Will gas prices go down?

[gixxerboy1]

So with the stock market took another hit today and there is more selling expected tomorrow. Oil has taken a good hit. So with the price of a barrel dropping will we some relief at the pump?

[Nooomoto]

So with the stock market took another hit today and there is more selling expected tomorrow. Oil has taken a good hit. So with the price of a barrel dropping will we some relief at the pump?

I think we will but it will be marginal and only for a short time. Unless we exploit our own resources the days of low gas prices are long gone.

[Shol'va]

Nope don't expect to see it. Greed gone wild. There will be no trickle down. Oh yeah we may get a temp stop gap of say 25 cents but the price will probably go down a few cents at a time then skyrocket back up again even higher than it was. The Arabs and the Oil Industry has us over the barrel. But if the world goes into bankruptcy and there is no one to buy the oil then we may see a massive drop. Doubtful though as the Asian countries have massive amounts of money and they will still be buying it. After all they are the manufacturing base for the US as we no longer produce anything hence the jobless rate. We are only a consuming nation as our leaders allowed all our jobs to be sent overseas as big business dictated for those 16 cent an hour laborers. This is a little simplistic but you get the point.

[warchild]

i dont think we'll ever see gas below 3.00 a gallon again

[dec11]

nope, id doubt it very much. im glad i took the decision to ride my blade fulltime, saves me at least 40 euro a week compared to the car (and i get there faster )

[Flagg]

Gold is currently the only thing of value, at around £1700 an ounce.

[LGM]

speculators are what keep oil prices inflated; don't expect lower than 2.75 a gallon.

[Twist]

Buy when its low for sure.

[Times Roman]

So with the stock market took another hit today and there is more selling expected tomorrow. Oil has taken a good hit. So with the price of a barrel dropping will we some relief at the pump?

it is well understood there is a low correlation between the price of crude and the price at the pump.

Each state has the legal right to "design" gasoline as they see fit. And since each state has different gasoline, in most smaller states, a single refinery supplies for that state. this means the constraint is at the refinery, not the # of barrels of crude. The refineries are pretty much at capacity already. It is difficult for them to increase supply in the short term. In the long term with the right investment, supply can be increased. But with increased capacity and supply, prices will fall. So the refineries are quite content the way things are. Now, as we approach the end of the driving season, it is reasonable to expect that the price at the pump will drop slightly, AFTER labor day.

An intelligent solution to this, politics aside, is to nationally regulate gasoline production so that gasoline is the same in all states. This eliminates some of the basic constraints of production and smoothes out supply. And it should help in lowering the price at the pump.

[gixxerboy1]

it is well understood there is a low correlation between the price of crude and the price at the pump.

Each state has the legal right to "design" gasoline as they see fit. And since each state has different gasoline, in most smaller states, a single refinery supplies for that state. this means the constraint is at the refinery, not the # of barrels of crude. The refineries are pretty much at capacity already. It is difficult for them to increase supply in the short term. In the long term with the right investment, supply can be increased. But with increased capacity and supply, prices will fall. So the refineries are quite content the way things are. Now, as we approach the end of the driving season, it is reasonable to expect that the price at the pump will drop slightly, AFTER labor day.

An intelligent solution to this, politics aside, is to nationally regulate gasoline production so that gasoline is the same in all states. This eliminates some of the basic constraints of production and smoothes out supply. And it should help in lowering the price at the pump.

Well they have been saying for a year that its the sepeculators driving the cost of oil uo which in turn the price at the pump.
Our demand hasnt gone up that much over the years

[Times Roman]

Well they have been saying for a year that its the sepeculators driving the cost of oil uo which in turn the price at the pump.
Our demand hasnt gone up that much over the years

I forget exactly what percent of the price at the pump is driven by the price of crude, but it's really a small amount. Say it's only 10%. So if gas is $4/gallon, and the price of crude doubles, we would only see a jump of 40cents/gallon. This does not explain the volitality of the price at the pump. So again, we have to look at the real constraints, that being, state designed gasoline that is different in every state.

And when you talk about demand, i'm assuming you are talking about gasoline, and not crude. World wide demand for crude is exploding exponentially, and will continue to do so for at least another 10 years, or more...

