OT: stop oil speculation signs at gas stations?

[ryan roopnarine]

As i was filling gas the other night at a Kangaroo gas station (this is a fairly significant gas station, w/ Le Store and a Subway attached) that pumps exxon mobil fuel, i saw that the gas pump had a sign attached to the top of it that implored people to "stop oil speculation". keep in mind that: 1) this is not something that some hippy decided to stick to a gas pump. it was a professionally made sign at the top of the gas pump that would normally advertise things like soft drink or chocolate bar specials inside the gas station, and 2) this isn't some hole in the wall gas station run by arabs/indians/mom and pop. this is a fairly substantial corporate location. anyone explain what the angle is here? why would exxon care about oil speculation. thanks.

[whiskychaser]

As i was filling gas the other night at a Kangaroo gas station (this is a fairly significant gas station, w/ Le Store and a Subway attached) that pumps exxon mobil fuel, i saw that the gas pump had a sign attached to the top of it that implored people to "stop oil speculation". keep in mind that: 1) this is not something that some hippy decided to stick to a gas pump. it was a professionally made sign at the top of the gas pump that would normally advertise things like soft drink or chocolate bar specials inside the gas station, and 2) this isn't some hole in the wall gas station run by arabs/indians/mom and pop. this is a fairly substantial corporate location. anyone explain what the angle is here? why would exxon care about oil speculation. thanks.
I read somewhere that 20 years ago only 20% of oil was handled by traders (speculators) but thats now up to about 66%. As far as I know, there is nothing stopping these traders buying and selling a shipment of the commodity to each other repeatedly to inflate the price-and their profit. I think Mr Obama has other plans. Perhaps Exxon are trying to get onside with him before he gets into the big house?

[525i winter driver]

As i was filling gas the other night at a Kangaroo gas station (this is a fairly significant gas station, w/ Le Store and a Subway attached) that pumps exxon mobil fuel, i saw that the gas pump had a sign attached to the top of it that implored people to "stop oil speculation". keep in mind that: 1) this is not something that some hippy decided to stick to a gas pump. it was a professionally made sign at the top of the gas pump that would normally advertise things like soft drink or chocolate bar specials inside the gas station, and 2) this isn't some hole in the wall gas station run by arabs/indians/mom and pop. this is a fairly substantial corporate location. anyone explain what the angle is here? why would exxon care about oil speculation. thanks.
maybe if their customers are pissed off at stockbrokers they won't yell at the pump-jockeys? (or boycott the station?)

[RockJock]

read all about it:

http://www.stopoilspeculationnow.com/


Gas Stations Push Back
You're not the only one angry about high fuel prices. So are the middlemen who bring it to you:
owners of gas stations, deliverers of heating oil and proprietors of truck stops.
Their lobby group, the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, is battling back in the
particular way that it can. It has distributed brochures, countertop posters and pump-top signs
that carry a single message: Stop the high-finance speculation that it maintains is adding to the
price.
"Hedge funds and investment bankers are gaming the system, using loopholes to drive up the
cost of energy and reap record profits," reads a card meant for display on gas station counters.
The card goes on to suggest that customers visit a Web site, http://www.stopoilspeculators.com,
and use it to send a message of protest to Congress.
"Consumers have been at the mercy of Wall Street traders for too long," said Dan Gilligan,
president of the association. "We hope to ignite a firestorm of attention over the unchecked
trading that these speculators continue to engage in."
Financial institutions, by the way, disagree with Gilligan and his group, and are telling
lawmakers directly that it would be a bad idea to rein in investments in energy contracts.

http://www.stopoilspeculators.com/PDF/WashPostFederal070108.pdf


....and from the right-wing side:

http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=5224

[attack eagle]

Socialism is great if it puts food on your plate?

Socialism we will thank if we have gas in our tanks?


**** that ********. Invest in energy stocks and get some money back as dividends, as well as enjoying the fact that it is a growth industry with little possibility of losses in the net decade???

[632 Regal]

speculation led to higher oil prices also led by big brother and global banking is a way to deflate the dollar to make it on a playing field with china... not a G8 country.

Now the current global banking is realizing that inflating oil or gas prices is directly linking china and the USA to a **** stock market has another change of plan. The plan is that there is no plan and global is doing whatever it can to reach its goals no matter what consequences evolve.

6 mopnths ago people think I was wrong and a down lord, not true as it is playing out. markets will continue to worsen taking 401Ks with it... no middle class is the G8 goal and they are doing it faster than anticipated.

Enjoy the ride as long as your on the short side.

[Sixdown]

OPEC is one of the major issues at hand. They control pricing for much of the world's oil production and can do whatever the hell they want. Cartels ONLY benefit the major oil producers and their respective governments.

Speculation is the second step in the ladder. OPEC sells oil at high prices, and speculators simply raise that price even further at the gas station.

Go to a gas station, take the price of regular, and multiply by 42 US gallons to match a barrel. See if it matches the Brent Oil or NYMEX Crude price for a barrel. Remember, the Brent index already includes some speculation in the trading price.

I am paying the equivalent of $176 USD a barrel around my area.
NYMEX Crude is currently at $123 USD a barrel, so I'm paying 36% more than the market calls for.

Some of the cost is transportation and the rest profit/speculation.

[Ross]

Sounds like no more than a weak attempt to curry favor from the ever gullible public.

[attack eagle]

OPEC is one of the major issues at hand. They control pricing for much of the world's oil production and can do whatever the hell they want. Cartels ONLY benefit the major oil producers and their respective governments.

Speculation is the second step in the ladder. OPEC sells oil at high prices, and speculators simply raise that price even further at the gas station.

Go to a gas station, take the price of regular, and multiply by 42 US gallons to match a barrel. See if it matches the Brent Oil or NYMEX Crude price for a barrel. Remember, the Brent index already includes some speculation in the trading price.

I am paying the equivalent of $176 USD a barrel around my area.
NYMEX Crude is currently at $123 USD a barrel, so I'm paying 36% more than the market calls for.

Some of the cost is transportation and the rest profit/speculation.

now go put some light sweet crude in your tank and see how far you drive.
:)

Your numbers are bollux. nice theory though, but a barrel of oil is not 42 gallons of gas. If light sweet crude, it is about 19.5 gallons of gas per barrel.

One barrel of crude oil makes about 19½ gallons of gasoline, 9 gallons of fuel oil, 4 gallons of jet fuel, and 11 gallons of other products, including lubricants, kerosene, asphalt, and petrochemical feedstocks to make plastics.

19.5 x 4.00 = $78
fuel oil 9 x $4.71 $42.39
jet fuel 4 x $4.44 $17.76

how much is the rest of it worth? Don;t know...

but right now we have $138.15 in fuel from barrel

barrel has just fallen to $128 but was over $140 last time I bought gasoline so I used the $4.00 a gallon price that it used to be two weeks ago.

I'm not seeing any ridiculous profit margin, honestly.

I buy a tank of gas when it is less, or i find a good price, don't you? Or if i expect it to go up due to bad news, hurricane in the gulf, lots of bombings in iraq...
if i had a tank, or could prepay for 20 gallons to use next month at today's price on a gas card, instead of a dollar amount... then i could protect my self slightly and plan ahead.
that is all buying futures is, they are buying it at a set price ahead of time and guaranteeing a supply at a fixed/ known price

[nirvana19]

now go put some light sweet crude in your tank and see how far you drive.
:)


Your forgetting the "compact refinery" option available on early E34s. :p