just how low can gas go?

[OUHOMER]

I see oil has dropped again and I asked myself. Self just how low can gas go?

I mean with cost to produce, transport and taxes, other intangibles etc.
How low can gas get?

Umm just wondering

:pop:

[King Crimson]

SBD

[Jerk]

Pretty low if no one can afford it:D

[stoops the eternal pimp]

$1

[Condescending Sooner]

Are all the people who wanted the oil company's profits taken from them for "fairness" sake a few months ago willing to help them out now that they are struggling?

[Tulsa_Fireman]

Will we care when Oklahoma's unemployment rate increases from the fellas losing their jobs in the oil industry? From roughnecks, suppliers, purchasing agents, machinists, and all the others involved?

All for some cheap gas?

[frankensooner]

$2.54 by my house this a.m. Dang, and we drove to Florida this summer at just under $4.00 both ways. I should have waited! ;)

[Widescreen]

Are all the people who wanted the oil company's profits taken from them for "fairness" sake a few months ago willing to help them out now that they are struggling?

I'll bet the oil companies are making more now than they were 4 months ago. The gas prices haven't fallen nearly as quickly as oil has. So their margins are probably higher.

[oumartin]

I really don't care how low it goes or what happens to the economy. I'm pretty sick of hearing about who is gonna fix it and whos at fault. I am tired of hearing about bailouts and helping out the common man.
Don't get me wrong I don't wanna anyone to lose their jobs but it is what it is.
We are a greedy people who live beyond our means. I will survive as will my family regardless of what happens. I may have to learn a new language and use a different currency sometime during my lifetime but hey, Adapt or die right.

[tommieharris91]

I'll bet the oil companies are making more now than they were 4 months ago. The gas prices haven't fallen nearly as quickly as oil has. So their margins are probably higher.

Nope. The convenience stores are making more money on this. Oil companies are losing a whole lot because their assets have lost almost half their value since oil's peak.

If oil keeps falling (to like $50), I wouldn't be surprised if a major producer or decided to stop producing because they would be losing money selling oil.

[sooner_born_1960]

My only question is; if oil gets any cheaper, is Boone State gonna have to give their stadium back?

[mdklatt]

Will we care when Oklahoma's unemployment rate increases from the fellas losing their jobs in the oil industry? From roughnecks, suppliers, purchasing agents, machinists, and all the others involved?


We'll just bail them out like we did in the late 90s. And as far as I know, that "oil industry assistance tax" is still in place.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

People bitchin' about the cost of gasoline going DOWN!!!

[jkjsooner]

Will we care when Oklahoma's unemployment rate increases from the fellas losing their jobs in the oil industry? From roughnecks, suppliers, purchasing agents, machinists, and all the others involved?

All for some cheap gas?

I want the state to do well financially. However, high oil prices are such a drag on the world economy that I will take lower prices anyday.

And, quite frankly, oil is still much higher than the historical norm. We're nowhere near the bad days of the late '80s.

[yermom]

dude if we are happy with gas at $2.59 they have won.

it was under $1 10 years ago

i can't imagine oil companies are "struggling" any more now than anyone else

before 9/11 it was way cheaper than it is now. i was griping about $2 gas at the end of 2003

cry me a river oil companies, i guess the CEOs are going to have to buy smaller jets this year

[mdklatt]

cry me a river oil companies, i guess the CEOs are going to have to buy smaller jets this year

Nah, they'll just lay off a bunch of people before that happens. I wonder how this is going to effect construction of the Devon Phallus?

[tommieharris91]

My only question is; if oil gets any cheaper, is Boone State gonna have to give their stadium back?
They might have to. I would laugh if they default on payments for their athletic improvements. Heck, oil is down 10% today. There is probably a few lightly used weight machines on sale in Stillwater right now.


And, quite frankly, oil is still much higher than the historical norm. We're nowhere near the bad days of the late '80s.
Actually, when one adjusts for inflation, it currently isn't.

[badger]

I can afford higher gas now, but I was sure struggling when I was a student commuting to campus. I feel for those out there that still can't afford the price that it is now, because I remember how much of a problem it was for me then.

But... I can afford it, so I'll continue buying it.

[frankensooner]

Ride a Scooter

[jkjsooner]

Actually, when one adjusts for inflation, it currently isn't.