The demand for gasoline has been flat in the USA for awhile now. But as far as the price at the pump, you also have to consider gasoline taxes. I'm willing to bet, at $4/gallon, that easily 25% of that is driven by gasoline taxes (double check me, i could be wrong). And the $/gallon on taxes has been going up.

Now think about this. If an entire state is relying on a single refinery for it's consumption, and typically that refinery is running at close to capacity. But things go wrong. So what happens when there is a mechanical failure or some other problem that reduces production, and therefore supply? This has happened time and again. The result is shortages, and the prices will go up as a result.

[Times Roman]

There may be a flaw in my logic above....

[gixxerboy1]

You are correct i was talking about demand and in gasoline. Since we were talking about refinery capacity.
tax on a gallon of gas varies by state but but it seems like .50 cents a gallon is about the average.
I didnt know the price of crude really had that small of an impact.

[Times Roman]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_g...l_of_crude_oil


1 barrel of crude oil = 42 US gallons (159 liters or 35 imperial gallons). It produces from about 21 percent to 35 percent of gasoline or petrol, plus many other products such as kerosene, etc.
More detail:
The yield of gasoline from crude oil depends upon the quality of the crude oil ("Crude Type"), and the amount and type of processing at the refinery.
So called "light" crude yields usually more gasoline per barrel than "heavy" crude, for a given amount of refinery processing. That a crude is "sweet" refers to sulphur content, - sweet makes it low sulphur and sour high sulphur, and a "package" to remove sulphur is called a "Crude Sweetener". Producing gasoline involves two steps in the refinery, beside post-processing. First is the distillation of the gasoline stream from the crude, and then the refomation of this to "hike it up". The final refomation is to adjust to the actual "Octane" numbers and add ingredients to make it suited for cars - such as lead in old days, now various alcohols and glycol to achieve the same.

More extensive processing -- cracking, reformation, etc. -- can greatly improve yields, but of course, at the cost of the increased processing. Overall, refineries in the USA are yielding about 49% gasoline (20.5 gallons) from the mix of crudes they process (2004 data).
Actually, a barrel of oil is 42 gallons. When the barrel is processed, you may get something like 15 gallons of gasoline, 9 gal. of fuel oil (See Gasoil / D2), 10 gal. of jet fuel (Kerosene) and 4 gal of other "heavy" products such as lubricants, grease, asphalt / bitumene and plastics and 4 gallons of lighter condensates/naphtha.
In energy equivalents, 1 barrel=42 u.s. gallons of oil is estimated to be around 19.5 u.s. gallons of gas (natural gas).

Not disputing the answer at all, but if crude is now $80 per barrel, this should make gasoline nearly $1,90 per gallon, and this without refining and transport costs and assumes that the other cuts of the crude can be sold to the same price!


Depending on where you are the response varies. When oil is refined, there are number of products that will result from the refining process, including gas, diesel, and other products. Depending on the "feedstock" of the refinary and what production goals were in mind in constructing the refinary, the output of gasoline, diesel, and other products varies. For example, in the US, the refinaries are aimed at maximum output of gasoline, so the crude types that are used produce about 2 liters of oil to process about 1 liter of gasoline. Change this, say use Canadian tar sand instead - and you will need 4 times the quantity of crude for the same amoiunt of gasoline. In EU however, more crude types are used, and the gasoline cut differs, i.e. 1.5 to 3.0 liters. That a refinary process heavy crudes will usually result in a good supply to the chemical industry of complex hydro-carbons that can be used to make e.g. kevlar, resins for glue and fibre-glass, and advance plastics. These plants will pay well for the chemicals, so operating a refinery is managing a complex equation. You may have a good agreement for producing the complex chemicals, there is a good market with a predicable price for gasoline, heating oil and jetfuel / kerosene - while the residue, huge amounts of bitumene or tar can only be sold at a low price as road and roof covering.

