Quote:
Originally Posted by shadowwalker
I have been in the Oil and Gas industry for over 33 years. Wanna know a few secrets?
Only a small part of the oil that is produced in this country is used here, most is sent overseas because they get more money.
The oil companies get huge tax breaks only to send their profits made here over seas for the most part.
I knew about 5 years ago, that only 28% of the oil in the Alaska pipeline went to america the rest sent to japan and china, russia.
The refineries are run by the oil companies and they make the prices up to charge themselves and others to refine the oil. With other companies doing the same to them in other regions where they have refineries
Most of the refinery equipment is 30,40,50 years old and paid for many times, very low amount of equipment is bought new, it's just rebuilt with parts at a fraction of the cost.
Yes environmental groups have had a very negative impact on the production of oil and gas.
The ups and downs of the price of a gallon of gas. They make more when the prices go slowly down and when the price shoots up they profit off the low price of what they have in the underground tanks they bought at the low price. Or pre bought in transit or bulk storage awaiting shipment.
Another way the oil companies make huge profits, they are notorious for holding payment of goods or services to them for 60,90 up to 120 days, making millions on the interest they make by not paying in a timely manner on their money sitting in banks.
Yes extraction of oil can sometimes be unbelievably high, but! What about the wells maybe 50 to 75 years or more old and producing now. They have honed that delivery process down to the bones to get it to the refineries.
I want to know where these new pipelines bringing oil and gas to refineries going over america willy nilly are we going to see the lions share of the oil coming to the united states? I really think not.
Just something to get mad over again.
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shadowwalker, with all due respect, you have painted a somewhat skewed picture of how the oil industry works.
You failed to recognize that an ENORMOUS amount of the cost of crude oil is the cost of transportation.
You are actually correct, much of the oil produced in Alaska is exported to Asia...
What you fail to recognize is that have oil is not the only criteria to energy independence.
Consider, having oil is wonderful, If you have oil on the west coast, but the need is in the Northeast, to use only domestically produced (Alaskan) oil to to quite literally ship it around the world.
A tanker arrives in Alaska, takes on its load, close to the Arctic circle, the tanker would then sail south the enter length of North America, cross the Equator, continue south to nearly the Antarctic circle, where it begins it northern trip.
That is insane!
The way it works is the Tanker is loaded, shipped to nearby Japan, and off loaded, Where the oil is sold at the current international price of Crude Oil.
That money is then used to buy an equivalent amount of oil in Mexico/Nigeria/ and yes even the Middle East, where the shipping routes closer and cheaper. this oil is then delivered to the Northeast, where it is put to use.
Think of the process as "trading" my oil for yours.
Lastly concerning pipelines.
Having vast resources of oil are wonderful...IF you can get them to market where they are needed.
Nothing does this cheaper or more efficiently than pipelines.
Consider,,,The Southwest United States is arid and in need of water... The north central United States had the Great lakes and plenty of water.
Why not simply ship the water from Michigan to New Mexico?
Because, transportation costs are ENORMOUS, and no infrastructure exists to allow this on any large scale.
To load a truck with water and drive it 1,000 miles where it can be used is NUTS!
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