Rita to increase gas prices again??

[fast95pony]

If Rita comes ashore around Galvaston/Houston , I wonder how much she will affect the oil refineries in that area ??

Wouldn't suprise me to see the gas stations jacking up prices based on pure speculation again.. :banghead:

[cman]

teh price of oil alread went up today, so expect the pumps to go up in the next few days no question about it.

[MarX]

It's going up tonight here(ontario). In some places its at $2.25/l :eek: The average price is said to be around $1.80/l.

[Zephyr]

WHY GOD WHY?!

[Kirbs17]

great like thats what we need, at least it'll kill off more suv's hopefully

[old&slow]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4269994.stm

[rc2002]

I heard that Calgary's gas prices will be hitting $2.00 too. I bet this'll lighten up traffic big time. Way better solution than building roads :)

If the government didn't take such a big portion of the pie (50%), gas prices could probably stay the same even in the wake of Hurricane Rita. But the (federal) government is raking in mad cash with these rising gas prices - as if they'll give any back to us.

[AllGoNoShow]

I just read off Canada.com that it would go up another 15-20% here in Calgary cause of Rita.

[sputnik]

Oil is currently trading at $67.25/barrel on NYMEX. I would suspect that no one will know what will happen to gas prices until the hurricane damage is done.

For those concerned about gas prices... you should start praying for Rita to hit New Orleans instead of Houston/Galveston.

[lastprodigy]

meh not too concerned.....if the incres from 80 cents to a dollar didnt get rid of alot of drivers.....another 15-20 cents is no biggie.....i think the gas would need to go up a significant number at a time and be over at least $2 for you to see any noticable difference on the road....and im more htan ok with paying even $2 if it means a continuous rise in our economy

[AJL]

I would tend to agree with you lastprodigy... but lets face it. Cost of living has been slowly going up for the past few years, but wages have pretty much stayed the same. Its a losing battle. You guys that make 80k+ a year may not see it but the rest of us do.
Everyone says "well gas in Europe is way higher, so dont complain" Well that may be the case but Europe has a MUCH more efficient transit system. Trains can take you anywhere (not just to specific NW, SW, and NE areas ;) )and you can bike anywhere, bus it anywhere. Its not a necessity to have a car in Europe, while here... it kinda is.
As conservative as I am the government needs to step in.Either lower taxes on middle to low income persons, or start cutting taxes across the board, from gas tax to GST. Something needs to give or we will see the class gap widening. I see less middle class then I did at the turn of the century. Soon it will be either rich or poor.

[Nissanaddict]

Until the price of my 5W30 goes up, I call bullshit on all of it.

[davidI]

Originally posted by Nissanaddict
Until the price of my 5W30 goes up, I call bullshit on all of it.

It is refining capacity that is causing the price of gasoline to go up, not the price of oil.

One of the articles posted on my home page at work:
Hurricane Rita gathered strength over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and took aim at the nation's largest concentration of oil refineries, near Houston, less than a month after Hurricane Katrina slammed into Louisiana and left the second-largest cluster of refineries severely damaged.

The storm stoked fears that Rita could disrupt operations at a significant number of refineries, the industrial complexes that turn crude oil into gasoline, diesel and other products, and send gasoline prices spiraling upward again. At least eight refineries along the Texas coast were likely to shut down soon; several were already scaling back operations yesterday. This is in addition to four refineries in Louisiana and Mississippi that have been closed since Katrina's landfall last month. By the weekend, nearly 20% of U.S. refining capacity could be offline, exacerbating an already tight supply of gasoline that has produced record-setting prices.

The storm, packing sustained winds of 165 miles an hour yesterday, could also wreak havoc on the energy industry's offshore platforms and pipelines. Depending on how soon it begins an expected turn northward, Rita could crash through a portion of the Gulf's oil- and natural-gas-producing region spared by Katrina.

The energy industry has never seen anything like the 2005 hurricane season. The potential for two major storms of this strength hitting the offshore industry in one year "is unprecedented in modern memory," said Troy Frame, chief meteorologist for Alert Weather Services Inc., a Lafayette, La., company that provides offshore weather forecasts to the oil-and-gas industry.

