I thought price fixing was illegal

[SLY]

How do oil companies get away with it? Continually raise prices while posting record profits and get away with it. Fuel prices affect everything we buy and yet these companies blatantly price fix and there's nothing we can do. This just chokes me. If all the grocery stores got together and decided to double the price of food I wonder what would happen. Oil companies are going to control everything, unbelievable.

 

[pinnedunderdoo#3]

goverment taxing the crap out of it and getting away with it

 

[Disco Dan Richter]

Yep, messed up. I wonder why Canada has this problem considering the large amount of oil sent south? Weird.............but it wont last forever, sooner or later the people of the US are gonna be heard and the feds are going to have to do something. THem stimulus checks aint gonna do chit, me thinks Bush is in bed with the big oil company's, once he is gone, things will change or maybe we need a coup?

Democratic Dictatorship, a dictator that runs the contry with absolute control and has his/her people in mind of best interest, no more big corp's screwing everyone.

 

[Ollie]

Simple.
Oil companies don't set the price.
They may indirectly control it to a degree, but legally they don't control it.
That is set by futures traders. They use what ever means they need to keep prices up. When prices are up the traders make more money.

 

[sledrat403]

Oil companies don't set prices, they only sell to the highest bidder (which by law they have to if they're representing shareholders). National oil companies (NOCs) control 2/3rds of the worlds oil production so the remaining 1/3 is produced by public oil companies that sell to Americans and Canadians. This would make it very difficult to fix prices since most oil production in the world would simply flow in to fill the gap if there was a price spread.

In Canada we produce more oil than we use, but still pay 'world' price for oil. People chirp about Venezuela paying $0.05 a litre but that is subsidized gasoline. The government could sell that fuel for more and turn a larger profit (by collecting more taxes, royalties etc) so by subsidizing fuel there isn't any net savings to anyone - income tax would have to increase to make up the difference.

The companies that CAN set prices are the NOCs and OPEC - who are not bound to work in their shareholders best interests. If domestic oil companies are overtaxed (windfall or whatever) they will stop investing in high risk plays that make up the 1/3rd production that keeps OPEC from holding all of the cards.

BTW you can offset your high fuel costs by buying oil and gas companies if you feel gas prices are going to continue to climb.

 

[mtn mike on boost]

if what i have heard is correct, ollies right. its the people trading oil futures that are the problem. that is whats driving up prices and as long as they continue to make big proffits, the prices will continue to rise.not sure what
(if any) governing body controls the purchacing of oil futures, but id like to know when they are going to step up and put limits and or regulations on this before were no longer able to afford the drive up to the mountains?????
just another example of the rich getting richer at the majoritys expense

 

[Snowlover]

Danno

Send me your worthless stimulus check and hopefully Barrack Ossama doesn't get a chance to "fix" the oil crisis.

He gets in and we won't worry about gas prices, because everywhere we want to go will be closed.

 

[donbrown]

This oil price surge is EVERYONE"S fault who uses oil.

The biggest problem is emerging countries using more and more oil for luxury items.
They have as much a right to but toys running on oil as we do so it will increase prices.

Many countries restrict the price of oil thru subsidies and if they let the prices rise , in places like China, and Indonesia you would see oil collapse.

Blame clearly lies in the the global self interest of desire.

IN the USA the so called environmentalist along with several government agencies control / restrict using our natural resources ... like oil.

In Alaska some are trying to make some bears an endangered species to keep humans out of the area. So this stops lands use for exploration.

I blame the old government attitude of trying to please anyone and screwing it up for everyone.

We have people in California like San Francisco demanding a clean environment but they themselves detroy prestine areas for their own need.
Where ... Hetch Hetchy Resevoir in Yosemite National Forest.

Next time a San Francisco flower sniffer gives you a hard time about sledding ask them to remove the dams and water channels in Hetch Hetchy and restore it to the natural beauty ..... (so we can go sledding there) !

What is the USA 's energy policy?

 

[pura vida]

Democratic Dictatorship, a dictator that runs the contry with absolute control and has his/her people in mind of best interest, no more big corp's screwing everyone.

sure, that's a great idea. because history has shown that always works. dude, seriously, completely uninformed comment. not to be an a-hole but...

both sides of the isle are too blame. (hmmm much like the border, but that is a whole other issue.) the dems, zero development. no new refineries for over 30 years, and every place where we could produce our own oil they bow to the enviro nazi groups. those on the right, along with everyone, knew that $1/gallon gas was not going to last forever and did nothing about it. where was the push for alternative energy options then. obviously not there because who was going listen when it wasn't an immediate issue? it is always more important to get re-elected than anything else...

as stated it is the speculators that set the price. talk about a scam. but if we finally got fed up enough, told the green freaks to stick a sock in it for a while, and said suck it to OPEC by truly developing all of our own resources, ANWR, the shell deposits, and all of the massive amounts of offshore options we have, you are going to tell me that as soon as we started to do this, once the speculators saw that we were really serious, that prices wouldn't start to drop?

