[/font] Bill Phillips[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] [/font]spent nearly 50 years in the US oil and gas industry; most of his career was with the Phillips Petroleum Company. Bill is a descendant of Frank Phillips. Frank Phillips, along with his brother Lee Eldas (L.E.) Phillips, Sr., founded the original Phillips Petroleum Company in 1917 in Bartlesville, OK. Do you remember Phillips 66 gas stations? Phillips Petroleum Company merged with Conoco, Inc. in 2002 to form the current ConocoPhillips oil company.[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
[/font]So, when Bill talks about oil and gas issues, I tend to listen - very closely. I think that you will find Bill's thoughts and facts very revealing, very compelling and very difficult to argue with.[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
[/font]May 28, 2008[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
[/font]"Big Oil"
Did you know that the[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']United States does NOT have any big oil companies. It's true: the largest American oil company, Exxon Mobil, is only the 14th largest in the world, and is dwarfed by the really big oil companies--all owned by foreign governments or government-sponsored monopolies--that dominate the world's oil supply.[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
[/font]This graph below tells the story; you can barely see the American oil companies as minor players on the right side of the chart in gray. The chart was presented to the House committee last week by Chevron.[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
[/font]With 94% of the world's oil supply locked up by foreign governments, most of which are hostile to the [FONT='Arial','sans-serif']United States, the relatively puny American oil companies do not have access to enough crude oil to significantly affect the market and help bring prices down. Thus, ExxonMobil, a "small" oil company, buys 90% of the crude oil that it refines for the U.S. market from the big players, i.e, mostly-hostile foreign governments. The price at the U.S. pump is rising because the price the big oil companies charge ExxonMobil and the other small American companies for crude oil is going up as the value of the American dollar goes down. They will eventually bleed this country into printing even more money and we will go into runaway inflation once again as we did under the Carter Democratic reign.[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
[/font]This is obviously a tough situation for the American consumer. The irony is that it doesn't have to be that way. The [FONT='Arial','sans-serif']United States--unlike, say, France--actually has vast petroleum reserves. It would be possible for American oil companies to develop those reserves, play a far bigger role in international markets, and deliver gas at the pump to American consumers at a much lower price, while creating many thousands of jobs for Americans. This would be infinitely preferable to shipping endless billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela to be used in propping up their economies.[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
[/font]So, why doesn't it happen? Because the Democrat Party--aided, sadly, by a handful of Republicans--deliberately keeps gas prices high and our domestic oil companies small by putting most of our reserves off limits to development. [FONT='Arial','sans-serif']China[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] [/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']is now drilling in the Caribbean[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif'], off Cuba but our own companies are barred by law from developing large oil fields off the coasts of Florida and California[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif'].[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] Enormous oil-shale deposits in the Rocky Mountain states could go a long way toward supplying American consumers' needs, but the Democratic Congress won't allow those resources to be developed. ANWR contains vast petroleum reserves, but we don't know how vast, because Congress, not wanting the American people to know how badly its policies are hurting our economy, has made it illegal to explore and map those reserves, let alone develop them.[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
[/font]In short, all Americans are paying a terrible price for the Democratic Party's perverse energy policies. I own some small interests in tiny, 4 barrel-per-day oil wells in [FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Wyoming. We have 14 agencies that have iron-hand jurisdiction over us. If we drop any oil on the ground when the refinery truck comes to pick up oil from our holding tanks, we are fined. Yet down the road the state will spray thousands of gallons of used oil on a dirt road to control dirt. When it rains that oil runs into rivers and creeks. Yet a cup of oil on the ground at our wellhead is a $50,000 EPA fine plus additional fines from state regulating agencies. They treat oil as if it were plutonium that has the potential to leak into the environment. We are fined if our dirt burms are not high enough around a holding tank, yet the truck that picks up our oil runs down the road at 60 mph with no burm around it. People wonder why there is no more exploration in this country. It's because of the regulators; people who have lived their whole lives doing nothing but imposing fines on small operators like us for doing mostly nothing.[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
[/font]So, [FONT='Arial','sans-serif']America enjoy your $4.00 per gallon gasoline. Your dollar is now worth[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] 0.62 Euro-Cents[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']. The lack of American production of GNP, the massive trade deficit (as labor markets have moved overseas to fight insanely high union imposed labor costs in America) and the run away printing of money (backed by nothing of value here in America) has caused the dollar to become more worthless on the international market. And that's where our oil comes from. It's paid for with dollars that become more worthless everyday. If we had just kept par with the Euro we'd be paying $62 dollars per barrel for oil (42 gallons) or about $1.50 instead of $2.50 a gallon for crude oil.[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
[/font]What the [FONT='Arial','sans-serif']US government also does not tell you is that it is the leaseholder and royalty recipient of most oil production and receives 25% of the gross oil sales before we pay for electricity to lift the oil, propane to keep the oil-water separators from freezing in the winters. We pay a pumper to visit each well everyday plus we have equipment failures all the time. We pay for that out of our 75% of gross sales. The government does not share in any expenses to run any production well. So, if the Big Oil Companies are making record profits, then so is the federal government from it's 25% tax on every molecule of oil sold to a refinery in this country. Why isn't the government on the stand for "Record" profits? What you don't see is this 25% of the sales price of crude oil being siphoned away by the government. That money plus the road taxes, state taxes, etc. amounts to over $1 per gallon of gasoline you are buying while the governments only admit to about 50 cents per gallon.[/font][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
[/font]To all you Democrats, when you go vote for your candidate, a blazing liberal like Barrack Hussein Obama or Hillary Clinton, just keep in mind that their liberal spending habits will further decrease the value of the American dollar on the world market and your gasoline costs will hike even higher. As they introduce more give-away programs, raise taxes on everyone to pay people not to produce or work, your dollar will continue to dwindle on the world market and you will be paying $10.00 per gallon at the next election. Cheap hydrocarbon fuel is all over. Enjoy! Enjoy the fruits of your decision to elect these folks when you are there in that voting booth and you stab your pin through a Democrat's name.[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']
The word floating around the left right now is to nationalize America's few remaining oil companies.
