U.S. driving changes have little effect on oil, gas prices

[GRA]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/23/MN261O78QA.DTL" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Stoaty]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/23/MN261O78QA.DTL

No surprise. With the rest of the world bidding for oil, prices are not going to come down in any meaningful way unless there is another global recession. A good reason to use as little of that product as possible.

 

[nosuchthing]

It's a commodity speculation issue, not a supply/demand situation.

Recently an oil tanker delivering oil from Alaska to Wash State had to retrurn with a bunch of oil (300,000 barrels I believe) it could not unload due to overcapacity. I read it in SF Chronicle yesterday.

Drill, baby, drill, right? Too much oil, Sarah... Take that!

 

[coqui]

It's a commodity speculation issue, not a supply/demand situation.

May be true now, but not for long. Especially with China's 1.3 billion plus residents clamoring for new vehicles at the rate of 15% growth per year annually. Next year's Saudi production is expected to decrease.

 

[smkettner]

It's a commodity speculation issue, not a supply/demand situation.

I disagree. US has been accustomed to controlling world demand for so long it will take some time to realize we are no longer the only 800 pound gorrilla in the room.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

For all the fretting over gas prices it's worth remembering that fuel is a relatively small part of the overall cost of owning and operating a car. Going from $3 to $4 a gallon is probably only a 5% increase in TCO. It's more of an emotional (and political) thing.

 

[AndyH]

For all the fretting over gas prices it's worth remembering that fuel is a relatively small part of the overall cost of owning and operating a car. Going from $3 to $4 a gallon is probably only a 5% increase in TCO. It's more of an emotional (and political) thing.

A small comfort for the folks that have to decide whether to use the $5 in their pocket for lunch or gas to get home from work...

 

[TRONZ]

it's worth remembering that fuel is a relatively small part of the overall cost of owning and operating a car.

Really?!?

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=8604&p=191732&hilit=15%2C000#p191732" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regarding the OP, I agree. We are now onto the backside of the peak oil curve, price will always be adjusted up to right under the Demand Destruction level which is where the US is dancing around at. It does not matter how little we use. Gasoline will be priced at crisis levels as a norm.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Really?!?

Um, yeah... buy a relatively modest $20k car and you're looking at a what, a minimum of $2k a year in depreciation and $1k a year for insurance, just those two components are twice the fuel cost. That's before you do a lick of maintenance or tags and tolls. Oh and don't forget lost interest/opportunity cost on the $20k.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

we have simply become conditioned to $4 gas is all because the last big run at $4 did reduce our consumption but that was because we had been used to paying $2.50 a gallon and $4 was a shock to the system. but now, we have become accustomed to paying $3.30 so $4 is only a bump. and this fall when it settles it will settle to $3.50-3.60 and then next Summer it will hit $4.30 and we will bitch but pay it because we have slowly conditioned ourselves to paying an average of $350 a month per household for gas.

 

[kubel]

we have simply become conditioned to $4 gas is all because the last big run at $4 did reduce our consumption but that was because we had been used to paying $2.50 a gallon and $4 was a shock to the system. but now, we have become accustomed to paying $3.30 so $4 is only a bump. and this fall when it settles it will settle to $3.50-3.60 and then next Summer it will hit $4.30 and we will bitch but pay it because we have slowly conditioned ourselves to paying an average of $350 a month per household for gas.

I was paying close to $400/mo at $4/gal. I'm just glad it went down a little. I fill up more than once per week, and that's almost exclusively commuting. I'm hopelessly addicted to and imprisoned by oil until Nissan can break those chains.

 

[coqui]

For all the fretting over gas prices it's worth remembering that fuel is a relatively small part of the overall cost of owning and operating a car. Going from $3 to $4 a gallon is probably only a 5% increase in TCO. It's more of an emotional (and political) thing.

Really??
Tell that to the couple in my office spending $680 a month on gas to get to work.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Really??
Tell that to the couple in my office spending $680 a month on gas to get to work.

His and hers Escalades? Good grief, even at $4.25 a gallon to be spending that amount on gas each month you have to be doing some combination of driving distances well beyond averages and/or driving fuel inefficient vehicles. What's more, it wasn't like it went from zero to $680; they must have been spending the better part of $500/mo even before prices went up.

Look I don't want to make light of anyone's individual circumstances. I find it amazing some of the stories of people driving 60 miles each way in vehicles that get 12 mpg to jobs that can't pay all that much.

Maybe they will finally approve the keystone pipeline and get these folks some relief at the pump.

 

[AndyH]

Maybe they will finally approve the keystone pipeline and get these folks some relief at the pump.

Sure, I expect you're right - once that processed tar gets to China they'll be able to afford longer commutes. I thought we were talking about drivers in the United States, though. :?

As for down here, Perry's 'Texas jobs Miracle' produced a bunch of minimum wage jobs with no benefits - those are not Prius owners or folks that can drop $30K on an EV...

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Sure, I expect you're right - once that processed tar gets to China they'll be able to afford longer commutes. I thought we were talking about drivers in the United States, though. :?

Or maybe when the folks in China get that processed tar they won't be buying as much from other sources, reducing world market prices.

As for down here, Perry's 'Texas jobs Miracle' produced a bunch of minimum wage jobs with no benefits - those are not Prius owners or folks that can drop $30K on an EV...

And whose fault is that? RP's? Would folks be better off unemployed?
Besides they might be used corolla owners who aren't impacted as much by high prices. More likely they are used pickup owners though. Their choice.

 

[Reddy]

Really?? Tell that to the couple in my office spending $680 a month on gas to get to work.

680/mo x 12 mo/yr x 30 yr = $245k Hey, I always thought that I was saving a lot by living less than 4 miles from work and riding a bicycle. That just paid for my house and my Leaf! Who says I'm an environmentalist? No, I'm just cheap.

Reddy

 

[smkettner]

Really?? Tell that to the couple in my office spending $680 a month on gas to get to work.

680/mo x 12 mo/yr x 30 yr = $245k Hey, I always thought that I was saving a lot by living less than 4 miles from work and riding a bicycle. That just paid for my house and my Leaf! Who says I'm an environmentalist? No, I'm just cheap.

Reddy

Environmentalist wants to require everyone else to conserve.
Reducing your own cost is just being frugal.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Russia and Exxon-Mobil just signed a deal to develop Siberian Oil Fields which are supposed to be the largest Known Oil Reserve in the World but Russia has neither the money or the technology or the infrastructure to get it.

now, will this bring a flood of cheap oil to the world market? how long will this take? and will Russia renig on the agreement before the development is done?

all this remains to be seen

 

[smkettner]

Floods of cheap oil no longer exist. Lucky if production increases can offset declines in other fields and additional demand.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Floods of cheap oil no longer exist. Lucky if production increases can offset declines in other fields and additional demand.

"cheap" is a relative term. i consider anything under $5 to be "cheap"

i am just wondering if anyone has a time line on when this Siberian Oil might hit the market? from what i understand, there is some infrastructure there but Russian Oil Companies are simply not getting the expected numbers, so could this be a quick retrofit? or will it be development from scratch?