Bodman sees up to three years of fuel pain

[dawgman]

Energy secretary says oil companies ‘have lost control of the market’
Meet the Press

By Alex Johnson
Reporter
MSNBC
Updated: 12:01 p.m. ET April 30, 2006

Gasoline prices have soared an average of 60 cents a gallon in less than a month because suppliers are unable to keep up with demand, a situation that could persist up to three more years, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Sunday.

Bodman said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the shortfall was a sign of a stronger economy under President Bush, but he acknowledged that, at least for now, “the suppliers have lost control of the market.”

“The oil has gone up because the suppliers are unable to make the flows equal to the demand,” he said. “... Clearly, it’s going to be a number of years, maybe two to three years, before suppliers are going to be able to keep up with those demands.”


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12531620/

[electron_blue]

1. huh? Does this really make sense? Anyone here know more about

oil suppliers and the economy than I do?

Are they going to blame this on Katrina?

[LiberalPartisan]

2. Senator Schumer says

Oil companies traditionally refine at 95% capacity, however, in the last year they have been running at 85%. And that includes adjustments for off-line time due to weather etc. Thus the oil companies are working to keep demand tight.

On another note, the US accounts for 22% of oil usage, China 6% and India 1% so the argument that China and India are pushing up demand is bogus. WE are to blame for our gluttony and WE must conserve, change and use less energy in all areas of our daily lives.

We will never again see oil at less $1.50 a gallon so we must now make changes, individually and collectively to live with the new more expensive costs of energy.

[cliss]

4. The voice of reason....

So true.

Now I've read that the US in fact uses 28% of the world's supply of petroleum. I believe we burn through 29 million barrels of oil PER DAY. That's not gallons, it's barrels.

It's unbelievable. It's like our society has a death-wish. Our entire economy is fueled by the black blood of petroleum. Everybody knows it's a finite resource. When it's gone, there ain't no more.

And yet, people do absolutely NOTHING about it. This can only be concluded as lunacy.

Tomorrow has just arrived.

[shain from kane]

5. Senator Schumer isn't too smart, is he?

"WE are to blame for our gluttony and WE must conserve..."
So we are supposed to conserve, and China and India can have more access, and steal more jobs from us. We are dependent on the internal combustion engine, and we need gas to run them. That is the trap that we are experiencing. And the oil companies are taking advantage of that need at this moment in history. With their record profits, it has nothing to do with supply and demand. We don't need to conserve energy, since there are sources of abundant energy that are not being used. The oil companies will one day be fighting for their existence, as providers of alternatives come on line. The problem that we face is that we may still have to put up with these bastards in the future, since they are not just in the oil business, but the energy business. And they are obtaining the wherewithal with their current price gouging to continue that dominance in the future.
As to whether "We will never see oil (sic) at less $1.50 a gallon",if I am reading it correctly, then a 55-gallon drum of oil would be selling for $82.50!!! If he means $1.50 for a gallon of gas, as I suspect, there will be enough of us out there to guarantee that the oil companies won't be able to give it away some day. They have overplayed their hand.

[depakid]

9. steal more jobs?

ummm. In case you haven't noticed- both DLC and Republican policy is to encourage corporations to just give them away- as fast as we possibly can.

[mbperrin]

7. Not to mention the many refineries closed by the majors in order

to tighten up the markets. In Odessa, Texas, there were seven refineries in the 1960s; now there are none - the last to go was the Shell facility, which is now a receiving terminal for gas from the Gulf Coast. Another facility was sold and relocated to Russia in the late 80s. Only thing left in the area is the former Cosden facility, now owned by Alon, an Israeli company, in Big Spring, about 60 miles from here. This has been going on for a long time, and now they are really running the show.

The only possible good is that alternatives become more affordable daily.

[lindisfarne]

8. There is truth in Schumer's statement.

"On another note, the US accounts for 22% of oil usage, China 6% and India 1% so the argument that China and India are pushing up demand is bogus. WE are to blame for our gluttony and WE must conserve, change and use less energy in all areas of our daily lives."

But it is also truthful to say that China's and India's demand is only going to increase. If oil production is only just barely meeting demand, even a .5% increase in demand is going to cause the price to shoot up, and the market to be even jumpier than it is.

That's not to say we should *blame* China/India/other nations for the price because as Schumer indicates, if we in the US chose to conserve, prices would not be so high (the government establishing meaningful fuel economy standards that required the auto industry to significant increase fuel efficiency would be a good start, although on a personal level, all with cars could easily cut their usage by 10% without much pain (and who's to say there shouldn't be some pain involved? there will be sooner or later, so get used to it)).

[LiberalPartisan]

12. *** CLARIFICATION ***

I need to clarify the original post some. The first paragraph is a paraphrase of recent Schumer statements and is not meant as a direct quote.

The remaining text are my words.

Sorry for any confusion - I should have made it clear from the beginning.

[Trillo]

3. Only 3-years?

Isn't that the number of years remaining in Bush's presidency?

[Turbineguy]

14. Pure coincidence

Move along, nothing to see here!

[barb162]

6. Peak oil...pain from now on

[4dsc]

10. The sheeple are awakening...

The more you know about peak oil, the more you can recognize the ramifications, like high energy prices.. These high prices are NOT a surprise for those that know about peak oil!! Not at all!!

[Jim__]

11. Gee, right up to the end of the bush admin.

What a coincidence.

[NYC]

13. And maybe the end of the Bush war, which uses a lot of oil.

How much of that oil "we" use is used by the military?