[KS circutguy]

http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/05/news....htm?hpt=hp_t2

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The United States is awash in gasoline. So much so, in fact, that the country is exporting a record amount of it.
The country exported 430,000 more barrels of gasoline a day than it imported in September, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That is about twice the amount at the start of the year, and experts and industry insiders say the trend is here to stay.
The United States began exporting gas in late 2008. For decades prior, starting in 1960, the country used all the gas it produced here plus had to import gas from places in Europe.
But demand for gas has dropped nearly 10% in recent years. It went from a peak of 9.6 million barrels a day in 2007 to 8.8 million barrels today, according to the EIA.

[sleepy]

Then WHY are our gas prices so high?

[KS circutguy]

Good question!

[Region Warrior]

Cause certain people thing we dont pay enough...

[TA-71]

Drop the gas prices down below $2/gallon and I bet consumption would go back up to the record levels of 2007.

[69goatboy]

Originally Posted by TA-71

Drop the gas prices down below $2/gallon and I bet consumption would go back up to the record levels of 2007.

Sorry, I don't buy that.

Whether gas is $2 per gallon or $5, people still have to travel the same distance to work. People still need to go to the grocery store, stores, restaurants, etc....

Here is the US gas consumption data for 2002 to 2009. Not that much of a difference from year to year.

2010 - 3,297,528,000 barrels x 42 = 138,496,176,000 gallons
2009 - 3,283,730,000 barrels x 42 = 137,916,660,000 gallons
2008 - 3,290,057,000 barrels x 42 = 138,182,394,000 gallons
2007 - 3,389,269,000 barrels x 42 = 142,349,298,000 gallons
2006 - 3,377,174,000 barrels x 42 = 141,841,308,000 gallons
2005 - 3,343,131,000 barrels x 42 = 140,411,502,000 gallons
2004 - 3,332,579,000 barrels x 42 = 139,968,318,000 gallons
2003 - 3,261,237,000 barrels x 42 = 136,971,954,000 gallons
2002 - 3,229,459,000 barrels x 42 = 135,637,278,000 gallons

http://americanfuels.blogspot.com/20...nsumption.html

[big_gto]

Greed is the reason the gas prices are staying up. We are not running out oil anytime soon.
And not enough people, commercial & private, will quit driving long enough to force the oil companies to lower prices.

[Bob Rutledge]

The de-valuation of the dollar is a big reason for high gas prices. Another is what I will call the energy bubble. Same as the housing bubble or the IT bubble, or whatever bubble you want to call it. Artificially high prices because commodities traders / speculators buy the gas, oil, whatever and hold it hoping for increased unrest in the middle east. Buy as low as possible and then when possible sell for as high as they can. We also have huge taxes on gasoline. The U.S. Government makes more per gallon than the companies that produce it. These are just a few reasons why gasoline is still above 2 bucks a gallon.

[2002Z4CSS]

Oil companied have to make record profits each quarter and Obama is doing nothing about it.

[69goatboy]

Originally Posted by 2002Z4CSS

Oil companied have to make record profits each quarter and Obama is doing nothing about it.

That is a sad statement right there.

Somebody is doing well in a lousy economy, and apparently there is something wrong with that?!?

EM did $450 billion in gasoline business last year and made $11 billion in profits. That's a 2.2% profit margin, and some people want to paint them as evil incarnate.

That 2.2% profit margin equates to about 8 pennies per gallon of gas (at $3.60 per). By contrast , the FG takes about 18 pennies per and the SG takes about 20-22 pennies per.

BTW, big oil's cash cow is NOT automotive fuel, it's airline fuel.

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by 69goatboy

Sorry, I don't buy that.

Whether gas is $2 per gallon or $5, people still have to travel the same distance to work. People still need to go to the grocery store, stores, restaurants, etc....

Here is the US gas consumption data for 2002 to 2009. Not that much of a difference from year to year.

2010 - 3,297,528,000 barrels x 42 = 138,496,176,000 gallons
2009 - 3,283,730,000 barrels x 42 = 137,916,660,000 gallons
2008 - 3,290,057,000 barrels x 42 = 138,182,394,000 gallons
2007 - 3,389,269,000 barrels x 42 = 142,349,298,000 gallons
2006 - 3,377,174,000 barrels x 42 = 141,841,308,000 gallons
2005 - 3,343,131,000 barrels x 42 = 140,411,502,000 gallons
2004 - 3,332,579,000 barrels x 42 = 139,968,318,000 gallons
2003 - 3,261,237,000 barrels x 42 = 136,971,954,000 gallons
2002 - 3,229,459,000 barrels x 42 = 135,637,278,000 gallons

http://americanfuels.blogspot.com/20...nsumption.html

Interesting info. Interesting even more that barrels on hand seem to show an over supply based on our usage in gallons. That makes me wonder even more why prices are so high.

[PontiacCF]

More importantly, why are we importing? Can't we just use our own? Market prices will always dictate price, but it should be a bit cheaper since it doesn't have to traverse an ocean to get here.

[69goatboy]

Originally Posted by PontiacCF

More importantly, why are we importing? Can't we just use our own? Market prices will always dictate price, but it should be a bit cheaper since it doesn't have to traverse an ocean to get here.

Any idea who our chief importer is?

I'll give you a hint. The country that most think of when they think of imported crude isn't the first on that list, nor are they even close to being first. But they are second, but not by much.

http://www.eia.gov/pub/oil_gas/petro...nt/import.html

[Half-Inch Stud]

yet, the less-refined diesel is over $4/gallon. Where's heating oil at?

[Lloyd-TX]

Who's buying our gasoline?