Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: osage outlaw on January 19, 2016, 02:18:20 pm
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I'm not sure why gas prices keep dropping but I hope they keep going. Driving to the Classic and Marshall will be easier on the wallet this year if they stay down. It's $1.55 a gallon in my area. I read that it was under $1 in some areas of Michigan.
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You dont know... :laugh: The barrel is below 30 bucks. Lowest in 13 years. In some parts of Canada its roughly .97 cts a litre. In American gallons that is about $4. And we are ecstatic at that price. >:(
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I was driving in Corpus Christi in '96 and remember seeing it below $1. Never thought I'd see it under $2 again, but I'll take it!
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People blamed Obama for high gas prices. Are they going to praise him now that they are low?
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It seems like the prices drop whenever a presidential election is getting close.
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Sure does Clint, $2.35 here
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Yep, typical of election years. I haven't seen $1 yet, here in MI but, I haven't ventured too far away from home as of late. $1.57 last night on my fill up.
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Guaranteed they will go back up after the election. It happened like that the last presidential election. $1.99 is the lowest I've seen in PA. Thanks to a .50 gallon tax our last governor gave us.
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I think fracking brought the prices down now with so much oil available. $1.69 here. There was a place somewhere here in Michigan that had a gas war going on and gas was under a dollar for a short time but it went back up.
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In the early sixties I was on a scholarship at a Jr. College in Grand Junction, Co. I had a nice 57 Olds that got 21 miles to the gal. It sat by the curb for almost a semester because gas was too high (36 cents a gal)! There came a big gas war and gas got down to 10 cents a gal. I ran out and fired up the 98 and went to by some gas. I bought a dollars worth because that's all I had! Joe
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True. $1.30 when Bush was on his way out. Goes down around this time of year too I think.
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In the early sixties I was on a scholarship at a Jr. College in Grand Junction, Co. I had a nice 57 Olds that got 21 miles to the gal. It sat by the curb for almost a semester because gas was too high (36 cents a gal)! There came a big gas war and gas got down to 10 cents a gal. I ran out and fired up the 98 and went to by some gas. I bought a dollars worth because that's all I had! Joe
In my late 20's I went back to college. I pared everything down to the most basic and bought a Ford Courier pickup for $300 (build by Mazda). As each semester went on, the amount I spent on gas each week got less and less. One day I went in with a handful of change to buy fuel and the clerk asked me if I was trying to wean the poor thing!!!
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Mmmm Mmmmm.....Im lovin' it.
They had a price war north of me a few hours. I believe several were in the .40 cent range, no joke.
J-dub you were alive in the last 20's? :) You look good man.
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Yeah, we are paying approx $1.58 lately and wouldn't be surprised if goes lower.
Crude oil accounts for approx half the cost of gas. Bottom has fallen out of crude prices. Oil is trading now at near $43 a barrel. Last summer, price was $100 a barrel. Oil is bought and sold on world markets and largely driven by supply and demand.
Supply is currently through the roof. Surge in production from American shale producers has led to a massive glut of oil. OPEC continues to pump record amounts.
Demand is diminished. Economies in Europe and Asia are barely growing and emerging markets in Latin America are stumbling. Growth in China has slowed dramatically. Economies need less oil when they cool off.
Low gas prices are not entirely good news. Oil production in N Dakota has crashed resulting in massive layoffs. And municipalities up there will be impacted as tax revenues dry up.
But must admit am enjoying these prices, while they last!
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I didn't fuss about Obama when they were high and sure ant going to praise him because they are low. ??? ::) Got way more things than that to fuss about. ;) :) Wooo Pappy ,slippery slope. ??? ;) ;D ;D That being said I love the low price ,we saved $650,000.00 + this year alone in fuel prices on the fleet I manage, it sure makes life easier when you need to buy something with a wind fall like that. ;) Now next year might be another story. :)
Pappy
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Pappy- I'm on the flip side of your situation. I sell downstream derivatives of oil so our budgets are all busted. Core oil derivatives are trading at 30% of what they were 2 years ago. Layoffs have been huge.
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Yep it's like lot of other things in this world we don't think about,[ we generally think about our self ] what is good for some is not always good for all. ??? Sorry for you situation. :)
Pappy
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Pappy, you are a great moderator. I have been on this site long enough to have become a fan of yours. You keep it on track through issues that would start a Jerry Springer mess on most forums! You are a natural born diplomat. We need you in the United Nations. ;D Hats off to you.