Yes, "nationalize", as in to seize private industry and property, make it a possession of the State, and run it for the "benefit of all the people".
This would be pure socialism, in case we once again need a definition.
And given the guvmint's tried and true track record running things, it would be a recipe for ruin in every way.
As the article points out, starting with Jimmy Carter we have been driving our oil industry off-shore (and no, I'm not talking about drilling in the Gulf of Mexico), and have almost managed to get rid of it entirely. Why Exxon/Mobil retains a partial presence here (they just announced they were selling ALL their company owned retail stores in the United States, plus even more that are franchisee agreements) is beyond me. If I still owned any of their stock, I'd be hopping mad that they weren't dumping everything here and getting the heck out of dodge.
I think it would be hilarious if, when the guvmint sends in the marshals to take the company, all they find is an empty Headquarters building with a forwarding address to Abu Dhabi.
But this sort of atrocity plays well with a LOT of Americans, the same ones who think punitive measures against oil companies does NOT mean even higher prices for all of us at the pumps.
Its a particularly stupid method of self-abuse. Hit the oil companies with 50 cents per gallon of "windfall taxes" and fines and penalties, and they will just robotically start COLLECTING those taxes from us via higher prices... And the cute thing is, it costs $1 in overhead for every $1 collected, so the REAL effect will not be that gas goes up 50 cents...
It goes up $1.00 per gallon.
Brilliant plan.
__________________
tripleblack
"You can never be free until you let yourself go."
The only recent comment I recall about nationalizing oil companies was from maxine Waters a short while ago when she grille dsome oil exec. Considering the source of the comment it doesnt come across as nothing more Maxine flinging her maxi pad in the hope it sticks to something.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tripleblack
The word floating around the left right now is to nationalize America's few remaining oil companies.
Yes, "nationalize", as in to seize private industry and property, make it a possession of the State, and run it for the "benefit of all the people".
This would be pure socialism, in case we once again need a definition.
And given the guvmint's tried and true track record running things, it would be a recipe for ruin in every way.
As the article points out, starting with Jimmy Carter we have been driving our oil industry off-shore (and no, I'm not talking about drilling in the Gulf of Mexico), and have almost managed to get rid of it entirely. Why Exxon/Mobil retains a partial presence here (they just announced they were selling ALL their company owned retail stores in the United States, plus even more that are franchisee agreements) is beyond me. If I still owned any of their stock, I'd be hopping mad that they weren't dumping everything here and getting the heck out of dodge.
I think it would be hilarious if, when the guvmint sends in the marshals to take the company, all they find is an empty Headquarters building with a forwarding address to Abu Dhabi.
But this sort of atrocity plays well with a LOT of Americans, the same ones who think punitive measures against oil companies does NOT mean even higher prices for all of us at the pumps.
Its a particularly stupid method of self-abuse. Hit the oil companies with 50 cents per gallon of "windfall taxes" and fines and penalties, and they will just robotically start COLLECTING those taxes from us via higher prices... And the cute thing is, it costs $1 in overhead for every $1 collected, so the REAL effect will not be that gas goes up 50 cents...
The only recent comment I recall about nationalizing oil companies was from maxine Waters a short while ago when she grille dsome oil exec. Considering the source of the comment it doesnt come across as nothing more Maxine flinging her maxi pad in the hope it sticks to something.
Oh, I'm not saying that every Democrat in Congress is signing on - just the left of center group.
The word floating around the left right now is to nationalize America's few remaining oil companies.
Yes, "nationalize", as in to seize private industry and property, make it a possession of the State, and run it for the "benefit of all the people".