(although i do also understand that it isn't quite as simple as i make it here, but...)

and another thing, why in sam h!!l is all of our electricity provided by either oil, coal, and natural gas? even france, one of the most left leaning counties in the world, provides 85% of it's electricity through nuclear power. oh that's right, once again the greenies strike again. are you kidding me!!! get over it, solar and wind is NOT going to cut it!! oh, and solar and wind farms add such beauty and grace to the american land scape. give me a break!

hmm, sorry. didn't intend to go off on such a rant and write such a long post. enjoy the summer. beers all around on me!

pura vida

 

[ACMtnCat]

Simple.
Oil companies don't set the price.
They may indirectly control it to a degree, but legally they don't control it.
That is set by futures traders. They use what ever means they need to keep prices up. When prices are up the traders make more money.[/QUOTE]

IE The whole dang BUSH family!!!!

 

[Ollie]

Simple.
Oil companies don't set the price.
They may indirectly control it to a degree, but legally they don't control it.
That is set by futures traders. They use what ever means they need to keep prices up. When prices are up the traders make more money.[/QUOTE]

IE The whole dang BUSH family!!!!

lol, I think it is funny that people actually think Bush has the power to control oil prices.

Explain to me how the Bush family profits more than anyone else inthe oil buisness or that has any shares in oil.

 

[modsledr]

lol, I think it is funny that people actually think Bush has the power to control oil prices.

Explain to me how the Bush family profits more than anyone else inthe oil buisness or that has any shares in oil.

Ollie,

I agree...I have stopped responding to these threads because of people who just want to point the finger everywhere but in the mirror. The oil companies dont owe us cheap oil...we've just become addicted to it. Now, worldwide demand is increasing, and production is decreasing, and everyone wants to point the finger at the politicians.

Oil is a PUBLICLY TRADED COMMODITY...sold on markets around the world. Are you telling me if you ran an oil company you wouldn't sell to the highest bidder?

Who is everyone going to blame if a Democrat wins the upcoming election, and oil hits $200/barrel?

modsledr

 

[Steamboat-RN]

and another thing, why in sam h!!l is all of our electricity provided by either oil, coal, and natural gas? even france, one of the most left leaning counties in the world, provides 85% of it's electricity through nuclear power. oh that's right, once again the greenies strike again. are you kidding me!!! get over it, solar and wind is NOT going to cut it!! oh, and solar and wind farms add such beauty and grace to the american land scape. give me a break!

hmm, sorry. didn't intend to go off on such a rant and write such a long post. enjoy the summer. beers all around on me!

pura vida

Yes, compared to all those lovely nuclear, coal and oil fired plants. Not to mention the mines and oil fields needed to supply them. Wind energy is a current, viable technology and it's efficient. Would you rather they built a coal plant or a wind farm upwind of your house? Plenty of geo-thermal possibilities in this country too. But the greenies would have a fit if we went after the land to build GT plants. And they want to tear down all the hydro-electric dams too. More clean power and water supplies for millions.
Steamboat has plenty of small to medium sized thermal pools and vents but the the only commercial venture that any are used for is hot springs for the tourons. Oil and natural gas rigs are springing up on the western slope like
giant malignant weeds. I'll take wind and solar any day.

Gotta go gas up the SUV and dirt bikes. Headed to Moab. Have a great summer!!

 

[R J]

Klim basically does it for the dealers on new stuff or at least in the past they did. BFGoodrich does it with their tires.

As with everything there is always loopholes and gray areas that people can exploit.

 

[Ollie]

Yes, compared to all those lovely nuclear, coal and oil fired plants. Not to mention the mines and oil fields needed to supply them. Wind energy is a current, viable technology and it's efficient. Would you rather they built a coal plant or a wind farm upwind of your house? Plenty of geo-thermal possibilities in this country too. But the greenies would have a fit if we went after the land to build GT plants. And they want to tear down all the hydro-electric dams too. More clean power and water supplies for millions.
Steamboat has plenty of small to medium sized thermal pools and vents but the the only commercial venture that any are used for is hot springs for the tourons. Oil and natural gas rigs are springing up on the western slope like
giant malignant weeds. I'll take wind and solar any day.

Gotta go gas up the SUV and dirt bikes. Headed to Moab. Have a great summer!!

I personally would rather have a nuclear plant than a wind farm by my house.
I kind of like birds.

