Re:An Albertan responds

>Thanks Dennis for those details I missed. I do agree that the controls
on the development of the oil and gas industry also has a part to play. It is a double edged sword...we need environmental controls but those controls and bureaucracy can also stifle further development. It is a balancing act for sure.
By the way...I wasn't suggesting investing in Futures which I agree is very risky. I suggested investing in stocks of well researched, well-run companies. It should be part of your own portfolio but again I'm not suggesting having your whole portfolio in this area as well. But if the commodity sector is having record profits, why not profit along with them.That essentially was my point.

Also..Venezuela will be a major power player in future...I agree with you. Chavez is going to allign himself with countries like China etc instead of the free world market...so that will add tension in the future for supply and prices of oil and gas for sure.

Thanks

Cathy

A couple corrections for you Cathy.

> Only 1/3rd of the Senate seats are up for election at any given time.
> 1/3rd every two years to cover the six year terms of Senators.

> That has been the standard line of the mainstream media, as well as talk
> radio. I happen to live in Louisiana, where the newest petroleum
> hydrocracker was completed July of last year, less than 8 weeks before
> Hurricane Katrina hit.

> Technically, they are correct. It isn't a "NEW" refinery as it
> was built inside the Citgo property and is just an addition to the other
> two hydrocracker units already operating. But, it is NEW capacity. Enough
> capacity that it moved Citgo (Cities Services) from number 6 producer to
> number 4 in the US. That's a big jump, when you consider the Top three
> producers got their ranking by merging two or more major companies.
> Exxon-Mobil, Texaco-Shell, and Conoco-Phillips were formerly 6 major
> petroleum processors who now make up the big 3.

> The reason for no new refineries is due to a combination of problems. One
> is the environmental restrictions that have to be met in order to get
> permits to build. The other is the prinicpal known as NIMBY or "Not
> In My Back Yard".

> Citgo found it much easier to add the cracking unit inside their Sulphur,
> LA plant, but it still took over 10 years from proposal to engineering to
> construction and completion. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been
> poured into the new unit over the past decade, and it has only been
> generating profits for about 9 months. Like all the other refineries
> locally, Citgo had to shut down ALL refining for a one-week minimum with
> the arrival of Hurricane Rita.

> A refinery is very complex, and once they start shutdown, it takes 7 days
> to bring a unit back on line with raising the temperatures and pressures.
> Lost production for 7 to 9 days represented over one million dollars in
> lost revenue just in this one plant.

> And it's not just the price of crude from those willing to sell, but also
> the added cost and those who invest in futures drive up the price. Not
> only does the US import over one-third of its monthly diet of crude oil,
> but we are also net importers of refined gasoline. It's easier to build
> refineries offshore and then ship the gasoline in via tankers. (But, it
> still adds to the rising prices.)

> (Investing in commodites right now when they are

> If not handled properly, gov't purchases in commodoties or futures could
> be just as bad as the state of California buying up out-of-state
> electricity on the spot markets during their crises a few years back. They
> paid exhorbitant prices for future production, and then lost millions as
> temperatures moderated and the price of electricity dropped far below what
> the State Assembly had paid. Gov't intervention is rarely efficient or
> cost-effective.

> ..but looking at ways to reduce your own energy consumption is another.

> A combination of consumption reductions and using alternative resources is
> needed to improve the picture, along with relaxing the restrictions
> against further production of US energy resources.

> We have 100% bans on new drilling in most of Alaska, the entire Pacific
> coastline, most of the Atlantic coastline, and the Gulf of Mexico, with
> the exceptions of coastal Louisiana and Texas. The huge proven reserves at
> Anwar Alaska are placed "off limits" by the US Congress, while
> the state of Alaska and the Alaskan population favor the drilling
> overwhelmingly. Other known reserves within the US have also be placed
> off-limits.

> So at least part of the steep increases is due to the US environmental
> movement along with Congressional actions.

> In most of the 50 states of the US, the state taxes on oil and gasoline
> amount to a much larger figure than the profits the oil companies are
> taking. At the same time, the federal taxes on oil and gasoline are also
> greater than the oil companies' percentage. So the hidden taxes inside
> those $3.00 plus prices are more than double the oil company profits. Why
> shouldn't the state and federal gov't consider a short-term reduction in
> their taxes - as they are gouging the consumers far more than the oil
> companies.

> At the same time, the oil companies invest billions of dollars in finding
> and producing domestic suppliers, or spend millions on every tanker of
> imported crude. Exactly how much does the government contribute to
> consumers being able to fill their tank, in relation to how much they add
> in taxes. Maybe we should look at the governments' "Windfalls",
> since most of those taxes are in percentages of the wholesale cost. The
> gov't bite is growing faster than the companies profits!

> Sorry for the long rant, but this is my first post on this topic here, and
> I wanted to clear up some errors and misconceptions. By the way, I am not
> employed in the oil industry. I sell promotional advertising from my home,
> and have done that for over 20 years in this area. None of the local
> gasoline refineries are my customers. I don't sell to Citgo or
> Conoco-Phillips.

> I didn't even touch on how much the oil company costs have risen in added
> pollution controls on these two local gasoline refineries over the past 2
> decades. Some scrubbers are costing more than the original construction
> cost of the entire hydrocracker unit. And Citgo will be spending hundreds
> of millions more on adding new, technoligically advanced "wet
> scrubbers" this year to all three local units, as well as their other
> plants in TX, OK, and beyond.

> BTW, if Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez follows through on his promise
> to sell of his countries oil exports elsewhere than the US, the local
> community will take a major hit. But, it will be nothing compared to the
> nationwide price increase that will take place in all of Citgo refineries
> are idled due to his actions. The local Citgo refinery was specifically
> engineered to process the Venezuelan crude, which is much different than
> West Texas Sweet or Mid-Eastern crude.