Why haven't gas prices gone down?

walterjay said:
Glackin Highway Service in Delta Pa.
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Their Google listing says they're an auto repair shop that also sells fuel.
walterjay said:
Marathon Gas US rte 1 Fallston Md
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Google reviews say they have a 7/11 convenience store as well as vape sales.

From the pictures, yeah, they definitely were old-school "gas stations" with car repair garages as was typical decades ago. The majoriity of those around here are long gone or have been converted into convenience stores (or abandoned - leaky, steel fuel tanks were a big issue for many).
 
SC Maintenance said:
That is not true at all, we do use the majority of our own oil. But yes we export a lot too.
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Let me clarify.... I may have had old data as I recall that this was one argument why our fuel costs were higher and it was that we export a substantial amount of oil. Looks like current data shows we export 25-30% and keep 70-75%. One issue is, that 70-75% isn't enough for our needs, so we still import millions of barrels from other countries. What if we stopped exporting that 25-30% and kept it for ourselves ? I think there should be an executive order demanding this (/s) !!
 
Hall said:
Let me clarify.... I may have had old data as I recall that this was one argument why our fuel costs were higher and it was that we export a substantial amount of oil. Looks like current data shows we export 25-30% and keep 70-75%. One issue is, that 70-75% isn't enough for our needs, so we still import millions of barrels from other countries. What if we stopped exporting that 25-30% and kept it for ourselves ? I think there should be an executive order demanding this (/s) !!
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We have no cheap way to get oil from East of the Rockies to West of the Rockies.

We lack refining capacity

We lack refining capacity especially for light sweet crude which we have lots of.

If we kept it all and didn’t import it would cost more and we would have a shortage of refined product.

Oil companies are for profit and very efficient. The president is a public servant not a king.
 
Hall said:
Let me clarify.... I may have had old data as I recall that this was one argument why our fuel costs were higher and it was that we export a substantial amount of oil. Looks like current data shows we export 25-30% and keep 70-75%. One issue is, that 70-75% isn't enough for our needs, so we still import millions of barrels from other countries. What if we stopped exporting that 25-30% and kept it for ourselves ? I think there should be an executive order demanding this (/s) !!
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I was never for exporting energy.
The American people get screwed as usual.....
 
Prices in central MA spiked a few cents around the most recent holiday, but have since settled down. BJs Wholesale Club member price is hovering around $2.67/gal lately. It’s been roughly that for several months now.

Now, if you really want to see some crazy pricing, head over to a gas station with a seashell symbol in Belcamp, MD in between US 95 North, MD 543, and Philadelphia Road (Rt. 7). I used to travel for work in that area often and would marvel at this gas station’s “Oops” pricing. I seriously thought that someone typed the price per gallon wrong in their signage system. I thought for sure that someone would alert the owner/clerk that they posted the wrong price (routinely $1 more than gas stations a few hundred feet away). But lo and behold, when i returned to this location week after week, the pricing was massively different. Turns out that people pay that price for some reason (e.g. slight convenience vs driving a bit further down the road), so the owner keeps the price high.

Speaking of petroleum prices, we did buy heating oil for winter at a pretty good price of around $2.50/gal yesterday.
 
JeffKeryk said:
It's more complicted than that. The point is, petroleum is a sold on the world market.
America is a net exporter, has been for years. Ultimately, oil is a for-profit industry. Their goal is to make money, not friends.
Capitalism is about maximizing the wealth of the owners. Big oil is under no obligation to give their products away.
The world runs on oil. It's complicated.
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I agree with this, so can we all stop with the old and false notion that prices are a result of supply and demand?
 
JimPghPA said:
What's the overhead of selling gasoline that the public never thinks about?

Besides the price the stations pay for it, theres some fairly high priced systems that have a finite life.

Those underground tanks age out, and when they do, its a major cost to replace them.

Theres dispensing terminals including filters and breakaway hose with auto shutoff and the dispensing nozzle, taxes, insurance, personall, electric, fire suppression systems, inspections, and probably a few things I missed.

I know that after the tanks age out, replacing them is a major project. Two big stations with convince store, each took the entire lot down to dirt and started from scratch including the convince store building.

So, they have to average all those cost into each sale also.
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Maybe some of the big oil CEOs should give up part of their $billions in annual salary so station owners don't have to live on Ramen Noodles...
 
grampi said:
Maybe some of the big oil CEOs should give up part of their $billions in annual salary so station owners don't have to live on Ramen Noodles...
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As has been stated many times, these place's primary revenue (at least profit margin) isn't from fuel. It's from inside items - $2.50 bottles of soda, $4 bags of candy, $2/each donuts, and so on.
 
Hall said:
Let me clarify.... I may have had old data as I recall that this was one argument why our fuel costs were higher and it was that we export a substantial amount of oil. Looks like current data shows we export 25-30% and keep 70-75%. One issue is, that 70-75% isn't enough for our needs, so we still import millions of barrels from other countries. What if we stopped exporting that 25-30% and kept it for ourselves ? I think there should be an executive order demanding this (/s) !!
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Its not quite that simple, as there is many types of oil and its not as profitable to keep it all in the US, as some types are more easily refined into different products, and the US market needs different oil products than what is easily refined in the US. Also the US gets Canadian oil at a significant discount due to transport costs, so it makes sense to sell some of the US oil types the US doesn't need for more on the world market, and then buy Canadian oil it does need for less.
 
JeffKeryk said:
The fuel industry is a for-profit industry; they are not your friend.
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This is by far the most difficult thing for people to understand. When oil prices fall, oil companies make less money for the same effort. Eventually, if they fall enough, they LOSE money producing oil. It's also why domestically produced oil is often not destined for US gas refiners. There is no allegiance by oil companies to satisfy the US consumer's desire for low gas prices.
 
PWMDMD said:
This is by far the most difficult thing for people to understand. When oil prices fall, oil companies make less money for the same effort. Eventually, if they fall enough, they LOSE money producing oil.
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The unspoken part is, people in certain "positions" shouldn't say they'll lower prices of gasoline or others can't be blamed for higher prices. Can they have influence in roundabout ways (regulations, restrictions, etc) ? Sure, but on a day to day basis, oil companies are private corporations in business to make money (and make their shareholders happy), not provide us with cheap gas.
 
JohnnyG said:
AND, Washington state has just won the high price crown, beating California!
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Really I just saw over five dollars here in SoCal, I thought we were the take in the arse state!

For everything except Prop 13, sorry I digress.. I'm out
 
grampi said:
Maybe some of the big oil CEOs should give up part of their $billions in annual salary so station owners don't have to live on Ramen Noodles...
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Are you a socialist?
Hall said:
The unspoken part is, people in certain "positions" shouldn't say they'll lower prices of gasoline or others can't be blamed for higher prices. Can they have influence in roundabout ways (regulations, restrictions, etc) ? Sure, but on a day to day basis, oil companies are private corporations in business to make money (and make their shareholders happy), not provide us with cheap gas.
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Politicians lie. It goes with the job. It's the citizenry's job to call them out on it. We're failing miserably.
 
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