Exxon and Shell

I dont buy from Exon anytime. I usually only buy from Valero. They are popping up all over the place here. After Hurricane Katrina, the CEO donated all profits for a certain amount of time to the relief fund. Thats a stand up guy.

We dont have any Shells really. We're getting Lukoil alot though. Their prices are usually insane ~ 2.25 reg, 2.85 mid, 3.05 prem. This was a little while ago, but why such a difference in reg and others? Everyone else was selling at 10 to 20 cents higher.
 
Can you imagine Bush trying to pull an invasion of canada off?
"Well, ladys and gentlemens, we, the United States government, god bless us, have decided... *turns round to look at the rest of his government, to his horror they have all gone* I have decided, that my Hummer needs more oil. Recently we have intelligence to believe, that Canada, may have weapons of mass destruction...

Oh Christ I can see it now.
 
It doesn't matter, USA,Mexico, and Canada are already forming the "North American Union". Think of it as all three of us combined under one leader all with equal rights, One big country.
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Lets be fair. NAU is a bad idea. AND. Nobody has, or will ever have, equal rights.

I agree. Except if you boycott the two largest suppliers and they start to see HUGE profit drops, then gas prices by them are lowered which causes others to follow suit.
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Almost all oil comes from the same places. The Middle East and Venezuela.

When you see the price per barrel of oil going up it is not Exxon or Shell raising that price, Its OPEC. The gas companies raise their prices as a result. (not to say that they don't bump the price a little) Many times the owners of a gas station will make less after the price jumps not more. Unless they are gauging.

The US has historically had lower gas prices than most other first world countries. (I don't know what it is like nowadays though. I could not believe the prices when I was in Europe a while back. I think the prices there are by the liter? It used to be a lot more than we paid here.)

It still doesn't really matter. Prices could go up to $10 a gal tomorrow. I'll still go fill up my car. If it was any other product the price would be really high, since the demand is so high. (think people buying xbox for $1200 on ebay when it came out.)

Anyone who invested in oil really couldn't be happier now anyway.

There is enough oil under Alaska to sustain the US for quite a long time. We won't ever use it though. Thanks to Billy C.
 
About 2 years ago I owned stock in Exxon Mobil. When I read their annual report, it's really amazing where they make their money.

Their "franchise stations" (those gas stations we fill up at with Exxon Mobil on the sign) only made about 8% of their money.
They were just HUGE in distilling/refining and building and "servicing" distilling/refining. Basically, they get crude (either from wells they own, or buy it on the open market), distill and refine it into
1- Gasoline products
2- Heating oil products
3- kerosene and deisel and "derivatives" (whatever that is!)
4 - products of "petroleum distillate and its derivatives for industry and medical" (apparently plastics and some medicines and equipment)

So they would get/buy mega quantities of oil, distill/refine it, then sell it through brokers to whoever wants it (that's why economists call it fungible). So you gas up at a BP station or Shell, it's very possible they got their gas from an Exxon Mobil refinery. Likewise, you gas up at E/M, maybe they got their gas from a BP or Shell!!!

We just had friends come from Canada. We're paying about $3 a gallon here in the U.S. right now (which, it should be noted, has not dented demand in the least), and in Canada, almost double that amount.
 
Doug is right.

The big oil companies are not just making gasoline and shipping it to their gas stations.

They are making a whole multitude of crude products, lube oils, even chemicals and polyethylene (plastic - anyone care to boycott any and all plastic products?) Biofuels aren't really going to bring them down either, as they are already making steps to move toward producing them too.

Also, they do ship and sell their product back and forth - so Shell stations aren't just pure Shell gas, etc. So, yes, if every single person in the country didn't fill up at an E/M station - they would still be making tons of money in their other products, and selling their gasoline the same way they already are. The only major change would be the bankruptcy of all the individual gas station owners (you know, the ones who are your local community members).

Remember, these people didn't become the most powerful people on earth for being stupid. They are some pretty smart cookies who have well insulated their power and money.
 
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I do use mobil 1 synthetic though. :(
 
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