Every Time I've Seen Gas Go To A New Low......

I filled up at a Shell station today for 1.69 gal.

Oil dipped down again today. Look for a small rebound in the morning.

Tier 3 gasoline required in 2017. Refineries will spend money in the next 2 years to meet the requirement(desulphurization). Estimated impact is all over the place, $.05/gal. to $.25/gal. depending who you ask and what side of the fence they're on. Also the proposed increase in federal gas tax by $.12 that could pass. So I could see $5/gallon in the near future(2017/18).

Conoco Phillips and Phillips 66 just released their 4th quarter earnings, Conoco Phillips (COP) had a $38 million loss. Phillips 66 (PSX) had earnings of $1.1 billion. COP is an oil producer and PSX is into refining, marketing, transportation and chemicals.

Evil oil company profiteers

Possible oil refinery strike is driving the price back up again

Oil has jumped up this week. Might be time to buy some oil futures.

I don't get this. The outcome of a refinery strike would be to use less oil...so why would it drive up crude oil prices rather than drive them down?

The strikers are currently striking at refinery facilities that represent 10% of the US refinery capacity.

i. If this strike were to result in a 10% decrease in production of, say, gasoline without a comparable decrease in the demand for gasoline the price of gasoline in the United States might rise.

ii. If the strikers' demands were met, the costs of refining might readjusted upward to cover the new higher-wage costs.

n.b. DonDiego does not share the opinion that gasoline prices are likely to rise, under the present conditions.
i. It is likely the remaining 90% of refining capacity could pick up the slack.
ii. Given the current lower price of oil, and hence lower profitability of oil companies, the strikers demands are unlikely to be met.

I'm planning to accumulate some bullish oil investments. Oil can only go down so far. It might go down further short term but it's bound to go back up once we start shutting down wells and refineries that are no longer profitable. Then when we aren't producing, the Saudis raise their prices and bend us over and do us without the proverbial vasoline.