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I went deer hunting yesterday and filled my diesel up for thirty something bucks, a couple of years ago I would have topped 100 bucks for about the same fill-up.
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In australia...
not so lucky
That much for a litre, which is 3.7 times smaller.
Added that the American dollar is about half again bigger than the Australian.
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its a election year. itll change back :) . also last time a barrel was this cheap i think gas prices were around 50 cents a gallon. whats that tell ya about our oil companies here at home??? Tony
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How about airlines. Their prices are down 5% to 10% but their profits are up over 40%. I guess that is good marketing. ::)
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Election year really has nothing to do with it, and now there is more than .50 cents a gal. tax, that really has nothing to do with the oil company's, now does it. ;) :) OK I admit I love this kind of stuff but please remember let's play nice, so far so good but threads like this can go south very quick. Great bunch on PA now and don't have much trouble anymore. Thanks.
Pappy
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its likely gonna go much lower as Iran is set to release oil into the market with the lifting of sanctions.
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Gas prices up here are down about 20%($4.00 per American gal). That means I can go 20% farther into the bush looking for staves :D :D
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;) :) Man why is your gas so much higher in Canada ???
Pappy
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Here in Alberta we are paying .78 per litre That's 2.98 per US gallon current exchange would be about 1,78 USD... Why higher??? Taxes
Thanks leroy
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Got it. ;)
Pappy
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I have friends in the oil industry who are out of work. I worked at a machine shop that did oilfield work, They had 35 people and were giving out christmas and thanksgiving bonuses. They are now down to 10. It Hurts me to see that company struggle. It was one of those shops where we werent co workers but all family. They hired me and treated me right. I had a paycheck stolen out my car I had just cashed. I told the company owner, he reached in his pocket, said here, and gave me in cash over my paycheck value, and said to pay him back when ever. A few minutes late? They didnt care. Just do your job and everything was good. I made mistakes, they never gripped. I broke tools from being inexperienced. They were more of the opinion that as I made mistakes I was more valuable as I learned from them. People like that are being choked out and its awefull. I wish I had a solution but I dont.
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Here in Mariposa California it dropped to 2.49/gal
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I can't lie and say the I don't like paying 1.50$ at the pump but here in Texas I work in oilfield service and up until now I haven't been too concerned about getting laid off. Since oil is down to we'll below 30.00$ I'm seeing more and more people lose their jobs and companies going down plus my son is losing his job in the oilfield. Luckily he has is going to be able to go back to his previous line of work but some folks aren't that fortunante. If I lose my job at my age I don't know what I'd do where I could make the money that I make and have insurance for me and my wife. I,d be screwed. So sorry folks I,d just as soon pay more at the pump and keep my and a lot of other people's jobs so we can keep on paying our bills and eating regular.
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I never realized how many people are negatively affected by low gas prices.
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Now that many machinist are out of work, they are being displaced to other machinist jobs that may be lower paying. Well those lower paying jobs are what i was looking ro grab as soon as i am done with school. Too many experienced machinist out there looking for work to justify hiring me, a new guy. So the results flow other into other pil supporting industries and affect guys like me.
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I work in the oilfield also. The low gas prices means my job is in jeopardy. Between the 5 major oil companies there has been a total of 30 people being laid off. A lot of those people have families with young children. Very scary around these parts.
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Yep I feel for you guys. :(
Pappy
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Playing devils advocate here, the inverse is true with high oil prices, there are many industries that have to lay folks off when the fuel that runs their operations costs more than the money they can make doing what they do.
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Playing devils advocate here, the inverse is true with high oil prices, there are many industries that have to lay folks off when the fuel that runs their operations costs more than the money they can make doing what they do.
True point. Well played.
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Lots of good points here about this subject. When Texas was booming and other oil rich states our pump prices were the minimum. Then along came the gas wars in the 70's with line ups at the pumps. In our Great continent why did this even happen.? Did it have to..? As far as job loss goes that is a bad thing, where we live Real Estate prices are so over inflated its Sickening. Give me a bow, a log cabin off the grid and live like the pioneers.
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Our prices have not budged a lick since oil started falling like rain. Still right at $2.00 a gallon.
