What are you Paying for Gasoline? Petrol Prices Around the World

[jmp4429]

Paid 2.52 this morning for regular in Durham, NC. I only put in enough to get to work. I’ll fill up tonight on my way home – it’s $2.23 here in middle-of-nowhere Eastern NC.

 

[Thomas_Crown]

In England its 95 Octane as standard, with 98 being what we call 'Super Unleaded'.

Having said that, in continental Europe, it tends to be 98 Octane as standard 100 as super.

If you guys are using 85 Octane your cars must be running really rough, and using shed loads more fuel then needed.

Thomas

 

[JerryStem]

So is anyone else following the news about oil companies with record profits and CEO bonuses while we paid ~$1 more per gallon than a year ago?

Saw a little Yahoo news blurb where one of the execs testifying before congress actually made it sound like higher prices were a GOOD thing to help keep demand low...

Wow........

 

[Craig H.]

Actually, Jerry, it is a good thing.

If the oil companies are making too much money, maybe we need to pool our resources and go into that business, as well. Better yet, lets find a more efficient way to transport people, goods, and services, and corner that market, making the oil guys irrelevant. Would that happen if they were not making good profits?

Doubt it.

 

[Dave Dunn]

So is anyone else following the news about oil companies with record profits and CEO bonuses while we paid ~$1 more per gallon than a year ago?

Saw a little Yahoo news blurb where one of the execs testifying before congress actually made it sound like higher prices were a GOOD thing to help keep demand low...

Wow........

It's my understanding that the oil companies make roughly $0.10 profit per gallon in the US on average. Average state and fed taxes are roughly $0.49 per gallon....so who's actually making the obscene profits? Yes, they're making billions in profits, but a lot of the reason is simply because the scale of the product is enormous compared to many other industries. I'd be much happier to let them have some profit so that they can continue to develop new oil sources and refining. The only real way to bring price down, without reduction in demand, is to increase capacity and supply.

People also complain about how it's always "big oil" that's the problem. Well, the laws in place currently on manufacture and distribution of gas are so restrictive and costly that nobody except for the largest companies can afford to do business in petroleum. There is no "mom & pop" gas refinery. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there have been no new refineries built in the US for the last 30 years. The number has actually reduced from about 300 to less than 180. Part of this I'm sure is due to the old refineries becoming more efficient over the years, but part as well is due to the fact that there's such a Gordean knot of restrictions and permits to build a new one that it takes years just to get through the permit process.

NIMBY and environmental policy prevents us from seeking new sources to become less dependent on foreign supply, prevents us from increasing our refining capacity to a non-interruptible level, prevents us from manufacturing and distributing the product cheaply or easily.

I say let them make some profit. Let them develop supply and invest in their business with it. In the long run it'll benefit the consumer much more than the government taking an even larger chunk in the form of "windfall taxes". The government already gets a windfall income. They don't need any more.

 

[Al Rosen]

In England its 95 Octane as standard, with 98 being what we call 'Super Unleaded'.

Having said that, in continental Europe, it tends to be 98 Octane as standard 100 as super.

If you guys are using 85 Octane your cars must be running really rough, and using shed loads more fuel then needed.

Thomas

Our autos are designed to use 87 octane and $2.50/gal beats paying $6.00/gal. If our cars are running rough, I guess we're used to it, so it's not a problem.

 

[Bigfoot]

Our autos are designed to use 87 octane and $2.50/gal beats paying $6.00/gal. If our cars are running rough, I guess we're used to it, so it's not a problem.

Al, Rough running cars are one of the sources of vibration that gave life to the big NVH push from the OEM's. Gas prices in South Bend Indiana are ranging from 2.15 to 2.29 per gallon for 87 octane.

 

[amanbhai]

Gas prices

Yesterday I was listening to CNN, a report about the senate questioning the CEOs of the oil companies, what they have found out was astonishing, & that was ......One of the CEO was making US $4000/ secs during the hurricane season.

 

[Al Rosen]

Al, Rough running cars are one of the sources of vibration that gave life to the big NVH push from the OEM's. Gas prices in South Bend Indiana are ranging from 2.15 to 2.29 per gallon for 87 octane.

Then again, rough can be a relative term.

 

[JerryStem]

I do have a bit of understanding on where some of the cost/gallon comes from, I know the "big oil" co's aren't completely to blame.

But I think there is a problem when the CEO's get ~100-200mil bonuses while "sticking it to the people". Something is flawed, something should be changed. Yesterday CNN mentioned while this one customer was filling his tank, the oil company (or CEO, forget) made ~1 million dollars.

Sorry, I don't see why the cost of gas should change more often than the stock markets... (Usually on nothing substantial or concrete, just speculation)

Jerry