I was told by a retailer rep in Florida that our oil companies sell more diesel overseas now because they get a higher profit margin. This in turn shorts our supply and drives the price up here. All I know is that diesel has been cheaper than unleaded once since hurricane Ivan. Its just plain wrong!

 

have not read this entire thread, but this is the closest to what's happening.

flat amazed at the number of folks who think prices are still market driven by demand. costs to produce diesel has nothing to do with what it sells for.

oil companies are charging the highest prices that the market will bear. IMHO they fear only two things... recession, as they won't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. other is politicians, as they can change the rules.

can you blame the oil companies for doing what they can? I'd do the exact same thing. blame the current administration for allowing all the mega mergers. unfortunately all this is past tense... this occurred years ago. we are well past the honey moon stage, post merger behaviors.

for all practical purposes... Standard Oil's busted up pieces from early 1900's are all back together. Same for Ma Bell.. all the busted up pieces are back together.

there is no real competition... less than 10 companies owns 90%+ of all the crude refining capacities within US. here's a list from DOE

http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/rankings/refineries.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...rrels.2FDay.29

look for a company named Valaro to be in the news. they've been quietly buying up the few small independent refineries that remains.

Oil companies NET profits have been in excess of 30X what they used to be. And is after going on HUGE capital spending sprees. oil companies are having trouble hiding all the NET profits because they already purchased everything worth investing in.

again... don't blame the oil companies for charging what the market will bear. I'd do the same. no price fixing is needed... they control pricing at will, due to control over huge regions of of the US.

for all practical purposes there is no real competition. if you don't like the diesel prices. what are you going to do?

have you ever wondered what in the world does fuel prices in UK or China or Europe have to do with prices in US?

not all but a major chunk of oil consumed in US is produced, refined and consumed all within the US. Local companies don't have same infrastructure costs as other parts of the world. Local companies don't have to pay for transportation costs to bring in from overseas.

yet they want to charge world prices and do. this is a direct result of allowing mega mergers like BP/Amoco to take place. Can you blame the oil executives at BP/Amoco for wanting to charge same for fuel in say in UK as ... as say in Oklahoma. which everyone knows is a major producer of crude.

again don't blame oil companies for doing what they can. blame the current administration for allowing the MEGA mergers that has resulted in no real competition.

US is already in mild recession and prices are still going up. this is telling me the oil companies economist are telling them. the market will bear more before going into deeper recession.

the politicians created this mess, they are the only one's capable of undoing it. Diesel and Gasoline for all practical purposes are another utility. not unlike water/sewer, natural gas and electricity.

those utilities in most instances are controlled by the state. their profits are regulated to protect the general public. is it not past time for oil companies' profits to be regulated too?

 

boy im hoping the market pushes more investment into biodiesel from algae. The only silver lining in these crazy prices is they will make kicking the habit easier in the long run. We need a domestic fuel source that we can control. even better, one that joe average can set up in his back yard if he was so inclined. obviously waste fryer oil is a finite thing, theres only enough for hobbyists and small refiners.

 

diesel ranges from $1.06/L to $1.15/L here in Alberta. Gas (87oct.) is about $.94/L to $1.00/L. go figure eh?

i asked a cousin who farms to answer the y question, he said that it is because of the production ratio. I'm not sure what it is, but for every unit of gasoline only 3/4 of that unit can be made into diesel. from one unit of oil u get little bit of jet A, kerosine, gas, diesel, tar, and all sorts of neat chemicals. this site here explains it the way i was taught in grade 7.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining4.htm

u can blame all the people u want. they all have the same motive though, and that is to be the winner. is this bad, -shrug- who cares. its too late.
diesel is gonna be a rollercoaster for the next little while, that much is true. with the move to go "green" with bio fuels. it may bring down diesel when it finally floods the market, it may make is so only the rich farmer can afford it. either way hay is still cheaper. and its as green as any other form of transport.

in closing have fun, love it or leave it, and whining will only get u so far.

 

haha, I'm already doing that and in Dallas it ticks people off. They will speed around you and give you nasty looks only to beat you to the red light. Dallas drivers are crazy and I guess not worried about conserving fuel as no one drives slow here.

 

Boston is the same way, crazy people in a hurry to make that next red light. Its the reason I drive the truck instead of my motorcycles around town
My 95 CTD has awful fuel mileage and im convinced the pump and injectors need to get swapped for 215's to make any real difference.

 

Yeah, I think I musta bought mine the week after you bought yours!