I laughed so hard a few years ago when I saw the (now former) mayor of Williston, ND, Ward Koeser, telling people this was not a bubble or a boom...it was the new reality. Sheesh, Ward, when I knew you back in the early 80's as you were watching your business go nigh onto bankruptcy due to the oil bust. And for that matter, you were born in Williston and saw the oil bust that happened in the 50's! What the what?!?! It's always been the sad nature of oil, it is boom or bust, a few get rich, a lot lose their shorts.
I almost packed it in and went back to Williston a few years ago when I had offers. And I gotta say, the money sounded good. But it was also pretty obvious that this one was another bubble due for a correction. This new low is not the "new reality" any more than the $110/bbl was it. I am betting $70/bbl in about 6 months and it will stabilize around $85-90 in the following 18 months after that. And that is a S.W.A.G. worth the paper it is printed on!
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Well currently here in Battlefield mo gas is at 1.36 a gallon. If I drive 3 miles it is 1.27 a gallon. I'm not going to complain about these prices one bit. Because even if they never go up you will hear that the big fuel companies will make record profits anyways.
Patrick
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Crashing oil prices decimate Texas boomtowns
Rick Jervis, USA TODAY
PEARSALL, Tex. – Back when the oil money flowed, the Location 581 Saloon would be crammed with pipefitters, welders, derrickhands, truck drivers and all sorts of oilfield workers – as many as 35 of them a night together shelling out more than $2,000 for drinks and good times.
These days, the bar in this South Texas city 50 miles southwest of San Antonio sits mostly empty, except for a few locals. On a recent early evening, three clients sat at the bar. Only two were drinking.
“It’s just like a ghost town again,” said Troy Reeves, the bar’s owner.
Pearsall, like other towns that sit atop of the Eagle Ford Shale and soared during the recent oil boom, has had a harrowing crash back to Earth, as the price of crude has plummeted. On Wednesday, the price of West Texas Intermediate dipped below $27 a barrel – a 12-year low. Just 18 months ago, the crude was trading for more than $100 a barrel.
Crude’s free fall has rattled world markets, erased billions of dollars in stocks worldwide and led to thousands of layoffs in the oil and gas sector. But the steady march of declining prices – with no end in sight – and recent news that lifting of sanctions on Iran could deliver even more oil to the market has nudged the outlook in South Texas from depressed to near desperate.
The number of active oil and gas drilling rigs in the Eagle Ford Shale has shrunk from 259 at the boom's peak in 2012 to 68 today, according to oil field services firm Baker Hughes.
“Blood in the streets,” said David Martin Philips, a Karnes City investor who used his royalty checks from the oil companies to buy seven radio stations in the area. Not everyone diversified as smartly, he said.
Those who put their money in hotels and RV parks to house the deluge of oilfield workers that came during the boom are losing money fast as those workers were let go, Philips said. “Those people are sweating bullets right now,” he said. “There’s a tremendous amount of bankruptcies about to take place.”
Ironically, Eagle Ford Shale’s success and the technology used to unlock millions of barrels of oil stuck in previously unreachable crevices contributed to the oil glut and low prices. Other factors include China’s faltering economy, Saudi Arabia’s unwillingness to scale back its own production and overall weaker global demand.
Texas has experienced oil busts before, most memorably in the mid-1980s, when crude fell to under $10 a barrel and bankrupted towns across the state. This one feels similar to that bust in its length and global impact, said Scott Tinker, director of the Bureau of Economic Geology at University of Texas at Austin.
“This one is deeper and longer than the other ones in 1999, 2007, 2009,” he said. “And we haven’t seen signs of the bottom yet.”
Some towns anticipated the downturn. In Cotulla, which saw a boom of hotels and revenue, city officials made sure to pay off debts on new projects and not overextend their budgets, city administrator Javier Dovalina said. A $1 million loan for a new convention center, for example, was paid off in two payments with their new oil money, he said.
Though down, Cotulla’s revenue is still way up. The city’s annual hotel/motel tax revenue soared from $44,000 a year in 2008 to $1 million at the peak of the boom before settling to just under $800,000 this fiscal year, he said. Similarly, sales tax revenue climbed from $440,000 in 2008 to $3.2 million at the peak to around $2 million today.
“We may have plateaued and we may be there for a while,” Dovalina said. “But it’s a comfortable plateau.”
