Record Prices For Oil Soon

[ThomWV]

http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/07/news/economy/gas_prices/index.htm

Bet you see the jump at the pump by this afternoon.

So am I to understand that no one in our Government was tasked with routine inspection of this pipeline such that this problem could have been nipped in the bud and a shutdown prevented?

Another Failure .....

[iamjoy]

1. Why Bother To Inspect?

I mean, if supply decreases while demand stays constant or increases, prices will go up. Higher prices will cause demand to decrease until prices level off.

BP will lose money over not being able to supply oil, which will be an incentive to oil companies to self inspect and regulate.

Let the invisible hand do its work.

:eyes:

[Armstead]

4. The invisible hand picking our pockets

[iamjoy]

10. Holding Us Down More Like It (n/t)

[cliss]

2. I bet

you're right. What do you think? Here in Portland, it's hovering around $3.00 - $3.15/gallon.

I'm wondering how much it will be by this afternoon.

[Kutjara]

3. Why would they bother?

The more supply is restricted, the higher the price goes. The higher the price, the more money the oil companies make (and the more they can afford to donate to the GOP). Also, high gas prices means more tax revenue for the government (which they can hand over to Halliburton and the rest of their corporate masters). Finally, restricting supply means that the whole sick charade will go on for that much longer.

As long as nobody invests in public transportation, the car will be a necessity for most people, the only means that many Americans have for getting to and from work. Demand for gas to fuel these cars is therefore fairly inelastic with respect to price. Europeans pay up to $8 per gallon and don't drive all that much less than Americans. This fact has presumably been noted by the government and the oil companies, so we will no doubt see gas prices rising steadily over the next few years as 'war' and 'accidents' restrict supply more and more.

[Skip Intro]

7. Yup - supply restricted, prices up, profits up - why prevent it?

at the end of the day, sadly, it all comes down to $$$

[INdemo]

5. Why aren't the Democrats screaming about these high gas prices?

The public is being tested....$2.00 gas ok $2.50 gas,well they complained a little but accepted it without any real protest..$3.00 gas still people just accept it ...$3.50 .Where does it end..
There are one hell of a lot of millionaires being made with oil and unleaded gas futures and perhaps this is why no real protests from our Democratic leaders..

[Warpy]

6. Routine inspection is what turned it up, as I understand it

Consider the difficulty in welding a pipe filled with OIL. Consider also that metal and concrete shatter in winter temperatures there.

Duct tape just aint gonna do this one.

[ThomWV]

9. A Routine So Lax It Requires Full Shutdown?

That is absurd. I believe they have shunts available for what routine repairs and of course when they run pigs in the line flow is stopped.

If I were a betting man I's put my money on someone looking into seeing if inspections are even being done at all anymore. I say that because it appears the way they found this problem was when 200,000 gallons of oil leaked out.

[Aviation Pro]

8. The NTSB is tasked with the aftermath of a pipeline....

...failure. The corporation is tasked with keeping maintenance up on the line. Remember, the party in charge wants no government interference with 'bidness' matters.