LiBya accounts for less than 3% of the total crude used by the USA, or affiliates.
Do you think the Big-Oil Companies are simply SCREWING us and taking advantage in a Horrible Economy?
Most people are forced to consider when or where they will go when prices get this high.
We were slated to take a trip to go camping, with a rental of an RV. When we added up the rental , AND fuel, we could go on a Cruise for the same 4 days.
To drive 600 miles round trip, costs about 500 dollars in Diesel fuel, and then the rental , 500 dollars as well. Then add food, and costs to Rent a piece of Campsite DiRT to park the RV on, $60 a night, it starts to look like a LOT of money to go “camping”.
Categorized | Featured Articles
Do You Think Fuel / Gas Prices Are Being Artificially Inflated?
Posted on March 10, 2011.
Like all other sectors of the economy gas and fuel prices are controlled by the balance between greed and fear and thus are arbitrary.
Hi.. I am in the UK and petrol/gas/diesel prices are just getting out of hand…we are currently paying around £6 per gallon for unleaded and diesel is around £6.50….its making me housebound as I am disabled after a motorcycle crash a few years ago..I rely on my car but have cut down from average 150-200 miles per week to around 75…its become an expensive ornament outside my house..I hear it could hit £2 a litre or £9 a gallon..
As to wether or not the oil companies are screwing us I would say that its the British government that take 85pence in tax for every litre..and as I write this its £1.35…
A few observations:
1. Oil prices are artificially inflated to an extent. But not by oil companies. OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) is the responsible party. OPEC limits the supply of oil that is sold worldwide in order to keep prices from dropping.
2. While it is true that Libya only has about 2-3% of the world’s oil supply, the supply problems are not about Libya per se. As you’re probably aware, there has been unrest in many Middle Eastern countries lately. There is major fear that it could spread to a place like Saudi Arabia, which would seriously cripple the world’s oil supply and send prices WAY up. As you may recall from ECON 101, when people expect prices to go up, they buy more. Increased demand leads to increased prices. That’s what is happening right now.
3. Oil companies are subject to the same forces that every other company is: supply and demand. It would be silly for them to artificially raise prices when the economy is bad – because that’s precisely when people don’t have money to buy their product. They would not make more money by charging prices that are too high, because people would buy less gas.
4. Perhaps you should go tent camping instead of RV camping. My wife and I camp all the time, and it is a lot cheaper to put up a little tent than it is to drive around a big cumbersome RV. Tent camping is much more fun too, and you can carry tents in your own car, thus spending a lot less on gas (for example, if you get 30 MPG, your 600 mile round trip will only cost about $70 to $80 for gas).
Enjoy your trip!