Rising Gas Prices

[am1]

What? This post has been here for over seven hours and we still haven't gotten our first "I have an EV so I don't buy gas" post!

Kurt

Does not matter as everything else goes up.

 

[beejaybee]

Fish Tales
McDonald's FoF sandwiches are something I might order even outside of Lenten Fridays, but more than double the price from a few years ago when they were 2 for $4 has reduced my craving for them.
Arby's fish sandwiches are a great deal and much more fishy than Mickey D's! priced at 2 for $6 everyday.

 

[Talent312]

Luckily, I bought a full-tank b4 the invasion and still have 3/4 full.
But in 2 weeks, I drive about 5 hours (330 miles) to Ft. Lauderdale.
Still, as others say, gas prices in the U.S. are still relatively cheap.

BTW, we saw $3.79 at Sam's Club in N. Florida today.
I may want to top-off at that price.
.
.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

We are at MVC Newport Coast Villas this weekend. I just paid $5.49 for regular yesterday in Newport Beach. I have heard local news reports of prices over $7 a gallon in LA this weekend.

 

[Ken555]

We are at MVC Newport Coast Villas this weekend. I just paid $5.49 for regular yesterday in Newport Beach. I have heard local news reports of prices over $7 a gallon in LA this weekend.

There are always certain LA locations that are ~$1-2 higher than the vast majority, and it’s likely these are the ones you’re hearing about. I may go out today to buy gas - for comparison, as of today (per the website) Costco gas (at one location in LA) is $4.85.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[TravelTime]

…On Saturday, the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular in Los Angeles County rose 9.5 cents to $5.247…

$7 Gas in SoCal? Lines Are Long at Arcadia Sam's Club for ‘Bargain' $4.29

Gas prices spiked more than 13 cents in one day overnight — the largest one day hike since 2015. Pumps near the Beverly Center offer $6.65 for regular and more than $7 for premium.

www.nbclosangeles.com

 

[am1]

I am pretty sure the Filet-O-Fish has always come with half a slice of cheese.

And always a bad sandwich.

 

[MrockStar]

4:19 $ today in Detroit. Costco was slammed today.

 

[joestein]

Just saw $4.40 this afternoon at Exxon in Old Bridge, NJ.

Saw $3.79 10 mins earlier at Lukoil in Old Bridge. I thought they were going to be sanctioned - they are a Russian owned business.

 

[Talent312]

Saw $3.79 10 mins earlier at Lukoil in Old Bridge. I thought they were going to be sanctioned - they are a Russian owned business.

They came out in opposition to the war... probly had to...
They have a lot of locally-owned franchises in the U.S.
Some localities are talking about shutting 'em down, anyway.
.

 

[vikingsholm]

This is what I've read on message boards from people in the industry plus those who invest in oil or gas:

Over a year ago, these people were saying that the current rise in prices (prior to the Ukraine invasion) was expected to be up to around $100 per barrel of crude by now. Part of that was due to expected demand increase coming out of the pandemic, and part because some of the domestic production being shut down during the pandemic crude price plunge would not be started up due to bankruptcies, or just kept closed down to limit supply and jack up the price. Then there's the ramp up to summer blends and summer demand.

However, the Ukraine invasion has prevented what may have been a price pullback around the $100 level, and the uncertainty and less supply coming out of Russia has popped it to $115 already. On top of this, Saudi Arabia has also withheld supply to get prices higher while this demand returned, and sounds unlikely to want to increase their output anytime soon.

The people I follow are now saying they expect prices to get to $185-200 per barrel within this year, if international conditions stay as they are. Any further boycott of Russia or worse war situations could aggravate that more.

A partial countervaling measure may be a new Iranian nuke deal in the works, after which sanctions blocking their oil supply output now would be eased. This could happen over the next month.

Sounds like we need to be prepared for even higher prices, regardless.

Costco gas always seems cheaper, and in the SF Bay Area and Tahoe, if you shop for groceries at Safeway or Raleys you can get rebates of from 10c to 50c per gallon at their gas stations based on your amount of grocery spending.

A little less driving by all might be in order here, and I hope this spurs people away from those monster pickups and back to smaller cars, hybrids, and EVs. It is another reason to extend work from home more permanently too - that saves gas from less commuting, especially in large urban areas. This price increase is all going to look so petty in 10-20 years when people find out how real the effects of climate change are going to be, and how unexpectedly fast it's coming, IMO.

 

[MrockStar]

Guess is time to break out my winter ride 2003 Honda civic hybrid that gets close to 50mpg with 255, 000 miles on the clock and running good still.

 

[Superchief]

I can't believe our leaders would prefer to buy oil from Iran rather than remove some barriers to domestic production. There are several lease applications for production on federal lands that haven't been approved due to clean energy policies. A separate lease is required for production, following an initial lease for exploration. These delayed leases are in areas where the oil has already been found. The longer the delay for increasing domestic production, the longer we will have to pay high gas (and every other product) prices while we continue to fund the economies of countries who hate us.