As the energy industry rushed to evacuate 40,000 workers from offshore facilities and to begin the painstaking process of shutting down refineries, energy markets grew worried about the supply of gasoline for the next few days and the availability of natural gas for the winter, when the fuel is used to heat homes across the country. About one-quarter of the oil and natural gas produced in the U.S. comes from the Gulf of Mexico, and the coastal communities from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Pascagoula, Miss., host fully one-third of U.S. refining capacity. "The supreme concerns are refining capacity and natural-gas supply," said Raymond Carbone, president of Paramount Options Inc., an energy brokerage in New York City.

The storms have drawn the attention of lawmakers, prompting new discussions of additional energy legislation to expedite permits for new refineries and to open new offshore areas for exploration. At the same time, there is the stirring of political will to find ways to encourage more automobile fuel efficiency, said Robin West, chairman of consulting firm PFC Energy. "The hurricanes are causing the political winds to change in Washington," he said. "And the only way change comes about is pain, and, frankly, the American consumer is starting to feel pain in energy in ways they haven't felt in 20 years."

Although the immediate impact will likely be higher gasoline prices, consumers could take a bigger hit to their pocketbooks when winter heating bills begin to arrive. So far during the hurricane season, about 155 billion cubic feet of natural-gas production has been lost because of hurricane shutdowns, or three days of consumption, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service. This tally is still growing, with nearly half of daily natural-gas production in the Gulf shut down yesterday -- a combination of Rita-related evacuations and Katrina-related damage. Katrina smashed up both underwater pipelines and onshore natural-gas-processing plants, both of which could take several more weeks to repair. This is leading to concerns about supply availability this winter.

While the U.S. gets much of its crude oil from overseas, the nation's ability to import natural gas from outside North America is limited. The near-month futures price of natural gas was up 1% to $12.59 per million British thermal units yesterday in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and is up 54% since the beginning of August. Also on Nymex trading, oil futures settled up 60 cents at $66.80 a barrel.

The pump price of gasoline has shot up since before Hurricane Katrina, hitting a national-average record of $3.07 for a gallon of unleaded on Sept. 5, before falling back, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. Unleaded-gasoline futures, which don't include taxes or retailing markups, were up 4% to $2.05 a gallon yesterday and are up 18% since early August. More than 800,000 barrels a day of refining capacity is still shuttered because of Katrina, leaving the refining industry particularly vulnerable. This has turned up political pressure on the energy industry, which is raking in record profits amid surging commodity prices. Yesterday, a U.S. Federal Trade Commission official said the agency has launched a probe into illegal price gouging following Hurricane Katrina.

But it isn't clear whether U.S. drivers have begun to change their consumption habits. Gasoline usage rose a bit last week after falling for two weeks following Katrina. The world's top oil-consuming nation used 8.8 million barrels of gasoline a day in the week ended Friday, up 2.1% from the prior week, the Energy Information Administration reported yesterday. Still, that comes on the heels of two weeks of declining usage, and the consumption for the week ended Friday was down 6% from before Katrina.

Refiners bracing for Rita's arrival are concerned about power outages leaving plants without electricity for as long as two weeks. Typically, the worst damage from a hurricane is northeast of its landfall, putting the Houston-area refineries in the cross hairs. Analysts said flooding is also a concern, with storm surges of more than 20 feet possible.

The potential for a double whammy to the Gulf Coast energy industry has underscored the risk of putting much of the nation's energy infrastructure in a natural-disaster corridor. The refining industry already is so vulnerable in the aftermath of Katrina, "You don't need a worst-case scenario to get a worst-case outcome" with Rita, said Larry Goldstein, president of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation.

Rita's impending arrival overshadowed a decision this week by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries at its meeting in Vienna to suspend output quotas for the fourth quarter. Even if crude-oil production rises, a significant hit to U.S. refineries would prevent the additional oil from being processed into usable gasoline and other end-use fuels.

OPEC's decision "is not going to help put gasoline in our car," said Kim Pacanovsky, oil and natural-gas analyst for KeyBanc Capital Markets, a division of Cleveland-based KeyCorp. "This is a huge wake-up call for the American people and the government to add refineries and look at conservation."

[fast95pony]

We closed our Houston office yesterday.I got called in to help "for a few hours" at 3 pm . Finally went home at 6:00 am
:banghead: .

Some of the Houston staff are flying to Calgary today to help us.
Their office is much larger and we can't handle all their work as well.

