Interesting turn of events? This seems to fly in the face of Drill baby drill and the necessity to build a pipeline across the middle of the county. It seems that lower demand through a slower economy and more fuel efficient cars has only made the oil companies sell their product abroad and has done very little to lower our domestic gas prices. Seems like the Right's arguments really aren't holding much water. Gas And Other Fuels Are Top U.S. Exports, For First Time NEW YORK -- For the first time, the top export of the United States, the world's biggest gas guzzler, is – wait for it – fuel. Measured in dollars, the nation is on pace this year to ship more gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel than any other single export, according to U.S. Census data going back to 1990. It will also be the first year in more than 60 that America has been a net exporter of these fuels. Just how big of a shift is this? A decade ago, fuel wasn't even among the top 25 exports. And for the last five years, America's top export was aircraft. The trend is significant because for decades the U.S. has relied on huge imports of fuel from Europe in order to meet demand. It only reinforced the image of America as an energy hog. And up until a few years ago, whenever gasoline prices climbed, there were complaints in Congress that U.S. refiners were not growing quickly enough to satisfy domestic demand; that controversy would appear to be over. Still, the U.S. is nowhere close to energy independence. America is still the world's largest importer of crude oil. From January to October, the country imported 2.7 billion barrels of oil worth roughly $280 billion. Fuel exports, worth an estimated $88 billion in 2011, have surged for two reasons: _ Crude oil, the raw material from which gasoline and other refined products are made, is a lot more expensive. Oil prices averaged $95 a barrel in 2011, while gasoline averaged $3.52 a gallon – a record. A decade ago oil averaged $26 a barrel, while gasoline averaged $1.44 a gallon. _ The volume of fuel exports is rising. The U.S. is using less fuel because of a weak economy and more efficient cars and trucks. That allows refiners to sell more fuel to rapidly growing economies in Latin America, for example. In 2011, U.S. refiners exported 117 million gallons per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products, up from 40 million gallons per day a decade earlier. There's at least one domestic downside to America's growing role as a fuel exporter. Experts say the trend helps explain why U.S. motorists are paying more for gasoline. The more fuel that's sent overseas, the less of a supply cushion there is at home. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/31/united-states-gas-export_n_1177559.html
It says that the oil companies are making money. Lots of it. That's all that matters. That's all that has ever mattered.
...and that 40 years of Republican policies have led to this. This is why Republicans need an (_l_)-kicking.
Actually, oil companies profit is $0.05 to $0.10 per gallon. Every state in the nation collects more tax than the oil companies make profit. And then there is the federal tax - The United States federal excise tax on gasoline, as of February 2011, is 18.4¢/gal and 24.4¢/gal for diesel fuel. In January 2011. That means that there is $0.50 gallon sold and to top that off, they tax the profits of the oil companies. Now, just who is keeping the price of gasoline (and diesel) artificially high?
It amazes me how people complain about how much money oil companies make. If these people want the oil companies to have less profit, they need to stop buying their products.
OK, expert, as a psych major, what can you tell me about integrating a distillation tower? PSM? EPA regs? et al. etc.
"Stop buying their products" ...LOL... that's kin to saying if you don't like polluted air don't breath it. Republicans LOL
Hey, I never said *who* was keeping the price of gasoline artificially high, rlm. I leave the conspiracy theories to you fellas.
My point was that no matter how much we produce domestically, it has little impact on the actual price we pay. Why bother drilling in pristine wilderness areas or laying pipes across multistate aquifers or ruining our air and water resources when it doesn't seem to benefit us at all? Energy independence through oil production is just a myth.
My point was and is that you have no idea how or even why a petroleum company runs. You don't get the economics and you don't have a clue what makes it tick. And your opinion on what affects its running aren't worth your time to write it.
Demand for energy id down due to the economy as the economy improves demand will increase. Exporting keeps capacity on line and easily deivertable to domestic demand when required by economic conditions. It is not raw crude that is being exported - the US still stands at a large deficit in domestic production of this raw commodity. It is the refined fuel (gasoline and diesel)that is being exported. If the US were to slow down their refinning output to match domestic demand; the countries we export this fuel to would make significant investments in their own refinning capacity to make up the difference. Once the export partner developed this capacity they would be able to export directly from our supplier of crude - cutting the US out of the loop. Then the US would lose this supply of raw crude and would not have it available to divert to domestic energy demand when economic conditions required without over bidding our former export partner to buy our former crude supply back. Thus it would actually make domestic fuel prices higher in the future. For the environmental folks - which is greener and more earth friendly? 1.) Refinning crude in the US or 2.) refinning crude in Central/South America and other countries with devloping economies. I mean really - gee whiz - think.
Another reason to not export our production is simple - the more a refinery makes, the cheaper it can make it. Despite this quote; That is just plain BS. There is no way to store more than a few day's worth of exports. Thereafter, reducing production both increases costs and send business/jobs overseas. BTW, one of the main ways refineries are keeping the diesel prices lower is to increase production. This enables them to make the ultra low US sulfur standard for diesel (15 ppm) much cheaper and send the rest to Europe etc. where their standard is "only" 50 ppm (still classed as ultra low). To give you some perspective, about 15 years ago, the limit was 5,000 ppm.
It matters to the oil co, it matters to the workers, it matters to the 60%-odd 401k holders, it matters to the local communities, etc. Why in the world does the profitability of a company have to be a bad thing as far as libs are concerned. I can assure you your employer has to be profitable to justify it's existence.
