http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/08/mark...cnn_topstories

 

This morning, it was "only" $63 a barrel.

 

Interesting, a barrel of oil is 42 US gallons, and once refined gives 19 US gallons of gasoline. That means gasoline should cost (for the crude alone!) at least $3.37 a gallon.

By the way, a barrel of SVO is only $81. Just a little bit higher now for the price of dino-crude and it's going to be undercut by vegetable "crude"....

 

This is just a guess, but I'm thinking they make a lot more from a barrel of crude than mere gasoline.

I seem to recall from chemistry that crude is composed of hydrocarbon chains of varying lengths -- lots of carbon atoms chained together and capped by a hydrogen molecule on each end of the chain. The longer the chain, the heaver the oil (asphalt being a very long chain), and the very short chains make lighter oils and fuels.

They can put the oil into a hydrocarbon "cracker" - which breaks a chain. Available free hydrogen molecules will readily attach themselves onto the broken ends of the chain. This is also the same reason why a 40W engine oil needs to be changed after lots of driving (the oil is breaking down into thinner oils which aren't adequate to lubricate the engine anymore -- and it's because the carbon chains are breaking).

So... I may be wrong because I don't work in the oil industry, but I suspect they're getting an average of 19 gallons of gasoline, but also quite a few other fuels and oils as well. If that's true, then they don't have to recoup the full cost of the barrel on the value of the gasoline alone.

 

There's a LOT of kerosene being used for flying jets non-stop, plus all the military operations use it, so that covers much of the remaining non-gasoline output from a barrel of crude, not to mention all the other various products that come from refining.

 

Fortune Story

Oil went over $65 a barrel, then came down to around $64.50. Other reports predict pump prices will not drop in 2006.

 

Let's face it folks - the days of $1.50 gas ended in about January 2004, which is the last time it was that low in Phoenix.

If we ever see $1.75 again we will be lucky.

Buy a Hybrid now and hedge your bet !!!

 

Oil goes up again to $66.6 {muhahahahah} CNN Story

 

Deja vu, daily oil and gas price records.

Now the talking heads will need to tell us how $70 oil is just fine for the economy, just like $40, $50, and $60 were.

 

Now it is pushing $66 a barrel


http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/11/mark...reut/index.htm