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Price gouging at the pump

zod

Turbo Monkey
Jul 17, 2003
1,376
0
G-County, NC
Filling up my truck is like going to the casino to play blackjack, except when I pull up to the pump I'm already not feeling lucky ;)
 

COmtbiker12

Turbo Monkey
Dec 17, 2003
2,577
0
Colorado Springs
I think I need to look into buying a Golf TDI for my next car instead of a Subie :p Then I might be able to atleast last off the gas I sell my arm and leg for.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Don't fret... Pres. Bush is helping y'all out...
:monkey:


White House to Release Oil From Reserves
By EILEEN PUTMAN, Associated Press Writer
1 minute ago


WASHINGTON - Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said Wednesday the Bush administration has decided to release oil from federal petroleum reserves to help refiners affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The move, which was expected later in the day, is designed to give refineries a temporary supply of crude oil to take the place of interrupted shipments from tankers or offshore oil platforms affected by the storm.

The U.S. Minerals Management Service said Tuesday that 95 percent of the Gulf of Mexico's oil output was out of service. Oil prices surged back above $70 in European markets on Wednesday but slipped quickly to $69.56 after disclosure of the decision involving the release of supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Eight refineries were shut down due to Katrina — half of them producing gasoline.

The government's emergency petroleum stockpile — nearly 700 million barrels of oil stored in underground salt caverns along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast — was established to cushion oil markets during energy disruptions.

The production and distribution of oil and gas remained severely disrupted by the shutdown of a key oil import terminal off the coast of Louisiana and by the Gulf region's widespread loss of electricity, which is needed to power pipelines and refineries.

President Bush, meanwhile, was returning to Washington on Wednesday to oversee the federal response to Katrina. He planned to chair a meeting of a White House task force set up to coordinate federal efforts, across more than a dozen agencies, to assist hurricane victims.

Bush also was expected to visit the ravaged region by week's end, but details on that trip were in flux as the White House worked to make sure a presidential tour would not disrupt the relief and response efforts.

Bodman, speaking on CNBC, said the decision to release reserves was made late Tuesday.

"In a word. It is going to be done," Bodman said. "Last evening it was approved and I think you'll be seeing an announcement about it later in the day. So we are doing everything we can to be responsive."

He said the reserve was contained in five sites, four of which are operative. The site in New Orleans is not.

Bodman said it was too early to say how much oil would be released.

He said his department was dealing with inquiries from three companies about getting oil from the reserve. On Monday, Citgo Petroleum Corp. asked for 250,000 to 500,000 barrels to ensure that its Lake Charles, La., refinery doesn't run out.

"There is an issue with respect to getting electrical power so that we can operate the various pipe lines that supply fuel to the rest of the country," he said, noting that these facilities "deliver finished products, diesel and gasoline, to the Northeast and to the Southeast."

"Our job is to get the infrastructure going again," Bodman said. "To the extent that we have delays in getting these pipelines functioning, then were are going to have the potential for gasoline shortages." Bodman said the administration will "do everything we can do to get fuel available to the rest of the country."

Of tapping the SPR, Bodman said: "Technically it's called an exchange of oil that we deliver today and that we will get oil back plus some interest, if you will, in the future. We will be tapping that today."

Interviewed on the Fox News Channel, Bodman was asked if price gouging is taking place.

"I would like to believe that in this time of crisis that all of us are going to pull together to try to deal with this very difficult circumstance and situation that's confronting not just this region, but this country," he replied. "We're hopeful of that, but if we have some bad actors, we have a mechanism to deal with it."
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,379
12,533
In a van.... down by the river
Curb Hucker said:
I hate this bullsh1t, today I needed to fill up the Rover, so i went to shell which has the cheapest gas in town. I payed $67.84 for 20.4gal of gas. And the saddest part of it all is that I will only get 255mi out of that tank. :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: Damn our stupid government for not allowing the 5sp TDI or TD5 Diesel Discoveries to be brought to the states :mumble: :mumble: :mumble:
Suck it up, Princess. :rolleyes:
 

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
Hey CO, by my calculation that means you paid 2.96/gallon for it. Cheapest place around here (Long Island) is 3.19/gallon, with some reports of 3.49/gallon as well. That's for 87 regular. Just glad I'm driving a Scion now instead of my jeep. At 3.19 I'll be saving myself $200/month in gas.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,241
20,022
Sleazattle
One other thing to think about is since the oil suppliers have little competition they make nice profits. Gas station owners see huge competition and make little more than .01$/gallon. So when your pissed off about the high prices don't yell at the poor dude behind the counter about ripping you off on gas prices. Now you should give 'em a kick in the nuts for chargin $1.29 for a bottle of water.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,379
12,533
In a van.... down by the river
Westy said:
One other thing to think about is since the oil suppliers have little competition they make nice profits. Gas station owners see huge competition and make little more than .01$/gallon. So when your pissed off about the high prices don't yell at the poor dude behind the counter about ripping you off on gas prices. Now you should give 'em a kick in the nuts for chargin $1.29 for a bottle of water.
:stupid: