Price Gouging after the Flood

[patric]

The Coffeville refinery is shut down for the summer, and gas prices spike in Tulsa...

Sounds like supply and demand, except for one detail...
Tulsa doesnt get gas from that refinery.
We cant even use the gas we refine at our own plant.

Tulsa's gas comes from the Gulf of Mexico, where they make the "special blend" were required to use to stay off the EPA's Dirty Air List.

What's wrong with this picture?


http://www.kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=130872

[AMP]

Why did a quart of oil stay at 75 cents for years after they raised the price of a gallon of gasoline?  

Then suddenly one day they woke up and raised the price of the motor oil to $1.00 per quart with no fanfare, news report or notification,  as if a memo had hit someones desktop.  

[Porky]

quote:Originally posted by patric



Sounds like supply and demand, except for one detail...
Tulsa doesnt get gas from that refinery.

....no kidding, and they predominately make fertilizer there. [!]

[rhymnrzn]

I hope the people put out from the flooding find good hospitality.  The sizzle going on the west coast and more flooding in Texas today, I think the strength of man is getting bound up.

[sauerkraut]

It's all a rip off. I understand many oil companies don't even want to build refineries because it'll lower the price of gasoline. Why would an oil company want to spend billions for a new refinery and the end result will be cheaper gasoline prices? They don't want that. They want the market tight. I don't think we will ever see gasoline below $2.00 a gallon anymore. The oil companies are getting the public used to $3.00 a gallon gasoline. When hurricane Cameal hit the Gulf coast in 1969 I don't remember gasoline prices skyrocketing back then. I was only a kid back then but no one talked about high gas prices from the hurricane in 1969. Today if a hurricane even gets near the Gulf Of Mexico the prices will jump $1.00 a gallon as it did in 2005, and they never fell back to where it was before.

[patric]

Sometimes it's amusing to read the Whirled for what they dont report:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?articleID=070706_238_E1_spanc47180&breadcrumb=Energy

[Conan71]

Well, according to the TW report, there's 108,000 barrels of gas and diesel being produced at that refinery every day, that's 4.5mm gallons- a big contributor to the region any way you slice it.

The fertilizer plant is a different facility.

I do agree that if the plant manager farts at a refinery it's cause for gas prices to rise.

I'm just hoping we get our snout in the trough for some of the repair/rebuilding they'll have to do at the CRR.

[sauerkraut]

Gang, there's more to it than that, our fuel shot up 20+ cents overnight. It was $2.61 yesterday and today it's $2.95 unleaded regular. We (Ohio)  don't even get fuel from the flooded refinery. Every station all over town is $2.95 no free market, no competive pricing just blam there it is, pay the price or walk.[xx(]

[Conan71]

The plant manager at your local refinery must have farted then. [}:)]

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

Well, according to the TW report, there's 108,000 barrels of gas and diesel being produced at that refinery every day, that's 4.5mm gallons- a big contributor to the region any way you slice it.

...The region being Oklmulgee, Muskogee, etc., but Tulsa's gas is supposed to come from a completely different source.  The only way our gas prices should have been affected by the closing of that plant is if we were in violation of our agreement with the federal government.

So who's investigative court does this ball fall into, the state AG for price fixing or the EPA for breach of contract?

[sauerkraut]

I think this whole gas price thing is a rip-off. The oil companies stumbled on a gold mine, they know gasoline is like food and we have to have it in todays modern world to survive. We have to pay whatever price they ask. We are captive... I noticed every time the pump prices dip to a certain level- boom! back up they go. Something always happends to put the prices right back up there, be it a refinery fire, a change~over from winter grade to summer grade fuel, refinery maintence, floods, hurricanes or just about anything else.

[sauerkraut]

This spring they said fuel prices shot way up over $3.00 a gallon because of a combo of things that happend at the same time, refinery fires, change over from winter gasoline to summer gasoline, and refinery maintence shut downs. The gov't said it was unlikey gasoline would get over $2.71 this year (back in February), that's when the pump prices started to jump up. Early February in Ohio fuel was under $2.00 a gallon, then in less than two months time it was over $3.00 a gallon and kept going up... That's over a $1.00 a gallon hike in just 2 months.... I believe $4.00 a gallon fuel is not far off. At work we have a betting pool of when gasoline will hit $4.00 a gallon.. I bet we'll see $4.00 a gallon fuel next year.[xx(]

[Porky]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

Well, according to the TW report, there's 108,000 barrels of gas and diesel being produced at that refinery every day, that's 4.5mm gallons- a big contributor to the region any way you slice it.

The fertilizer plant is a different facility.

I do agree that if the plant manager farts at a refinery it's cause for gas prices to rise.

I'm just hoping we get our snout in the trough for some of the repair/rebuilding they'll have to do at the CRR.

http://www.coffeyvillegroup.com/petroleumRefining.asp

[AMP]

Just made a trip Fri-Sat-Sun to east Texas and regular unleaded there was as low at $2.72.9 per gallon.  Average along the highway was $2.78.9 saw as high as $2.82.9, but did not see any as high $2.99.9 as I did when I left Tulsa.

Upon returning to Tulsa I see $3.09.9 per gallon not 8 hours after purchasing the same grade of fuel in Texas for $2.72.9 per gallon.

Something seems totally wrong with that high of difference in retail pricing of gasoline.

Biggest thing I notice in Texas is gasoline may vary 10 to 15 cents per gallon along a 5 mile stretch of road.  At least it does not feel like price fixing is being done as it seems in the Tulsa Metro area.

[Conan71]

I don't know how the retailers can say there isn't collusion in Tulsa pricing since they all go up or down together within hours of each other.  Shell seems to be the most eager to post the price increase.  If I see gas up .10 at Shell, I make for the nearest QT to put some gas in unless I waited too long.