While they are here,we're going to have some fun with them.
Remember "Talking to Americans" ??
:rofl:

Looks like Galveston/Houston are going to get nailed ! :banghead:

[topher91]

Heard from a friend of a friend thru email that gas in T.O. is $3/L!!!
Can anyone confirm this!!!


:eek: :eek: :eek:


Chris

[Focus]

Not yet its not. But time will tell.

http://www.torontogasprices.com/

[GQBalla]

also heard gas suppose to go up to 2 bucks....kinda disappointed... looks like ill cut down my drivign a bit

[TomTom]

my grandfather and i have been talking back and forth with new prices when they change for a couple weeks he woke me up today saying it was 2.25 in toronto and 1.75 in kingston, still 1.00 around here...........for now

[inline6turbo]

just got confirmation that by mid morning calgary will be over 180.9 per liter.... shitty....

[crazytou]

right off the press.....

WASHINGTON (AP) - If you think you're paying a lot at the gas pump, you are.

The cost of regular unleaded jumped 3 cents overnight to $3.38 a gallon.

AAA spokesman John Townsend says while prices appear to be stabilizing across the nation and the metro region, consumers are taking a "beating" all across the board at service stations in the District.

In Virginia, regular unleaded is costing about $3.12 a gallon and in Maryland, $3.26.

Nationally, consumers are paying about $3.04 a gallon.

[crazytou]

i like how these people bitch...dam it....$3.04 a gallon divide by 4.7litres =64.6 cents a litre 64.6 cents exchanged to canadian funds.....74cents a litre

[sputnik]

Originally posted by crazytou
i like how these people bitch...dam it....$3.04 a gallon divide by 4.7litres =64.6 cents a litre 64.6 cents exchanged to canadian funds.....74cents a litre

Your math is off. 1 US Gallon is 3.785L

$3.04 USD per gallon = $0.803 USD per Litre

Which in CAD is 94.1 cents/L

[sputnik]

Originally posted by inline6turbo
just got confirmation that by mid morning calgary will be over 180.9 per liter.... shitty....

Beat the RUSH!!!

I'll siphon gas out of my tank for $1.70/L. CHEAP GAS PEOPLE!

Just out of curiousity. Where did this confirmation come from?

[HTN SWCHS]

i love diesel :poosie:

[Hakkola]

I filled up last night at $1.09, not too bad.

[QuasarCav]

Originally posted by inline6turbo
just got confirmation that by mid morning calgary will be over 180.9 per liter.... shitty....


Just got confirmation that you are wrong.

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by sputnik


Beat the RUSH!!!

I'll siphon gas out of my tank for $1.70/L. CHEAP GAS PEOPLE!

Just out of curiousity. Where did this confirmation come from?

Mr giggles his teddy bear, that's where he gets all his gas price information.

$1.80/L I'll believe when I see it. I filled up at 1.09 because I thought it would go up a bit, but I doubt we'll see $1.80, unless on saturday every refinery in the states gets shut down.

I don't have huge knowledge about the oil industry, but how much of NA's oil does the gulf region account for? Only way I could see it hit 1.80 is if it accounts for more than 50%, in which case they could justify doubling the price of gas.

[davidI]

Originally posted by Hakkola


Mr giggles his teddy bear, that's where he gets all his gas price information.

$1.80/L I'll believe when I see it. I filled up at 1.09 because I thought it would go up a bit, but I doubt we'll see $1.80, unless on saturday every refinery in the states gets shut down.

I don't have huge knowledge about the oil industry, but how much of NA's oil does the gulf region account for? Only way I could see it hit 1.80 is if it accounts for more than 50%, in which case they could justify doubling the price of gas.

The refineries in danger account for somewhere around 27% of US capacity from what I heard. But they've also downgraded the storm so crude prices dropped this morning and late yesterday.

[Hakkola]

So it would be safe to say that missing 27% gas production would not give them justification to increase gas prices by 100%

It doesnt make mathamatical sense to me.

[lastprodigy]

Originally posted by inline6turbo
just got confirmation that by mid morning calgary will be over 180.9 per liter.... shitty....

:thumbsdow to you and all the idiots that keep saying stupid shit liek thsi till it happens....and btw....its no confirmed untill it happens numb nuts

[davidI]

Originally posted by Hakkola
So it would be safe to say that missing 27% gas production would not give them justification to increase gas prices by 100%

It doesnt make mathamatical sense to me.