This would be pure socialism, in case we once again need a definition.
And given the guvmint's tried and true track record running things, it would be a recipe for ruin in every way.
As the article points out, starting with Jimmy Carter we have been driving our oil industry off-shore (and no, I'm not talking about drilling in the Gulf of Mexico), and have almost managed to get rid of it entirely. Why Exxon/Mobil retains a partial presence here (they just announced they were selling ALL their company owned retail stores in the United States, plus even more that are franchisee agreements) is beyond me. If I still owned any of their stock, I'd be hopping mad that they weren't dumping everything here and getting the heck out of dodge.
I think it would be hilarious if, when the guvmint sends in the marshals to take the company, all they find is an empty Headquarters building with a forwarding address to Abu Dhabi.
But this sort of atrocity plays well with a LOT of Americans, the same ones who think punitive measures against oil companies does NOT mean even higher prices for all of us at the pumps.
Its a particularly stupid method of self-abuse. Hit the oil companies with 50 cents per gallon of "windfall taxes" and fines and penalties, and they will just robotically start COLLECTING those taxes from us via higher prices... And the cute thing is, it costs $1 in overhead for every $1 collected, so the REAL effect will not be that gas goes up 50 cents...
It goes up $1.00 per gallon.
Brilliant plan.
I don`t think that is good at all , what we need is to start producing are own oil here through American Companies.We need to start making alternative fuel systems. America is a fat lazy country that need to get off there butts and start making things.
__________________
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When you make 40 Billion (that's with a B), in one fiscal quarter, of profit, you can't tell me that Small oil doesn't manipulate and control the prices of gasoline at the pumps. Oil and energy speculators have raped the people of this country to the point of retaliation. Does Enron ring a bell? What they did to California electric customers with their rolling blackouts and charging $250 a kilowatt hour, and it being legal is absolutely ludacrissss as Mike Tyson would say, I just can't spell it as good as he can say it. Anyways, this is an Ford Mustang forum and I don't want to get riled up on something that is for some blog somewhere else. Sorry but I had to give my 2 cents worth...2bad
When you make 40 Billion (that's with a B), in one fiscal quarter, of profit, you can't tell me that Small oil doesn't manipulate and control the prices of gasoline at the pumps. Oil and energy speculators have raped the people of this country to the point of retaliation. Does Enron ring a bell? What they did to California electric customers with their rolling blackouts and charging $250 a kilowatt hour, and it being legal is absolutely ludacrissss as Mike Tyson would say, I just can't spell it as good as he can say it. Anyways, this is an Ford Mustang forum and I don't want to get riled up on something that is for some blog somewhere else. Sorry but I had to give my 2 cents worth...2bad
Its OK, 2bad - if you check the description for this forum, its supposed to be about hot subjects like this, including politics.
There is NO doubt that oil companies are making a modest profit right now - mostly in countries other than the United States, but yes, even some here. Year in year out they average about 9% rate of return (about half what Dell or Apple earn, and about 50% less than most other industries). In bad years they don't even make that.
International corporation's earnings include the monies they pull in worldwide. Ford, for instance, is rapidly going bankrupt losing billions every quarter here in the U.S., but manages to make a profit elsewhere. GM does the same thing... Its the only thing keeping them alive.
And so does Exxon-Mobil, whose worldwide operations are about 70% "worldwide", and 30% American. Now that they have sold off their retail assets in the U.S., that ratio will soon be even more ridiculous, more like 90/10.
Personally I'm a lot less worried about Exxon/Mobil making profits than about them NOT making profits, which would indicate that we would be experiencing supply shortages and economic meltdown (hey, didn't we just see something about that on the news?). So long as they can eke out a small profit, there's a chance we'll be able to buy the stuff next time I go wandering around looking for some gas. As for big numbers, we should be worrying a lot more about the $700billion we ship off to our unfriends like the Saudis, Chavez and OPEC every year and a lot less about whether the only major oil company still calling itself "American" manages to make an 8% profit or a 9% profit.
I know there are a few of us older guys on here who recall when Jimmah Carter installed price controls and punitive taxes on oil companies back in the 70's and early 80's...
A hint: It was a very bad thing.
I see signs of us forgetting history again, and heading back to repeat those nasty mistakes.
As Yogi so wisely noted:
"It's deja vu all over again".
__________________
tripleblack
"You can never be free until you let yourself go."
It's scary out there. I just read that Hillary said at some rally that "the free market dosen't work" and of course blames the current crisis on the last 8 years, blah, blah. Along with that our great govenor of Michigan mentioned how washingtonthe repubs. are to blame for Michigan's troubles. She neglected to mention that she signed into law an income tax increase this past year. Can't these people just admit they screwed up? Rebub or Dems.
(Don't ask me why I posted this here )
__________________
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Big OIL and how you vote,good read. 
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