I said oil not gas prices and it is still way above the inflation adjusted historical norm....

http://inflationdata.com/inflation/inflation_Rate/Historical_Oil_Prices_Table.asp

For comparison, in 1988 a barrel was $14.87 which is $27.05 in today's dollars. Don't start crying for the oil companies just yet.

For those who were speculating on oil prices, tough.

[Jerk]

Nah, they'll just lay off a bunch of people before that happens. I wonder how this is going to effect construction of the Devon Phallus?


Devon will be fine. It's the "other" big company in town (their name starts with a C) that is a house of cards.

[SoonerInKCMO]

How so? :confused:

I was just looking at their annual report a couple days ago and the numbers look solid. Production costs are rising faster than revenue but they're still very profitable. Natural gas prices aren't off that much from last year. What's happened that I'm missing?

[Wishboned]

OPEC called for an emergency meeting in November so they can cut production.

[oumartin]

I have a feeling chesapeake will be just fine.

[OUHOMER]

I have a feeling chesapeake will be just fine.

Their CEO had to sell ALL of his shares for margin calls today. UMMM:eek:

[oumartin]

that doesn't mean the company is in trouble. he had to sell stock to pay off loans that were called in due to stock market falling.

However, if by some chance the whole thing collapses, well thats a different story. Wonder how this will affect the OKC Thunder

[olevetonahill]

It will go low but then Bounce back :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIh1p6VkeF8

[tommieharris91]

that doesn't mean the company is in trouble. he had to sell stock to pay off loans that were called in due to stock market falling.

However, if by some chance the whole thing collapses, well thats a different story. Wonder how this will affect the OKC Thunder

If he's being compensated like a Lehman Bros. exec, it means they're in trouble. I'm hearing more than a few company owners saying $60/bbl is their shutdown price.

[oumartin]

Well I won't say I know Chesapeakes business because I don't but I know there are Stable Natural Gas companies out there with stock that are not dropping like a rock.

[oumartin]

So, does this signal the end of the Oil Boom everybody said would last for the next decade?

[JohnnyMack]

So, does this signal the end of the Thunder lasting in OKC for at least a decade?

Fixed.

[SoonerInKCMO]

Oil & gas headed back up. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12400801/)

[StoopTroup]

Boone was right.

[badger]

2.65 last night

[soonerboomer93]

dude if we are happy with gas at $2.59 they have won.

it was under $1 10 years ago

i can't imagine oil companies are "struggling" any more now than anyone else

before 9/11 it was way cheaper than it is now. i was griping about $2 gas at the end of 2003

cry me a river oil companies, i guess the CEOs are going to have to buy smaller jets this year

I don't know how many times I've attempted to point this out, and I know there's more factors going on today then there were a year ago, but higher gas prices is a good thing. Not just for energy companies and energy company employees, but for the US.

These companies already know they need to diversify. However, oil is still money for them, it's the money that lets them r&d, that lets them expand. That lets them to start the process to convert to other exploration and other means of energy.

Also, while high gas prices puts the squeeze on peoples pocket books, it forces people to make some changes. It makes people look at buying more fuel efficient vehicles, look into car pools and mass transit. It also means that people combine errands, such as running to several places in the same vicinity. It changes the US car-centric culture.

[Boarder]

$2.31 at the new 7-11 on Classen (no ethanol)

[tommieharris91]

I personally think an oil price of ~$70/bbl is where it should be. The producers still make money off of oil, the profits aren't what many consider obscene, and most consumers can afford it.

[tommieharris91]

The national average Monday: $3.21 a gallon. Oklahoma City won the distinction of selling the country's least expensive gas at $2.30. In South Florida, the honor seemed to go to the Pembroke Pines station at 15801 Pines Blvd., where a gallon of regular unleaded cost $2.99.

http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/724924.html

[KRYPTON]

take the crude price and add $5. That's how much a refinery needs to cover crude supply plus operations, assuming you're making gasoline out of WTI or Brent, whichever price you're looking at. Yes, I'm oversimplifying.

Now, take that number and divide by 42. You're now in dollars per US gallon.