It makes economic sense to me...if 27% of supply suddenly disappears and demand remains constant, people will be willing to pay a lot more for gas. Theoretically, price has to go up until demand lowers to meet supply and you're once again in equilibrium. Of course this is complicated in oil and gas because of futures trading, marketing, stockpiles etc. but the fact is that a 10% reduction in supply will not correlate to a 10% increase in price. The problem is that there is no spare capacity in refineries as companies have been weary of investing to build new ones since they can only get a 5-10% ROI. Companies have been reducing bottlenecks to improve efficiency etc. but there hasn't been a new refinery built in North American since the late 70's or early 80's.

[googe]

Originally posted by QuasarCav



Just got confirmation that you are wrong.

hahaha :thumbsup:

[guessboi]

^ all this will do is take the SUVs off the road. :thumbsup:

[davidI]

Originally posted by guessboi
^ all this will do is take the SUVs off the road. :thumbsup:

The problem is that people are demanding the gov't do something to cut prices and blaming oil companies etc. but no one is taking responsibility for their own actions. The CEO of my company, a large independant oil corporation has stated many times that he thinks the consumer needs to cut back on energy use. This is coming from a person that profits off of high oil prices and high demand. The truth is, no one is taking responsibility for their own actions and as such I don't see too many people changing their driving habits unless these prices are prolonged.

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by davidI


It makes economic sense to me...

I know where you're coming from, but 100% increase from missing 27% I'd think it would be more like a 50-75% at the most. Sure 27% is a lot to lose, but you still have 73%

Only reason why I might be inclined to agree with you is that $1.80 might discourage enough people from buying gas to make up for the shortage where as $1.40 might not.

I'm sure the oil companies like this, because selling 27% less gas and charging 100% more for the remaining 73% they will make a killing.

[davidI]

Originally posted by Hakkola


Only reason why I might be inclined to agree with you is that $1.80 might discourage enough people from buying gas to make up for the shortage where as $1.40 might not.



That's the whole of the supply/demand equilibrium. Price has to go up until demand drops to the point where it equals supply.




I'm sure the oil companies like this, because selling 27% less gas and charging 100% more for the remaining 73% they will make a killing.


A few weeks ago the CEO of Encana spoke about how bad it was for the future of the industry with oil prices this high. It might be increasing profit margins this year but it could have negative effects in teh future:

CALGARY -- Energy prices have risen so far, so fast, that even the oil patch is starting to worry.

Gwyn Morgan, chief executive officer of EnCana Corp., said yesterday that soaring oil and gas prices are bad news for everyone — including his own company — even though it is the biggest natural gas producer on the continent.

Mr. Morgan said an “excessive” rise in the cost of natural gas and oil is driving up business costs, and added that he would prefer lower prices to ease that burden. “I'd like to see an environment where there's more breathing room.”

Energy prices increasingly are colouring the economy. Statistics Canada yesterday released figures that show oil and gas exports helped to drive the country's current account surplus to $4.7-billion in the second quarter, up $1.3-billion from the first quarter.

Other data showed prices charged by manufacturers dropping as the appreciation of the dollar bites into revenue.

Together, economists say, the statistics point to an energy sector that is beginning to overshadow other sectors of the economy.

Their worry is more than theoretical.

Yesterday, Methanex Corp. said it is closing its Kitimat, B.C., methanol plant — its only operation in North America — because the facility is no longer viable in the face of soaring energy prices. “It's the high cost of natural gas,” said Methanex spokeswoman Diana Barkley “Just plain and simple.”

By January, production will stop, and by the end of March, up to 127 workers will lose their jobs.

Methanex's only presence in Canada will be its headquarters. The energy industry calls it demand destruction, but it translates into lost jobs and shuttered businesses.

That is the kind of situation that has Mr. Morgan worried that energy prices are too high. The EnCana CEO said he would prefer much lower prices, arguing that a decline would pose a lesser risk to economic growth while still allowing his company to turn in healthy profits.

“This is well beyond the level we need to make a very strong return on investments,” he said.

Oil prices near $40 (U.S.) a barrel, nearly $30 lower than yesterday's close, and an equivalent natural gas price of $7 per million British thermal units would be more sustainable, he said.

The rapid escalation in energy prices is pushing Dofasco Inc., almost against its will, into the electricity sector.

