Oil industry full of gas

Posted by admin on Oct 16, 2008 in Consumer Reviews, Random Thoughts | 0 comments

Earlier this summer, I distinctly remember seeing gas reach over the $4/gallon mark. It was everywhere on the news and suddenly every news channel was interview CEOs from companies such as Exxon/Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, etc. These CEOs attempted justify the high costs we see at the pump – along with their billions of dollars in profits. They showed how the high cost of crude oil was driving prices up. In fact, at the time we were paying a little over $4/gallon, the price of crude oil jumped to $147 a barrel. OK, I understand, gas and oil is in high demand because of growth in places like China and India so we’re all paying more. What I don’t get is that this week, crude oil has fall to below $70/barrel (a 53% drop from it’s high on July 11) and yet the price at the pump has only fallen to about $2.85/gallon – that’s only a 29% drop in prices at the pump. So what’s happening with the 24% gap in the change in prices… my guess, it’ll finally push the big 3 I mentioned above (all Fortune 5 companies) a little closer to hitting a collective 100 Billion in profits. Happy driving!