OIL in N Dakota!!! Time to Keep it out of the private sector.

by sammielee24 38 Replies latest jw friends

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  sammielee24

  Which begs the question, why haven't there been any new refineries built, unless of course they purposefully want to keep the gas prices inflated. If it is a matter of supply and demand, then they need to upgrade their facilities in order to meet demand.

  Well, apparently demand in the USA has dropped considerably - it's the rest of the world that is the problem is the story now. That and the dollar value they say. There is no reason they couldn't have opened/expanded or built new refineries over the years - they haven't wanted to it's a simple as that. When you have a government that hands over a billion bucks without a contract that says 'build a refinery or we take back the billion'.....well - the CEO cashes the check and walks out the door spitting on the tax payer who just paid him. It's a sick joke. Four years ago I recall filling up a van with gas that was just starting to go toward $2.00 a gallon. Sold the van and bought a Hyundai..now it's almost doubled in those 4 years. In 4 short years!!!! Sick. sammieswife.
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  BrentR

  "We can’t make more gas.
  
  Even if we suddenly discovered a 500 year domestic supply of oil it wouldn’t do anything to increase the availability of gasoline. Twenty years ago our refineries were operating at 60-70% of capacity. Today they’re operating at 100% capacity. We haven’t built a new refinery in thirty years and the difficulty of permitting a new refinery or upgrading existing refineries and the deluge of lawsuits from environmental groups that would accompany any such effort make it unlikely that any oil company will attempt to build a new refinery.
  
  
  Umpteen different gasoline blends.
  
  A minimum of 18 different blends of gasoline must be produced at any given moment. Blends not only differ from region to region, but from summer to winter. Gas made in Texas cannot be used in Oregon. This is why you see gas prices spike in an area when a refinery experiences even a brief shutdown. The establishment of one federal standard for gasoline would have a small impact on overall retail prices, but would do a lot to even out price spikes due to regional shortages."

  http://www.oregoncatalyst.com/index.php?url=archives/1325-Why-Gas-Costs-So-Much.html&serendipity%5Bcview%5D=linear

  There is also the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) problem to contend.with. Refineries have to be built close to water for tanker ships to reach them or else very expensive pipelines also have to be built. Nobody wants a huge eyesore built anywhere close to there expensive waterfront property and have there property values go down.
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  restrangled

  Dont forget JG....The old Bush family are real good friends with the Saudis.....They really don't want to take away from the intimate friendship and I am sure major stock holdings in that area. I think even old Billery has ties.

  For the US to become oil independent for 5 minutes.....changes everything.

  r.
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  BrentR

  Still have to be able to convert it to gas. The US also has vast tar sands and oil shale deposits that yet to be touched. Canada can refine them profitably after going through permafrost. In the US it's right out in the dry desert in a non-ecosensitive area.
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  Junction-Guy

  In Catlettsburg Kentucky there is a large oil refinery. It sits on the Big Sandy River right near a dozen coal loading facilities. There is plenty of room up and down that river to build more refineries. The state of Ky would bend over backwards to have new refineries built as it would boost the job market, there would be very little public resistance. They need to build more refineries and get our gas prices down.
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  sammielee24

  There is also the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) problem to contend.with. Refineries have to be built close to water for tanker ships to reach them or else very expensive pipelines also have to be built. Nobody wants a huge eyesore built anywhere close to there expensive waterfront property and have there property values go down.

  If there is will then there is a way. It's that simple. The government can at any time expand on zoning laws, enforce eminent domain or simply declare a state of emergency if they so choose. The current government has had no problem listening in on phone calls or checking email by government order as part of national security so if the same government chose to demand that an oil refinery, built with the safest environmental standards available today, was to be built on the shores of Malibu, then they could do it under the label of national security I'm sure. There is always a way - sammieswife.
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  restrangled

  Can you imagine if the US was able to tell the world....too bad so sad, we have enough energy here that we don't have to buy yours!

  I think a whole lot of middle east problems would probably be solved...by themselves no less...very quickly!

  If we had invested the money we have spent on Iraq......we'd probably be sitting very pretty! Stock holders would be crying boo hoo.

  r.
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  Junction-Guy

  Exactly, there is always a way---But they have to "want to", and they don't seem to want to.
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  BrentR

  What about all the environmental groups that would block the construction in court? If they would do it to a solar power company in California they most certainly would go after an oil refinery.
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  Junction-Guy

  Yeah that would be great if we had an abundance of our own oil and gas, and could flip the bird to the middle east.
  
  What would really be great is if someone could make a car that runs off of something readily available such as tap water, and then we could get by really cheap and tell the oil companies to get lost.