That's the wholesale cost. You'll see "RBOB Gasoline" quoted on CNBC and such. If RBOB is greater than the number you've calculated, refineries are making a decent profit.

Now, add $0.35 - $0.50 for tax. That's what you'll see at the pump itself.

The retailers make approximately jack squat per gallon. They're making money on DELICIOUS BEEF JERKY PRODUCTS and HIGH QUALITY FLAVORED COFFEES.

There are regional variations. There are temporal variations; the RBOB price you see on TV is for the next month's futures delivered to NY Harbor, unless you're really late in a month (after about the 25th) when you're talking about the month after THAT.

Oklahoma is relatively cheap because it's in a region heavily connected by pipelines and has five refineries of its own, and it doesn't require funky formulations. California has plenty of refining but they aren't allowed much olefinic content or aromatics (benzene and such), so they're stuck with paraffinic (low octane) and isoparaffinic (high octane) blends that are a little harder to get to, and no one else wants 'em anyway.

[BigRedJed]

OK, the deal on Chesapeake this past week was more of a personal financial crisis for McClendon than a crisis for the company in general, though it did happen as a result of Chesapeake's stock price plummeting. The difference between Chesapeake and most Fortune 500 companies is that Aubrey personally had invested to an extreme in the company, most of it on margin buys. Most CEOs just take their salaries and standard stock options, and that's that. He was "investing" (margin buys are sort of a shell game, if you ask me) HEAVILY in the company beyond the norm. Some have speculated that he was doing it to artificially drive the price higher. Anyway, the price dropped, and he had to pay the piper.

The company itself is in OK shape, though they are much more highly leveraged than a lot of others, especially Devon, which is a very conservative company. Chesapeake DID rebound 22% yesterday (which probably made Aubrey even more sick, since he no longer had significant stock and missed the rebound altogether).

But the price of gasoline has jack**** to do with the fortunes of Chesapeake, which is strictly a natural gas company. That has a lot to do with their troubles, in fact, since (natural) gas is dropping faster than oil.

I tried to explain the difference between Devon and Chesapeake in the Devon Tower thread a while back, but basically it boils down to this: Devon was founded by a CPA (Larry Nichols' dad), and Chesapeake was founded by a wildcatter, from a family of wildcatters. As long as its around, and as long as McClendon is at the helm, Chesapeake is going to be flashier, but also riskier. During good times that can mean huge gains, but during bad times...

Devon, OTOH, made it through the bust of the 80s as literally the ONLY Oklahoma-based energy company of any size that didn't lay off a single employee. Their planned tower is expected to be built without any debt. That's huge. The building is a $750 million project. They are long-term thinkers, and Larry Nichols went on record this week holding firm that the project won't be affected by the current economic crisis, in his opinion.

That said, the price of oil/gasoline dropping TOO much probably would, IMO. And anyone who thinks that the price of oil/gas dropping a huge amount wouldn't have a nasty effect on the Oklahoma economy in general is fooling themselves. It's easy to point you finger at the oil companies and their employees and tell them to cry you a river, but if you are in an industry that caters to Oklahomans, you WILL be affected.

Are you an architect, or work for an architecture or engineering firm? It doesn't matter if you don't do work for energy companies directly, some of your clients surely do. And if the guys who are currently working for energy sector companies suddenly find themselves scrambling, believe me, they'll be taking away your current clients and making it harder to get new projects for all of the competition.

Do you work for commericial contracting firm? Do you sell cars? Deliver concrete (Jerk made this point a while back)? Are you a banker or a lawyer? Wait tables? Sell clothes? Work for a university that gets lots of money from the energy sector? I can go on and on, but if you sell products or services to Oklahomans, you'd better pray that the bottom of the drop isn't TOO low.

[BigRedJed]

Ride a Scooter
Nah, my real solution is to drive whatever suits your lifestyle, but to get a home and job that are closer together, and closer to the services you normally utilize. That changes the whole game.

Heck, my daily driver is a 4x4 supercrew F-150.

[BudSooner]

9051 NE 23rd St & N Douglas Blvd Murphy USA has gas for....drumroll please.........................................

2.00, yes ladies and gents....1 ****ing penny away from being UNDER $2 for the first time since my waist was under a 38"...that is awhile ago friends.

All the while, us good people here in the land of hills and trees are having "the man" stick it to us at 2.56 a gallon.