 

[Good to Go]

IE The whole dang BUSH family!!!!

Where do you people come up with this stuff... 'cause you sound stupid

lol, I think it is funny that people actually think Bush has the power to control oil prices.

Explain to me how the Bush family profits more than anyone else inthe oil buisness or that has any shares in oil.

Ollie brings up a good question, which I dare say you couldn't answer.

News (depending on which version you choose to believe) is stating that the Bush's worth either remained the same, or dropped from the previous year.

Wow, a whole 7 mil... Yes, I know it's a lot of money to most, but in perspective, who's in bed with who???? Clinton is worth 34 mil...? lol, if Bush is in bed w/big oil, how come he isn't raking it in?

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0712/gallery.candidates.moneymag/index.html

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E6DC123CF930A25757C0A9649C8B63

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E6DC123CF930A25757C0A9649C8B63

 

[Dare-Ya]

I think we all need to take a look at the big picture, right now. The trend of the country is going greener and greener. Anwar past the house and senate in 1995, only to be vetoed by Clinton. If he had signed it, we would be using that oil right now. Now it seems to me, with gas nearing $4.00 a gallon, food prices soaring, airlines and car manufactures entering into crisis, and a congress who still won't do anything about it (where does that leave our sport?)This is a critical turning point for the future of our sport. I cannot emphasize this enough. If the economy going in the tank, is not enough to make congress thumb their nose at the enviros, nothing will. Quit blaming the oil companies and point your finger at the real cause. Other nations think we're crazy. Sitting on all these natural resources, and not doing a damn thing about it.

 

[deepdiver]

Do you really think big oil companies cant work with OPEC to control prices?? Really!

OPEC is an international cartel whose eleven member nations control most of the world's proven oil reserves conspire to set limits on the production of oil to raise, fix, and stabilize world oil prices above competitive levels, thus increasing the prices of gasoline and other oil-based products, such as lubricants, motor oil, and asphalt, throughout the United States.

The United States has allowed multiple large, vertically integrated oil companies to merge over
the last five years, placing control of the market in too few hands. The result: uncompetitive
domestic gasoline markets. Large oil companies can more easily control domestic gasoline prices
by exploiting their ever-greater market share, keeping prices artificially high long enough to rake
in easy profits but not so long that consumers reduce their dependence on oil (after all, if prices
went up too high for too long, then we’d seek alternatives to oil).
The largest five oil companies operating in the United States (ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco,
ConocoPhillips, BP and Royal Dutch Shell) now control:
· 14.2% of global oil production (nearly as much as the entire Middle East members of the
OPEC cartel).
· 48% of the domestic oil production (which is significant given the fact that the U.S. is the
3rd largest oil producer in the world).
· 50.3% of domestic refinery capacity.
· 61.8% of the retail gasoline market.
· These same five companies also control 21.3% of domestic natural gas production.

NOW>>>>you want to wonder why Exxon is doing nothing with its record profits other than buying up their own stock shares...this will give them even more power later. As big as Exxon is do you think they cant work deals with OPEC! Too much "Near" Monopoly going on...in fact some old timers may recall that the Rockefeller family used to own Standard oil....got slammed for a Monopoly and the company was broken up...I think the Spins were Exxon and Mobile...now the are back together as one again!

The only feasible way to lower prices is the introduction of alternative energy sources....fuel cell techknowledgy is close to commercial applications.

For the time being we are going to have to take it in the Azz....just bend over and remember to arch your back as you get pumped....should be you pumping Ethel but its the other way around for now.

 

[donbrown]

Where do you people come up with this stuff... 'cause you sound stupid






Ollie brings up a good question, which I dare say you couldn't answer.

News (depending on which version you choose to believe) is stating that the Bush's worth either remained the same, or dropped from the previous year.

Wow, a whole 7 mil... Yes, I know it's a lot of money to most, but in perspective, who's in bed with who???? Clinton is worth 34 mil...? lol, if Bush is in bed w/big oil, how come he isn't raking it in?

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0712/gallery.candidates.moneymag/index.html

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E6DC123CF930A25757C0A9649C8B63

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E6DC123CF930A25757C0A9649C8B63

Clinton is worth more than 34 million.

How about Jimmy Carter and Al Gore with tobacco.

The Kennedy's smuggling liquor way back?

That fact is the government sets regulation and we are forced to conform.
Like wing power. The propeller turbine is not efficient and can hurt birds BUT there are better wind machines. Why are they not being used? They technology is shelved because of regulations.

I want to convert one of my SUV's to LNG. Can't find anyone to help me locally.

 

[Disco Dan Richter]

Democractic governments are only expected to last 200 years on average(yes, I actually read that), so bring on some........"change"