In Pearsall, city officials watched in alarm as its oilfield workers streamed out of town and its sales tax sank 30%, city councilman James Leal said. Hordes of workers left Pearsall to seek jobs as construction workers or office clerks in San Antonio, emptying the city’s bars, restaurants and hotels, he said. “We just hope it goes back up,” Leal said of the price of oil. “And sooner rather than later.”
Reeves, the bar owner, moved his oil and gas service company from Shreveport, La., to Pearsall during the recent boom. Business was so robust, he hired three dozen employees for the service company and opened the Location 581 Saloon with his wife.
As of last year, he had let go 35 workers at the service company, leaving him with a skeleton crew of eight. The bar limps along on the business of a handful of locals, but he’s not sure how long that will last, either.
“No one expected it this soon,” Reeves said of the current decline. “All everyone heard then was, ’10-15 years – boom – boom – boom.’ It made it to about six.”
Below- Richard Branson: Low fuel prices for many years to come
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Like I said , what is good for some is not usually[never] good for all. :) As of just a couple of years ago the oil company's and all related jobs had it good, now not so good but better for a lots of other company's and people, just shows you when things are good put some away for the rainy days because they will come, good things usually don't last forever. ;) :) that's the cold hard truth of it. :)
Pappy
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Urufu had a good point, when gas prices are high costs for every other business than gas goes up that relies on some form of transportation.
Our country relies a lot on shipping food from one area to another. The coasts ship seafood in, the warmer areas ship fruits and veggies to the colder areas, beef gets shipped around everywhere. That's just food, then there's literally everything else. Even if you "buy local" the raw material very likely came from somewhere else, and it cost money to get there.
Not saying that I'm dancing in glee at the gas prices, as Halverson said, it's a bubble, eventually prices will do an about-face and go back up, then the oil companies will be hiring left and right, prices go back up, and it crashes down all over again. Would be nice if there was a bit more stability to it.
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globally, there has been nearly 260,000 layoffs in the industry; 60,000 in texas alone. that's more than 20% of these guys/girls from my state.
believe me, texas is feeling it. what's bad is that they aren't finished making all of the necessary cut-backs. a few in our office feel the bottom is near and we are hoping to be able to ride this out for the next few years until it begins to turn around.
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Its times like this when new technologies get a foot hold and some take off with new industries. We've been depending on oil for well over 100 years and it might be time to move in a different direction. Solar power and wind power are on an upswing and along with that new jobs open up. And what about wave action or tidal flow. There are so many alternative energy resources that we can use to our advantage without destroying our environment. We don't have to use all of the oil up before we think of another energy resource but some think just because it is there we have to use it up.
My wife and I designed our home to be passive solar, and that was 26 years ago and it still works very well. When the sun is shining we use very little energy to keep our home warm. We use maybe 300 gals of propane each year but that cooks our food, dries our cloths, heats our water and in rare instances adds heat to our house. We heat mostly with wood but on those bright sunny winter days ole Sol does most of our heating for us. We never put A/C in our house either. We use the power of the sun for that too. With cross ventilation, 2' roof overhangs heavy insulation throughout the house, inside and out and orienting our house to the sun our home stays cool in the summer.
With a little training those workers in the petroleum industry could convert the solar or wind power industries. Our industrial base need some improvement anyway and if we are not careful we'll be behind everyone else in getting these new industries going. Most of the new developments today were ours but other countries are grabbing the brass ring and running with it while we discuss the plus and minuses of oil prices.
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What's really going to hurt the industry is fusion. What's ultimately going to save civilization is fusion. The really frustrating thing about fusion is the science is all done, it's there, we're not waiting on this or that breakthrough to make it work, it's funding and will. We really need an Apollo Program level of national support to build a large scale reactor. The problem is it will be hugely disruptive, right now a large portion of any countries economy is energy, be it oil or coal or even hydroelectric or nuclear, but once up and running electricity from fusion will be so cheap the entire energy industry will die. Even with the fees and such and current markups on electricity your electric bill with a large central fusion plant would be about $50 a YEAR. Now at those prices there's not a power or energy or fuel company in the world that would be able to stay in business. The plus side being world energy problems solved FOREVER, unlimited, insanely cheap, completely clean, safe energy. We could do this today, right now if there were the national or international will to do this, but I don't think we will for quite some time because there's not enough money to be made, too many industries disrupted, despite the fact that the entirety of humanity would benefit in a substantial way, that's not how the world works.
Ok, mini-rant over, lol.