LOL HMcG! I can tell you're a thinking man.
HangTime - I think it's going to be a while before "you don't want it any more". America coming off oil is going to be like a heroin junkie going cold turkey - a smooth and seamless transition - NOT!
You make great play about price gouging, Saudi princes - blaming these factors for current gas prices. But as recently as 2001 the price of crude oil was less than $25/bbl, now it's over $70/bbl. Don't you think that this new higher price might, just
might (I know it's a long shot!) have something to do with the current price of gasoline?
To answer your question about the gas price here - it has gone up by about 32% in 2½ years. It hasn't doubled because a greater proportion of the pump price is flat rate tax. At the current rate of exchange (£1 = $1.78) a US gallon here is equating to about $6.50. But, now that my Audi has nearly 10,000 miles on it, it's nicely run in and doing well. I made a trip to Chiswick, west London yesterday, and even driving at 90mph for a good 10 miles of that, overall consumption for the trip worked out at 49.3mpg. At 20,000 miles a year, I expect my annual fuel bill at the current price will be a little over £2000 = $3568. At current US prices I could expect that figure to be $2000, so I'm ~$1500 worse off. Bite me.
BoxBoy, I think you're talking out of your arse.
Facts are that the oil companies could just drop their profits to pre gouge levels (which with all the heat being turn up they will do soon) and the price of gas here in the US will return to 2 to 2.30 levels.
Again, the price of crude oil has tripled from what it was as recently as 2001. The US has no control over this price.
bj229r -
This is 2006...Democrats have been blocking even EXPLORATORY stuff on the frozen tundra which is Anwar since 1996. Current world oil production only has 2 million barrels a day of spare capacity.... U.S. refinery capacity is maxed (and STILL hasn't reached pre-Katrina levels) As long as these conditions apply, gas will be where it is-- world won't come to an end.
According to the
US Department of the Interior, crude oil reserves in the ANWAR stand at 10.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil. At the current rate of US consumption, 10.4bn barrels wouldn't even last 18 months. The article estimates that delivery from that region could be 1.4 million bbl/day - nowhere near enough to offset the 13 million bbl/day that the US imports from OPEC.
