So big oil *really* makes a point
 

Want ethanol ? Fine "We" won't bring more refineries online ...and we'll still make more money ! I guess they really *do* have us by the b***'s :thumbdown:

They will always have us by the b***'s.

Eggzactly ! and it stinks too ! Guess that lil ol monopoly should be busted up - after all Ma Bell got it ...Microsoft is a target why not big oil ? Oh yeah ...No way to bust em up if we can't get there ...bastages .....*fuming*

perhaps the only way to fix the monopoly situation is to let it get out of hand first. Seems to be the way things work here in America. There is no foresight, only hindsight.

as the saying goes "If you are not the lead dog , the view never changes ."

Well, if building a refinery was such a great idea, wouldn't some group of bankers or wall street guys do it? Maybe, just MAYBE, it really ISN'T a great investment to build a refinery... Especially when it looks like the government is about to change the rules on you again.

Do refiners make a ton of money? Sure. But compare their profits vs revenue to just about anyone else. The margins aren't that great. If oil companies could buy Starbucks franchises, that would be a better investment than building refineries.

Ethanol is a red herring.

The only difference between last year and this, is the elections.

Inhofe et al. won't be able to push through relaxing regulations.

The article does correctly address refining capacity rather than "building refineries." There won't be new refineries in any case as long as it is much cheaper and there are much lower environmental hurdles to clear to just expand existing plants.

****ing oil monopolies.

I think I'm going to go work on some car mods now just to spite them.

Good. Let the situation get worse, and maybe people will stop driving their SUVs and pickup trucks.

Yep, just like any addiction. It has to hurt them bad enough first. ;)

Every addict has to "bottom out".

or switch addictions

I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Ethanol from corn has it downs sides. I received an email from a local environmental group, the "Gulf restoration Network" https://www.healthygulf.org/
that linked several story's about corn derived Ethanol.

Link to a few negative impact story's on Ethanol: https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,281712,00.html
https://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/19/Op...res_much.shtml
https://content.hamptonroads.com/stor...6388&ran=12735
https://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/..._really_ethan/

No doubt there are far fewer small refinery's in operation these days. Really the main reason that the small refinery's closed was they could not make finished gasoline that met the new EPA requirements in the late 90's.. So the high cost of building new facility's that can meet the new EPA specifications killed them off. Only players left are the big boys. Since the suppliers have been reduced so now any hiccup in the major suppliers result in higher prices for everyone..

Found an interesting site that has lots of gasoline info from the government. https://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp

Building new 4 billion dollar refinery's is not the solution and its near impossible to anyway in todays regulated world. We need more efficient cars and trucks.

*sigh*
 

So that's it, is it? The oil industry has managed to drive their profits though the roof and now they're taking measures to keep them there.

dont even tell me you are surprized. this is the biggest problem with capitolism. it can be driven by greed. and the love of money is the root of all evil

Actually, what bobski was talking about has absolutely nothing to do with capitalism. If we were truly capitalist, there would be no ethanol in gas anywhere in the US. The only way ethanol in the motor fuel pool can exist is by the government manipulating things. That said, I can't imagine that the govt would try to keep crude prices high...

I disagree Bill. I think lobbyists for the ethanol industry are responsible for the current mandates. The people making the stuff aren't doing it for free.

For anybody wanting to get really pissed off about the stranglehold of the international oil consortium, there are two books to really open your eyes as to the realities of it all, Confessions of an Economic Hitman and Armed Madhouse.

You can't win. You can only hope to come out ahead.

Also true. Also unrelated to capitalism. Well, except that the ethanol guys are behaving in a capitalist way.

man only 3 posts in a day, i thought i wouldve stirred a larger fire than that.... :p

for the record i am for capitalism, but not so much corporatism...

Jeez man ! Its a holiday week ,give it time! LOL .

I agree with the Greed of corporate capitalism btw .

Everybody needs a day off every now and then!:D

Its very clear that the "United Corporations of America" run this place.

Well, isn't that more or less what corporations are these days? Fictitious entity-people things with limited legal liability, created purely for the sake of their investors' financial gain. They're legally required to make as much money as possible... That is, to be as greedy as they can get away with.