The Price of Gas

Hello My fellow World Citizens,

In this blog, I will discuss gasoline prices of today and gasoline prices of 3 years ago.

This is a picture of a refinery of the Libyan/Swiss-owned Tamoil company. It is located in Collombey in southern Switzerland. It was taken on July 24, 2008.

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member Libya is halting oil shipments, including both crude oil and refined petroleum products to Switzerland in protest at the arrest of Hannibal Gaddafi a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Gaddafi was released on bail after he and his wife were charged with ill-treatment of two domestic employees. Gaddafi denied the charges, his lawyer has said.
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND)

I included this story because I thought it to be ludicrous and I thougtht that the readers of this blog probably would think so also.

OPEC says it has lost control of oil prices
Cartel producers say they can't keep up with strong global demand
By John W. Schoen
Senior Producer
MSNBC
updated 4:13 p.m. CT, Wed., March. 16, 2005

Despite a pledge by OPEC ministers to increase oil production, don't expect much of a break on oil prices. With crude oil prices hitting a record $56 a barrel Wednesday, OPEC ministers meeting in Iran have been grappling with a problem they haven’t confronted in the cartel’s 45-year history. In the past, OPEC tried to cool overheated prices by pumping more when supplies got too tight. But most OPEC producers say they’re already pumping as fast as they can. And despite the high cost of a barrel of crude, world demand shows no signs of slowing.
To help stop the surge in prices, OPEC ministers agreed to pump an extra half million barrels of oil a day beginning April 1. OPEC said it would consider pumping more later if the extra oil doesn't push prices lower. But even before the decision was announced, some ministers had openly expressed doubts that the move will do any good, saying they’ve run out of options in trying to rein in the price of crude. Global oil demand has taken up most of the slack in extra OPEC capacity. Consumption is now believed by many analysts to be pressing up against the limits of what the world can produce.

This articles was printed a little over 3 years ago. OPEC had lost control then; what is your opinion now? Gas prices have about triple in the past 3 years. It highest price ever was reached in July of this year. It reached $147. 27 per barrel.


Editor: Mu Xuequan
Oil prices slide below $124
NEW YORK, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Crude oil resumed its slide and settled below 124 U.S. dollars Friday on falling fuel demand caused by a slow economy and supply increase from the OPEC countries.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery dropped 2.23 dollars to settle at 123.26 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched 122.50 dollars a barrel during the trading session, the lowest intraday price since June 5. Price has tumbled more than 24 dollars since the all-time peak of 147.27 dollars a barrel was achieved on July 11.
The U.S. Energy Department's report this week showed that the U.S. domestic fuel demand dropped to a lowest point since January 2007 with average 19.9 million barrels a day, signaling that the weak economy and high energy prices have curbed demand.
The OPEC will produce 32.9 million barrels a day in July, 200,000 barrels up from June, according to the preliminary estimates from an oil industry consultancy Petro Logistics Ltd.
The dollar strengthened against the euro on Friday also helped to bring down the crude oil price.
In London, Brent crude for September delivery fell 1.92 dollars to settle at 124.52 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange. 　

The price of gas is causing everything, from groceries to household items to increase in price. Do you think that gas will ever go down to where it was 3 years ago; to around $56 dollar a barrel? It causes a little over $100 to fill up my vehicle now days as compared to 3 years ago; it costed a little over $60. I have noticed more bicycles and motorcycles on the road lately. I believe that this is one of the effects of higher oil prices. I believe that the higher oil prices will also cause an increase in violent crimes.