Bush's Handling of Gas Costs Criticized

Release of Oil From Reserve Is Sought

With oil prices still climbing, President Bush is coming under increasing criticism for his handling of the burgeoning political issue of gasoline costs, not only from Democrats but also from administration allies in the oil-refining and chemical industries.

Half a dozen Senate Democrats plan to call on Bush today to begin releasing as many as 60 million barrels of oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Such a move would inject much-needed supplies into a market choked by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and pulled tight by rising world demand, they say.

The Democratic call will echo some oil industry officials, who say Bush should at least stop shipping about 170,000 barrels a day to the Louisiana salt caves that hold the emergency supply. The reserve currently holds nearly 660 million barrels, a record. The administration intends to keep filling it until it reaches its 700 million-barrel capacity, Energy Department spokeswoman Jeanne Lopato said.

"Our policy . . . has been clear for a long time," Treasury Secretary John W. Snow said yesterday. Oil will be released only for "genuine emergencies," not price fluctuation, he said.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34512-2004May17.html

Like re-selection this November?

,...in retaliation for the PNAC war agenda to control ME oil resources. They (the neocon cabal) are building up reserves in anticipation of OPEC and others using oil as leverage to slow or stop the neocon's aims to trigger another world war. That would be my guess.

...he just let it happen on purpose (LIHOP) or made it happen on purpose (MIHOP).

n/t

We want lower gas prices? Don't let a failed Texas oil man steal the presidency.

1. Listen to God talk to him
2. Kill people
3. Make the richest top 1% of America even richer while the 99% pay more taxes

:mad::mad:

1-cent: so when is the ass going to do more than just "jawbone?"

oh, yeah I forgot about the saudis promising to help the ass "win" the election... guess we'll have to wait until October-November to see lower prices...

2-cent: releasing fed reserves just before the election is deja vu all over again.... remember how he criticized Clinton for doing just than back in 2000? the ASS called it a campaign stunt, other GOPers spun it as Clinton's way of bribing voters to support Gore...

oops silly me -- GOPers will spin this as "taking action" and showing "leadership"....

:shrug:

It's Simple Oil-Company Greed
.... With oil industry mergers over the past decade, it's been much easier to control prices at the pump. And by control, I mean increase; increase to the point where oil company profits are in the stratosphere. We're being had and we need to do something ....
http://www.komotv.com/stories/31192.htm

Local man taking gas prices in stride
.... Tim Hamilton, a petroleum industry consultant who works for consumer groups, said with companies merging and many refineries shutting down "we barely have enough refinery capacity to meet our needs . . . They drive the price way up to slow the consumption down to meet the gas that's available." He said that results in huge profits for the oil companies. One consumer group reported last year's 35 percent increase pumped up oil company profits by a combined 926 percent. "If you think this year's bad, wait until next year," Hamilton said ....
http://www.thedailyreporter.com/articles/2004/05/16/news/news3.txt

What's up with gas cost?
.... "If greater OPEC crude are truly driving up the price of gas, rather than price gouging, oil company profits would not be soaring," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. ConocoPhillips, the largest refiner and fuel marketer in the United States, reported first-quarter 2004 net income jumped 33 percent to $1.62 billion. BP announced its first quarter profits were up 17 percent over the company's record profits posted in 2003 ....
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11654280&BRD=1669&PAG=461&dept_id=156792&rfi=6

Rising gas prices
.... A report released this week by the Consumer Federation of America accuses the oil companies of making billions off soaring gasoline prices. The federation says domestic petroleum companies are passing on rising crude oil costs to consumers while asking congress for new subsidies. According to the federation’s Mark Cooper, “(oil company) profits are already up 50 to 80 billion dollars. They don't need another 20 to 50 billion dollars in subsidies.” Oil companies disagree. They say it's simply supply and demand--along with higher crude oil prices. Rayola Dougher of the American Petroleum Institute says, “The profits of the industry have recently come out and they show our industry's profits are not out of line with other industries. Typically, they're lower.” .....
http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/GasPrices05132004-CR.html

Suppliers reap gasoline profits
Top 5 companies in Arizona post average gain of 90%
.... Net income at ConocoPhillips, supplier of CircleK and Phillips 66 stations, rose to $4.73 billion in 2003 from a $295 million loss in 2002 .... San Antonio-based Valero, which distributes to Diamond Shamrock and other independent Valley stations, said it expects to report first-quarter earnings of $1.75 per share, up 73 percent from the fourth quarter of 2003 .... Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayers and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica, Calif., calls the refiners' profits outrageous. Court's group recently published a report that correlated oil company profits with retail gas prices. Court found that from 2002 to 2003, a 31 percent increase in gasoline prices translated into a 90 percent increase in profits at the five largest oil companies in California ....
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0425refineries25.html

Refiner's always make a pretty even profit.... unless there's a spike in world oil prices. A spike, generally gives them a short term boost, followed by a steady decline.
The producers are cashin' in right now. It's all about lift costs.
If you make $1 a barrel, lifting oil at $20 PB, and the price goes to $41.50.......Your profits will go up by 4000%.

but the links I looked at suggest the refiner/distributor crowd may be raking in, too.

It defies common sense and everything an MBA should know about finance. Of course, it's OUR MONEY paying for it, so Bush doesn't give a shit.

We should have been buying all the oil we could get our hands on when it was $20/bbl. THAT would have been smart business, but Bush knows NOTHING about business, despite that Harvard MBA he got from Ebay.

but I know nothing of this subject so I am just throwing this out there.

would pick up on such a scandalous abuse.

However, I believe the other reason for the reserve is because they anticipate retaliation by oil producers as the neocons make their PNAC WWII dreams come true.