Answer
In a barrel of crude you need to divide it into seperate parts. These parts are roughly:

•Naphta and other condensates that has remained liquid.
•Kerosene, where most is jet-fuel
•Unleaded gasoline
•Diesel fuel and heating/furnace oil
•Engine oil
•Gear oil
•Grease
•Tar/asphalt

So in a 55 gallon drum of crude you can see that a small percentage actually becomes gasoline. The exact number depends on the crude type but I hope this gives you a better idea.
The standard barrel of crude oil or other petroleum product (abbreviated BBL) is 42 US gallons (34.972 Imperial gallons or 158.987 L)- In short 158.987 litres of crude oil make 1 barrel. To the ISO system - the oil companies and surveyors use 7.3 BBL per MT, and 304 gallons (GLN) per MT - regardless of product and specific weight.

[domeyeahaigh]

Gas prices won't come down man. They will probably go up to 5-6 dollars a gallon. This was always going to happen it was just thought to be coming in a couple of years. However, this year it jumped up crazy and with all those profits theres no way it will come down.

Heres some food for thought...

Out of 100% Wealth in the U.S.: The "poorer" 50% owns about 2.5% of the wealth. The top 1% owns 40% of the wealth...Congress has many millionaires BTW

In other words..these "stupid" politicians are not simply not succeeding in helping the American people..it is not that they are stupid. It would appear that MOST (as in 50% or greater) of the American people are not WORTH being represented....Flat out: They do not care about you.

Elect Ron Paul..stop the corruption please.

[freakinhuge]

I hate paying so much at the pump, I just don't know if any politician can do anything about it. Greed out of control.

[Times Roman]

I hate paying so much at the pump, I just don't know if any politician can do anything about it. Greed out of control.

get an electric vehicle?

[gixxerboy1]

went down a nickle. lol

[Shol'va]

Gas will go down over the Prince of Saud's Dead rotting corpse. They have 7 more 130,000 square foot gold enlaced mansions to build, give or take a few and it costs money out there in the desert to build it all with italian marble and such. Not to mention the money they have to spend on salt water conversion technology to convert millions of gallons of sea water to fresh drinking water, and their list reads like a who's who in Beverly hills on the other projects that are in the works for the Kingdom of Saud. Those Sauidis have so much money they could buy us all. Back in the late sixties early seventies, when oil was flowing freely they made an agreement with the US to sell all we needed in oil for less than we could pump it out of the ground so most of our wells were capped. But fast forward to today and we are being squeezed while our oil sits in the ground. Why? Well we have our hands tied with all kinds of environmental restrictions that weren't in place back then and we cant pump it out like before. Thank you very much Washington. We have Washington to thank for so many of todays ills in America. IMO. Thankfully The Sauidis are America's best Friends over in that area and we have nothing to fear from them and they won't gouge us on their rich sweet crude that we so desperately need. Well not much, ok maybe a little bit, let the gouging continue.......

[DCI]

Ye americans still have cheap fuel come to Europe. We are paying 9 dollars a gallon over here compared to ye. It's crazy cheap in America. We did 2k miles when I was there in July and it only cost me 400 Dollars that's nothing come to Ireland and do that mileage you'll be looking at 800 dollars min.

[Shol'va]

But doesn't Ireland government put extra tax on it to pay for other things in Ireland making the cost of gas so prohibitively high? In other words how much tax is on a litre of gas over there? and how does it break down.

[DCI]

Ohh I agree but all of Europe is pricey we are actually the cheapest in Europe for fuel would you believe. It's about 70% tax in Ireland the robbing pricks to be honest. But it is insanely cheap in America compared to most places and ye seem to have maissvely large engines just for the sake of having a massive engine. We had a brand new V6 Mustang when we where there and it still only managed 23mpg which is shit imo. My old mans 3l V6 166 Alfa does more than that and the engine design goes back to the early 70's and has 240bhp.

[Shol'va]

I'm watching the evening news tonight and they announce that gas prices in the US have fallen dramatically down a whopping 10 cents per gallon and consumers are jumping for joy. I'm screaming at my TV...are you serious? 10 cents and their all happy? Show me a 50 cent to a dollar or more drop in prices and I'll jump for joy, otherwise it's nothing. It will climb back 22 cents in a days time or more but took weeks to drop 10 cents and American consumers are happy. Jeez talk about mental conditioning...

[Times Roman]

^ I have some gas for you!

(need to cut down on the protein!!)