I wanna find "the Man" and stick my foot in his arse. :D

[Lott's Bandana]

Two bucks today....and dropping in Nompton.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

2.12 in mcalester

[1890MilesToNorman]

We are still in the $2.60 range here in Maine for gas, I just filled two buildings with #2 heating oil yesterday for $2.61, it's unusual for gas and heating oil to be so close in price.

[Lott's Bandana]

We are still in the $2.60 range here in Maine for gas, I just filled two buildings with #2 heating oil yesterday for $2.61, it's unusual for gas and heating oil to be so close in price.

I lived in Limestone for six years...I wonder what they're paying up there?

[1890MilesToNorman]

I lived in Limestone for six years...I wonder what they're paying up there?

That's a fur piece from where I am but I'm sure it's more then central Maine.

[Lott's Bandana]

That's a fur piece from where I am but I'm sure it's more then central Maine.

But you can get there, uhyea?

[Okla-homey]

2.13 at the QT nearest mi casa this a.m.

[OUHOMER]

$2.05 in Mustang

[Boarder]

Last night the westside Wal Marts was $1.99. They got to break the 1s out again.

[soonerboomer93]

not good. I really hope this doesn't affect any of the projects we have coming up

[yermom]

i might actually start driving again :D

[jkjsooner]

I don't know how many times I've attempted to point this out, and I know there's more factors going on today then there were a year ago, but higher gas prices is a good thing. Not just for energy companies and energy company employees, but for the US.

These companies already know they need to diversify. However, oil is still money for them, it's the money that lets them r&d, that lets them expand. That lets them to start the process to convert to other exploration and other means of energy.

Also, while high gas prices puts the squeeze on peoples pocket books, it forces people to make some changes. It makes people look at buying more fuel efficient vehicles, look into car pools and mass transit. It also means that people combine errands, such as running to several places in the same vicinity. It changes the US car-centric culture.

Your entire post is analogous to saying that going bankrupt is good for you because you will learn your lesson the next time. That's quite a spin.

High oil prices hurt a lot than individual's pocket books. It is like a tax throughout the economy. It creates huge inflationary pressures as every step in the production and distribution chain is affected. That's not to mention the huge implications on the auto and airline industries.

High oil prices contribute heavily to our trade imbalance. You might not see the affects of that immediately but at some point we're going to pay a huge price for it.

I agree that we need to change our energy use and the world desperately needs new energy innovations but I think (hope) that our leaders learned their lessons from the '80s and don't abandon the efficiency efforts started recently.

As for oil companies using profits to diversify, I just don't buy it. Yes, they do some as a hedge and for PR purposes but I don't at all trust that the real energy innovation in the next 100 years is going to come from the oil companies. Some may but I think most innovations will come from people outside of the oil sector - like former silicon valley investors who are now investing in green technology. Oil companies darn sure won't be leading the charge in efficiency as that works directly against their business.

[1890MilesToNorman]

Gas is down to $2.05 today in Central Maine. Oil is down to $50 a barrel. I like it!

[Boarder]

SE 24th and Alameda 7-11 is $1.65

[Tulsa_Fireman]

Fiddy cent, Quik Trip at 41st and Hwy 97 in Sand Springs.

Tulsa > OKC

[soonerboomer93]

Your entire post is analogous to saying that going bankrupt is good for you because you will learn your lesson the next time. That's quite a spin.



Not really. The US has the lowest oil prices among 1st world major nations and also consumes some where around 25% of the worlds daily oil production.

The only thing that slows down oil consumption is higher prices. Reason being is we simply don't give a ****, unless it affects our pocket books.

[TMcGee86]

If it gets to $1.50 I'm taking a picture of the sign and framing it.

I paid $1.74 last week (at 1960 and 290 for any fellow H-towners.)

[Lott's Bandana]

Radio mouthpiece yesterday said indicators indicate $40.00 a barrel before long.

All the materiel costs that skyrocketed last year because of rising fuel prices?
Still the same price. Nothing else seems to be reacting in parallel to the oil price drop.
That to me is an obvious sign of inflation. (I'm sure you economic gurus have a diff word)

[ShawneeKSooner]

It's $1.43 in the Kansas City area