The steel maker has seen its electricity bill jump to $150-million this year from $106-million in 2000, in part because of the rising cost of natural gas and other fossil fuels. Now, Dofasco is looking at building its own co-generation plant that would supply 40 per cent of its needs and use the byproducts of its production.

Current prices make that move attractive; the main barriers are regulatory concerns and the company's own unwillingness to divert money and managerial attention to a sideshow.

“We don't really want to be in the electricity business. It's not our core business. We want to be in the manufacturing business,” said Dofasco spokesman Gordon Forstner.

Yet, the company may have little choice if energy costs don't ease and lighten its competitive burden.

Economists, too, are beginning to fret about high energy prices, especially as the resulting flood of oil and gas exports drive up the value of the Canadian dollar.

Statistics Canada said yesterday that prices for manufactured goods fell unexpectedly in June, with the industrial product price index dropping 0.4 per cent. Excluding petroleum products, prices were down 0.9 per cent.

The drop is largely a result of the rise in the value of the Canadian dollar, since many manufactured goods are priced in U.S. dollars. In practical terms, that means a manufacturer's revenue falls, squeezing profit margins. At the same time, rising energy costs are pinching profits from the other direction.

Those are the early symptoms of what economists sometimes call “Dutch disease,” a reference to the damage that the Netherlands' manufacturing sector suffered after that country's North Sea energy riches warped its economy.

A similar threat to Canada's manufacturing base is not about to ease any time soon, warned Warren Lovely, senior economist at CIBC World Markets Inc. “The fallout from a high Canadian dollar has yet to be felt.”

[phreezee]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2005/09/23/oil_prices_us20050923.html

The hurricane will miss texas and crude oil dropped to just over $64.

[Barking_Spidre]

Originally posted by guessboi
^ all this will do is take the SUVs off the road. :thumbsup:

I drive an SUV and a gas hike isn't going to make me stop driving. I car pool to work, and only drive 1 out of 4 weeks, if that. I'll just drive less, not stop completely.

[PraviYugosloven]

Man this is so carzy shit gas prices are gonna soar cuz the oil refineries will need at least 3 days to get everything back to normal ONLY if the hurricane DOESNT hit so i aint even wanna imagine wat will happen if they do get hit. I waste sooo much gas i need to fill it up all the way in my car and start usin the bus.

[Kobe]

Filled up at 109 for premium today...

[m10-power]

The sky is falling, the sky is falling :rolleyes:

[googe]

haha, i think they were talking about inline6turbo on the news:



Rumours of $2-a-litre gasoline in Canada vapourized and "irrational" localized price spikes abated Friday as motorists got a grip on themselves and fears eased about hurricane Rita.

Energy markets appeared no longer to be fearing the worst as Rita, slowly weakening, moved in on the Texas and Louisiana coast, threatening oil refineries, pipelines and depots east of Houston.

Crude oil ended the day at $64.19 US per barrel in New York, down $2.31 on the day, while gasoline declined 5.38 cents to $2.0856 per U.S. gallon.

"Consumers in Canada need not panic," said Jane Savage, president of the Canadian Independent Petroleum Marketers Association.

"We have lots of crude oil and lots of refining capacity and lots of gasoline in Canada, at this point anyway, and Rita is unlikely to affect that. The price spike, like we saw from (hurricane) Katrina, won't be as severe and may not happen," Savage added.

"Certainly there were run-outs (Thursday) by panicking consumers - no doubt about that," she said, but she suggested rumours of $2 gas were overblown.

"There was some hysteria. . . . These Internet sites that post gas prices, maybe they got it wrong in a few places, I don't know," said Savage, whose group represents companies such as Olco and Canadian Tire which collectively pump 10 per cent of Canada's gasoline.

Buyers were "acting in an irrational manner, and they're being spurred by media stories that are sensational," declared Wilf Gobert, vice-chairman of Calgary investment firm Peters & Co.

"There's no gasoline shortage in Canada - except if everybody wants to fill their tank at the same time."

However, Savage acknowledged that gasoline at $1 per litre or more could be a reality for some time. "It does feel a little bit like we've established a new normal, I must admit, in around this level."

As for the reported massive spikes in prices, it appears that some retailers did capitalize on Thursday's demand surge.

Dorian Brisebois, a financial analyst who was topping off his Ford Mustang at an Esso station in downtown Montreal on Friday, said he didn't panic the day before.