Low gas prices

Still around $4 per gallon by me. And you have to pay for that in 3rd-world money.

(Edit: My Samurai's gas tank isn't holding as much as it should, it's actually just over $5/gal)

Still, it was almost $7 at one point in the last few years.

Big oil is much less concerned than medium/small oil. For the most part big oil is fairly diversified with their sourcing. The boom in shale plays was driven by medium and small operators. Some of the medium operators thought they were big, but they're rapidly finding out they aren't. Chesapeake went from a $60 billion market cap to $1.3 billion. They're currently worth much less than their debt. There's a lot of that going on. Many small operators are already gone, not to mention the drilling and other service companies. Oil companies, like any other commodity producer, don't set the price for the thing they sell. All they can do is produce as efficiently as possible and try to make it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
OPEC doesn't have enough trust among it's members to affect price. They haven't for a couple of decades. The $100 oil was driven by fundamentals (China primarily) and partly by speculation (a crap load of low interest money chasing yeild). The drop is the same fundamentals in the other direction.
The people I know who buy and sell oil are making purchases based on the idea that we'll have at least 3-5 years below $50. It's hard to look farther than that, but nobody sees oil much above $60 in the next decade. I personally wish it were more, but you have $billions NOT being spent on fuel right now. That savings is distributed between consumers and companies who see a big savings in their use. Hopefully that money will improve the economy in some sort of material way.

It just broke $2 in My area of the North east recently. But we have typically been within $.25-.50 of national highs.

mazdeuce wrote: Big oil is much less concerned than medium/small oil. For the most part big oil is fairly diversified with their sourcing. The boom in shale plays was driven by medium and small operators. Some of the medium operators thought they were big, but they're rapidly finding out they aren't. Chesapeake went from a $60 billion market cap to $1.3 billion. They're currently worth much less than their debt. There's a lot of that going on. Many small operators are already gone, not to mention the drilling and other service companies. Oil companies, like any other commodity producer, don't set the price for the thing they sell. All they can do is produce as efficiently as possible and try to make it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. OPEC doesn't have enough trust among it's members to affect price. They haven't for a couple of decades. The $100 oil was driven by fundamentals (China primarily) and partly by speculation (a crap load of low interest money chasing yeild). The drop is the same fundamentals in the other direction. The people I know who buy and sell oil are making purchases based on the idea that we'll have at least 3-5 years below $50. It's hard to look farther than that, but nobody sees oil much above $60 in the next decade. I personally wish it were more, but you have $billions NOT being spent on fuel right now. That savings is distributed between consumers and companies who see a big savings in their use. Hopefully that money will improve the economy in some sort of material way.

The oil price fall is seriously hurting industry in my state, OK. Part of my layoff last year and many others I know. Yeah, it's nice to fill up the tank in the BRZ for only $20.

But you've gotta have a job to make the $20 in the first place.

Still over $4.00 a gallon for 91 octane here. I need a fill up about every two weeks, so don't really matter. We pay an $0.80 a gallon premium for 91 octane over 87.

Might want to check your math. London is about the same as here, and we're at about $2/gallon for 87

The "premium" for hi-octane has really risen the last few years. It was around 35 cents more, now its 60-70. Whats with that? More cars are asking for premium, and with turbos and higher compression rations getting more and more common I see this as a way for them to make back a little of the money they aren't making on 87 octane.

As much as I would like to DD a big block, I know $5 a gallon will come back. Too bad you can't "buy ahead" a few thousand gallons at these prices!

The Q45 requires premium. I too have noticed that the price delta from 87 octane to 93 octane has increased. I also notice that premium is not priced on the sign so there is no way to know until you get to the pump.

I have a local station that has a consistent 70 cent delta so I avoid that station.

GameboyRMH wrote: In the Caribbean, Trinidad is being hurt badly by this since they're about as reliant on oil exports as the UAE. The rest of us are savoring the lulz at how the tables have turned

Here in AK, folks are freaking out. Our economy is 90% oil.

The money that was being spent on oil still exists and in theory could fund other parts of the economy. I doubt that will happen on the business level, I expect it will just pad profits. On a personal level, what are people doing with the money they're not spending on gas? If they all decided to take a vacation to Alaska to visit the Moose and salmon it would be fine. The problem for resource extraction areas is they don't really have other options. When companies shut down in rural Oklahoma you don't just get another job. There aren't any.
It's a little like the rust belt shedding manufacturing jobs. Shutting down oil fields is a lot like closing a factory town.

Zomby Woof wrote: Might want to check your math. London is about the same as here, and we're at about $2/gallon for 87

You are correct, it is only $3.99/US gallon.

$1.05/liter times 3.8 liters per gallon (depending on where you chase the decimal) = $3.99.

So this tells me that the American were much smarter than the Canadians when they took a pass on the metric system back in 1975. Gas prices in Canada fluctuate 25 cents/ liter all the time and no one bats an eye. In the US, if the price of gasoline went up $1.00 a gallon overnight for no reason, Citizens would start to deploy some of that surplus ammo that they are hoarding, upon the gas retailers. Canadians have been getting screwed by the gram ever since 1975.

In reply to ultraclyde:

Wasn't there a law on the books that recently got overturned that required domestic production of crude to stay here? Pretty sure support for changing that was the trade off made during the latest budget session in congress....

NOHOME wrote:

Zomby Woof wrote: Might want to check your math. London is about the same as here, and we're at about $2/gallon for 87

You are correct, it is only $3.99/US gallon. $1.05/liter times 3.8 liters per gallon (depending on where you chase the decimal) = $3.99.

$1.05 is a lot right now, especially for London. Nonetheless, $1.05 x 3.78 x .78 (exchange) = $2.85/Gal.

Apples to apples

WOW Really Paul? wrote: In reply to ultraclyde: Wasn't there a law on the books that recently got overturned that required domestic production of crude to stay here? Pretty sure support for changing that was the trade off made during the latest budget session in congress....

Yes, we can export crude and not just finished product now. The light sweet that we produce domestically is useful as a refining blend with other heavy nasty oils from other parts of the world (as I've had if explained to me) so it's really about balancing blends at refineries around the world.

NOHOME wrote: We pay an $0.80 a gallon premium for 91 octane over 87.

Checked this one today when filling my truck. The actual difference between 87 and 91 is 28 cents/gallon, and I paid $2.31 for 91

1.24 today at hwy 30 and I75

What is e85 going for in comparison these days?

Here it is only .10 less, not enough to use it.