Energy, Energy Service, Natural Gas &amp; Oil Sectors

Top 48. Mar 22, 1999 7:34 AM

» matttheduck - gas prices

to show you how wild its been, my organization's putting out a report on fuel taxes in oregon. i want a picture in there of a gas station price sign, and i've had to have it retaken twice to make sure we're at least reasonably close to the price when people get the report!

if congress would let anyone actually look aggressively for oil, we'd probably have $5 oil with or without opec. anyone who believes environmental laws are without cost while we "subsidize" cars is only looking at half the picture.

-- posted by matttheduck

Top 49. Mar 22, 1999 2:23 PM

» DennisL - OPEC's Effect on Gas Prices

Read this article about the effect OPEC's production cuts have had on gas prices, and the additional affect they will have once the bastards formally agree on their pact.

Bastards!!

-- posted by DennisL

Top 50. Mar 22, 1999 3:16 PM

» Hugs - agressive oil hunting/mattheduck

mattheduck -
Everything I've read leads me to believe that nobody wanted to hunt much for oil when it was priced at $ 10 a barrel. Why do you think anybody would hunt agressively if it were only going to be $ 5 ? Of course, I'm assuming you mean by hunting that they find and extract said black goo. There is a cost per barrel at every well head (the cheapest being Saudi Arabia, of course.) If the "cheap" producers (OPEC) don't want $ 5 oil, I can not understand how you think it could happen otherwise.

Rande -
What do you mean by the world is "awash" in oil? From what I understand, estimates are aprox. 500 million barrels (not counting oil in transitl). Usage is aprox. 75 mil. per day. Are you refering to untapped reserves, as in, plenty of oil to be drilled for?

-- posted by Hugs

Top 51. Mar 22, 1999 4:00 PM

» matttheduck - you're right, of course

my reference to $5 oil was metaphorical. no one could probably afford to pump oil for $5. i do think that, if the market were freed (everyone dispensed with artificial production caps, iraq could sell all it wanted, you could plow up the anwar to drill) prices would come down considerably. naturally, at some point it would no longer be economical to look or drill, but that point must be lower than $15 or $13 or maybe even $11. where exactly, i don't know.

-- posted by matttheduck

Top 52. Mar 22, 1999 7:32 PM

» DennisL - Bay Area Gas Price Update - 3/22/99

Tower Mart in my neighborhood is up two more cents/gallon today, to $1.31.9 for self-serve unleaded regular. Godalmighty, they're raising the freaking price nearly every day.

Because I take a bicycle and public transit to work, the high gas prices don't affect me directly--yet. But, as we all know, nearly every manufactured good has some petroleum-based product in it, so it's only a matter of time before inflation takes off.

-- posted by DennisL

Top 53. Mar 22, 1999 7:50 PM

» Hugs - artifical production caps?

Well, I do recall from my younger years some good hard working farmers in Northern New York State dumping all of their milk down the ditches on the side of the road because milk prices were so low at that time they were really hurting. Guess there just wasn't enough demand for milk down in New York City at the time, or something. Now if one farmer did it on his own, he'd be considered quite the fool. But collectively, it did serve to bring the price of milk back up to where they felt more comfortable making a living doing what they were doing. An artifical production cap, I suppose. Good, bad, right, or wrong?

No doubt the people forced to pay a little more for the product thought it was a real crime. But I knew it more from the farmer's perspective... and I'm not so quick to jump on your bandwagon this time either.

-- posted by Hugs

Top 54. Mar 22, 1999 10:16 PM

» DennisL - Oil and Milk

The only difference between OPEC and the upstate NY farmers is that OPEC is a monopoly, a cartel. So are the American oil companies. There is no competition in the oil marketplace, so the law of supply and demand is not allowed to freely dictate price.

-- posted by DennisL

Top 55. Mar 23, 1999 10:54 PM

» DennisL - Gasoline Price Update - 3/23/99

The neighborhood Tower Mart is up eight cents/gallon today, to $1.39.9. That makes the increase a phenomenal 40 cents/gallon in just three weeks. Some of the majors are over $1.50/gallon. These gas prices are as high as I have seen them--ever. News reports tonight indicate that the climb isn't over. Experts are expecting at least another ten cents/gallon or so.

These steep oil price increases are going to set off a horrific round of inflation. Given that inflation is enemy #1, the bull market is over, my friends. I wouldn't be surprised if the Dow were to fall another 300 points on Wednesday.

-- posted by DennisL

Top 56. Mar 24, 1999 8:34 AM

» RandeS - Current spike in oil prices will NOT start a "horrific" rise in

Current spike in oil prices will NOT start a "horrific" rise in inflation, in my opinion. I would fully expect the market to focus on the core PPI/CPI rates for March and then adopt a wait-and-see attitude toward OPEC. Don't forget, we're still at historically low oil/gas prices on an inflation-adjusted basis. Here's a quote from today's "Bond Biz" on the Dow Jones Wire:

There is a little - repeat - little cause for concern, as gasoline pump prices rose 8 cents a gallon in early March. Analyst expect this will continue over the short-term, as OPEC prepares to cut an additional 2 million barrels a day
beginning in April. That's the bad news. The good news is, oil prices are at historically low levels, and increases like this are not likely to make a material difference in the greater scheme of things.

For the first time since November, the Central Bank purchased securities on an outright basis. The coupon "pass," or outright purchase of securities, permanently adds reserves to the banking system.

That last paragraph is key -- the Federal Reserve is continuing to add liquidity into the system. The healthy growth of M3 is significant in that (to repeat) there has NEVER been a sustained bear market when the money supply is growing.

-- posted by RandeS