 

[joestein]

I don't care what the price for gas is - we can't give up pressure on Iran. They are an evil country that will use the proceeds to sow war and chaos in the middle east. They fund several terrorist groups.

 

[ScoopKona]

Sounds interesting. Can you share more details? What brand, Financials, incentive etc. We are needing a new car in the next 3 years so are evaluating options.

If you don't live within driving distance of one of the nine H2 filling stations, there is no reason to even look into this.

Unless a network of H2 stations is built, these only work as commuters or "drive about town" cars. Toyota makes the only model for sale in the US right now.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

If you don't live within driving distance of one of the nine H2 filling stations, there is no reason to even look into this.

Unless a network of H2 stations is built, these only work as commuters or "drive about town" cars. Toyota makes the only model for sale in the US right now.

Thanks. I was always under the impression that H2 is 10 years out. We live in northern California so when I looked online and I see more than 9 stations. I also see stations going to places where we drive. Worth considering.

You said the economics work. Can you provide an example of what you learned? And possibly some good resources you found?

 

[ScoopKona]

Thanks. I was always under the impression that H2 is 10 years out. We live in northern California so when I looked online and I see more than 9 stations. I also see stations going to places where we drive. Worth considering.

You said the economics work. Can you provide an example of what you learned? And possibly some good resources you found?

I'm buying a certified pre-owned (lease turn in) for around $20K. It comes with a three-year gas card worth $15K. The H2 station is 30 miles from me, but basically across the street from Costco -- so I'll make that trip once per month anyway.

My calculus is that I don't want to buy any more internal combustion engines; and that mining for lithium isn't doing the planet any favors, either. So H2 is the smartest way to get from point A to point B. Our bus system runs on H2, as well.

 

[MrockStar]

I like the idea, Thanks ScoopLV.

 

[pedro47]

How much oil does the major oil refinery companies hold in reserves in those large oil tankers (ships and land oil tankers)?

 

[emeryjre]

Tried the Toyota Mirai on a long term lease. Gave it back after 30 days. No hydrogen available. They were not happy, but neither was I. The vehicle itself was very nice and using the first tank of fuel was lot of fun. This was 4 years ago.

California had/has been promising Hydrogen at the new stations. Not sure what the supply situation is currently.

The research to produce green hydrogen is very intense. Hopefully one the weekly lab announcements will really produce low cost, low carbon hydrogen.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

As of this writing (3/6/22 - 6:46 PM CST) West Texas Intermediate future are above $125 a barrel, up almost $10 since Friday close.

 

[dioxide45]

Well, gas jumped today here in northeast Florida to four bucks! Well technically $3.999. Anyway, it has been a long time since I saw $4 gas at the pumps. I have longed realised that it is a big scam. It usually takes six weeks for increases in oil prices to impact prices at the pumps. This whole thing over the war on Ukraine certainly shouldn't be impacting trust costs at the pump. From what I can tell, demand isn't any higher today than it was last week. The west is still importing Russian oil, so it isn't like supply is down. The whole thing is plastered all over the news to make us willing to accept the increases in price while it is all just a big scam to empty our pockets.

I even saw something where the administration may be considering going to Venezuela to seek oil instead of importing from Russia. Really? The two are allies and Russia could just funnel their oil through them.

 

[emeryjre]

The US has plenty of Natural Gas Production, but Natural Gas has increased in price from around 3.50 in late December to around 5.00 today. Around 40% increase. Wait until you start getting your next heating bills for the next shoe to drop.

In California the pain has been especially hard for fixed income seniors.

 

[easyrider]

Many people voted for the end of fossil fuel in 2020 and won. It was actually guaranteed. Maybe the people didn't know that gas is a fossil fuel, lol. This isn't a political jab at anything so please don't go off. This is only my interesting observation as we move away from gas for now.

Bill

 

[jabberwocky]

I even saw something where the administration may be considering going to Venezuela to seek oil instead of importing from Russia. Really? The two are allies and Russia could just funnel their oil through them.

This would probably be difficult since the Venezuelan crude has very different characteristics and refining requirements than the Russian variety.

Russian oil usually has an API > 30 (Urals is the dominant type) with a sulfur content of about 1.5%. Venezuelan crude is quite a bit heavier with an API of around 15-16 (Merey grades - by far the largest proportion of Venezuelan production) and has a sulfur content of around 2.5%. It would be tough to substitute one type for another.

Refineries are designed to process certain grades of oil - which is why it can be difficult to just "import" more oil if you don't have the right refining capacity. Refineries along the gulf coast were set up to process the Venezuelan product and had to adjust when the sanctions on VE kicked in.

Of course, there is a friendly country to the north of the US that has plenty of heavy oil that is closer to the Venezuelan grades (Alberta oil sands crude has an API of around 20 so it's a good fit for gulf coast refiners). Had Keystone XL not been delayed and then canceled, it would be pumping an extra 830,000 bpd now. This would more than offset any imports from Russia.