build more refineries and draw more oil from our own country nothing will change.
Well, LT, I've never been to Texas, so I can't offer an opinion there, but I have been to this place called Fort MacMurry, Alberta, where the northern Alberta tar sands are, and I've seen from a distance (on account of the heavy wire fencing) what facilities we have up there, and the fact that if oil production and refinement were to be halted, Fort Mac would dry up and roll away like a tumble weed in a ghost town. And pretty much the rest of Alberta too, since oil is the driving economy out there.
I also wont argue on the building of facilities, as anyone knows how long it takes just to build a hospital; anyone who watches the History Channel will understand how long it takes to create something like an oil refinery. I just really dont think they are up to full production of their capacities is all. How else to you drive a "31% profit margin" if you dont maintain less than full 100% production?
If it seems like I'm being skeptical, its cuz I am. I've never really been a fan of large megaconglomerate corporations and oil production is about the biggest. Sadly its one of our "necessary evils" in western society. :(
:mad: Heard on the news to other day that the Metro-Detriot, MI area along with the Metro-Toledo, OH area has the highest gas prices in the US. Here in Toledo, we have 2 refinaries within (approx.) 10 minutes of my home (to give you an idea of how many refinaries could be in the Toledo-Detroit vicinity).
Think these dam refinaries would give back to us (by lowering the prices for our area) for having to put up the smells and pollution? :D ;) :rolleyes:
When I came on shift this morning the price was $1.48 a litre, I can't be arsed converting it, but went to the US in 2005 and felt like taking some fuel home in my luggaage, it was dirt cheap !! Half your luck, I figured it was cheap with all those Yank tanks driving around getting minus 15 miles to the gallon !! :D (got to have a dig at you lads)
Darren
Australia
June 28, 2000
THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE TEXAS GOVERNOR; Bush Would Use Power of Persuasion to Raise Oil Supply
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
Gov. George W. Bush of Texas said today that if he was president, he would bring down gasoline prices through sheer force of personality, by creating enough political good will with oil-producing nations that they would increase their supply of crude.
''I would work with our friends in OPEC to convince them to open up the spigot, to increase the supply,'' Mr. Bush, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, told reporters here today. ''Use the capital that my administration will earn, with the Kuwaitis or the Saudis, and convince them to open up the spigot.''
Implicit in his comments was a criticism of the Clinton administration as failing to take advantage of the good will that the United States built with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf war in 1991. Also implicit was that as the son of the president who built the coalition that drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait, Mr. Bush would be able to establish ties on a personal level that would persuade oil-producing nations that they owed the United States something in return.
''Ours is a nation that helped Kuwait and the Saudis, and you'd think we'd have the capital necessary to convince them to increase the crude supplies,'' he said.
We zoom ahead to 2008.
Saudis see no reason to raise oil production now
From the Associated Press
10:06 AM PDT, May 16, 2008
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabian leaders made clear today they see no reason to increase oil production until their customers demand it, apparently rebuffing President Bush amid soaring U.S. gasoline prices.
During Bush's second personal appeal this year to King Abdullah, Saudi officials stuck to their position that they are already meeting demand, the president's national security adviser told reporters.
"What they're saying to us is ... Saudi Arabia does not have customers that are making requests for oil that they are not able to satisfy," Stephen Hadley said on a day when oil prices topped $127 a barrel, a record high.
The Saudi government indicated that it is willing to put on the market whatever oil is necessary to meet the demand of its customers, Hadley said.
But even then, he said, Saudi leaders say increased production would not dramatically reduce pump prices in the United States.
The Saudis are investing in ways to increase oil production over time. Officials told Bush they are doing "everything they can do" for now to address a complicated market.
Hadley said the Bush administration will take the explanation back to its own experts and "see it if conforms."
When Bush and Abdullah met in the kingdom in mid-January, the president also sought more Saudi output but got a chilly response to that plea. Saudi Arabia said it would increase production only when the market justified it and that production levels appeared normal.
Bush acknowledges that raising output is difficult because the demand for oil -- particularly from China and India -- is stretching supplies. Also, economists say prices are being driven up by increased demand, not slowed production.
High energy costs are a major drain on the U.S. economy, which is experiencing a slowdown that some think is already a recession. At the pump, gas prices rose to a national average of $3.78 per gallon on Friday, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.
The White House says the president's visit is intended, in part, to celebrate 75 years of formal U.S.-Saudi relations. But the rising price of oil commanded attention.
When Bush first ran for president in 2000, he criticized the Clinton administration for high fuel prices and said the president must "jawbone" oil producing nations and persuade them to drop rates. At that time, oil was nearing $28 a barrel. The run-up of oil prices lately has been dramatic.
Saudis to Bush. Pound sand.
I think you are wrong scfire about oil prices being lees now than a year ago. I believe about a year ago bbl oil was floating around $90 now its $130. I might be wrong on this however and stand to be corrected. Gas prices in Edmonton today $1.30/L = $5.20 gallon SUV's and trucks not selling quite as fast as they used to
Bryan
Quote:
Originally Posted by scfire86
The only way we are going to see lowering of prices is if demand goes down and I don't see much chance of that happening. Close to half the price of a bbl of oil is accounted for by demands of China and Indias burgeoning economies. Alberta is a real example of lack of energy efficiency. Go to any shopping center parking lot and the SUVs, trucks and vans far outnumbers the small cars. I've made my living in the oil industry for the last 12 years and so many people here are in love with gas guzzlers. You really don't need a 3/4 ton Ford 4x4 to go shopping from the suburbs to the big mall. Same holds true for building gi-normous houses without proper energy efficiency, lack of energy conservation in our daily lives. Lets face it, we are energy junkies in North America. The govts all realise this and are happy as hell to keep raking in the tax revenues from our own foolishness.
An arm or a leg.
But, damnit, if you want a big house or that new Superduty, and can afford it, you shouldn't let high oil prices stop you from having it. I know I sure as hell wouldn't. Face it, not many people are going to change, and the ones that do aren't going to amount to a big enough percentage to cause the demand to go down.Quote:
Originally Posted by BryanLoader
I can only speak for an article in the LA Times last week. Ridership on some of their metros is up 20%. High gas prices has done what no amount of begging or pleading could accomplish.Quote:
Originally Posted by KEEPBACK200FEET
That's still not a big enough sample to be generalizable.Quote:
Originally Posted by scfire86