Diamond Pilot, is this your fault???

[MossRoad]

Then why don't they limit how much gas you can buy like they did in the 70s?

This isn't OPEC choking the U.S. oil supply like they did back in the 70's.

The gasoline shortage is localized only to the areas served by that broken refinery in Whiting, Indiana, which is still producing at 50% capacity. So market demand sets price. You raise the price until people stop buying it, then you lower the price until they start buying it again.

The theory is that since the price of oil has dropped so low, there is little profit to be made on the refined gasoline because of the glut of oil at cheap prices. So if the refinery mysteriously breaks, even though they have plenty of cheap oil to make gasoline from, they can't make enough gasoline to satisfy demand. The can now raise prices on their finished product even though their raw materials are cheap. If the refinery hadn't broken, you can bet BP would have found some "upgrade" that needed to be done that would have taken it down anyway.

 

[MossRoad]

Something somewhere breaks and gas shoots up 0.70 overnight.

That something gets fixed and it takes months to come back down a few pennies at a time.

Just wondering though, does raising gas from ~2.20 to 2.99 really make people buy less? Maybe I am the rare type in this country, but I dont burn gas joyriding just because gas is cheap. I only drive when there is a need to drive. Work, store, mow the lawn, etc. If gas were $1 per gallon or $5 per gallon, I dont think I would use any more or less gallons per year.

We still enjoy joy riding. As often as is possible(which is rare now that the kids are older), we load up the family in the car and head to Lake Michigan for an evening walk. Or we'll go to Dairy Queen just before sunset, then take a couple hour drive in the country towards the west as the sun sets. We particularly enjoy the time of evening when the western sky is still orange, but the eastern sky is black. Once it gets dark, we turn back west and head home. We ride with the windows open, the radio on, country roads, no particular place to go.

 

[MossRoad]

Because there isn't a shortage.

There is here, because of that refinery breakdown, so they'll have to pump it in from other areas, or truck it in, which drives prices up locally.

 

[Winmac]

Gas prices are up in western Canada reportedly as a result of that refinery breaking down, there goes the local theory.

Meanwhile on the east coast, Halifax, they are bringing online tank farms for fuel storage that have been mothballed since the 80's

 

[MossRoad]

Gas prices are up in western Canada reportedly as a result of that refinery breaking down, there goes the local theory.

Meanwhile on the east coast, Halifax, they are bringing online tank farms for fuel storage that have been mothballed since the 80's

Remember, this refinery was basically shut down in 2006 and converted from light U.S. crude oil to heavy crude oil from Canadian oil sands. That refinery is the primary consumer of Canadian oil sands oil. The oil is going to be stockpiled in Oklahoma until the refinery comes on line again. There's a direct pipe from Canada to Oklahoma and a direct pipe from Oklahoma to Whiting, IN. So why do they need the Keystone pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico? So they can export the oil and make more profit, not so they can refine it and sell it here. Anyone that thinks that pipeline is for U.S. oil independence has to realize the U.S. doesn't own the oil, private companies own the oil and will sell it to the highest bidder.

Here's some interesting reading on that refinery and how it will cause oil prices, especially Canadian oil prices, to drop, while gasoline prices will rise in the midwest.

BP Refinery Outage Could Push Down Oil Prices | OilPrice.com

 

[Leejohn]

Is'n canadian oil sweet oil? Quote; Keystone pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico? So they can export the oil and make more profit, not so they can refine it and sell it here. Anyone that thinks that pipeline is for U.S. oil independence has to realize the U.S. doesn't own the oil, private companies own the oil and will sell it to the highest bidder. You are so right and the tax payers pay for it and then they turn right around and stick it to us with something like this. If one little thing like that can do that with the price of gas, then the us is in sad shape.

 

[AaronS]

We still enjoy joy riding. As often as is possible(which is rare now that the kids are older), we load up the family in the car and head to Lake Michigan for an evening walk. Or we'll go to Dairy Queen just before sunset, then take a couple hour drive in the country towards the west as the sun sets. We particularly enjoy the time of evening when the western sky is still orange, but the eastern sky is black. Once it gets dark, we turn back west and head home. We ride with the windows open, the radio on, country roads, no particular place to go.

Same here a little. It's a special occasion when my wife and I take the jeep to "The Barge Inn" at Troy, IN, get an ice cream cone, and sit on the banks of the Ohio and watch the barges float by.

 

[MossRoad]

There ya go! :thumbsup:

 

[Winmac]

The largest refinery in Canada is about to announce a major planned outage for upgrades.

 

[Ford850]

The largest refinery in Canada is about to announce a major planned outage for upgrades.

I believe that's called "strategery".