9 Responses to “Oil Executives Back on Capitol Hill”

1. Comment by Phil Rodemann

   May 22nd, 2008 at 11:57 am

   This seems like a real fluff piece. Having a Republican Senator from Texas to discuss whether the oil companies are making too much money? I could have (and did) guessed what his response would be. What I would like to hear more about is the price of oil futures having doubled in the last year and how new players in the commodities markets and the influx of cash has driven it up. How do the oil companies set their price of refined fuel? Isn’t it based on this same futures market? Have their costs of drilling and refining doubled in the last year? It seems to me that the oil companies are benefiting from a bubble in the commodities market that they have had no part in creating. It’s not “Big Oil’s” fault but I think Congress should be looking to do something about the bubble in the price of the oil future’s market.

2. Comment by chuck

   May 22nd, 2008 at 12:17 pm

   The Democrats are missing the point by going after the oil corporations and thier profits.
   Also their hearing aren’t very fruitful either in my opioin. The whole oil industry needs real close examination. Becouse it’s not ExxonMobil setting the gas prices but other surragates in the industry.
   1. Coveniet store monapolies like Pantry Inc and Racetrack who serve regular gas off the nation’s interstate. Why are they in front of a congressional hearing?
   2. Jobbers and Refiners. Now what is the role of jobbers both public and private in setting gas prices and perhaps nautral gas prices. Here in Vicksburg Ms for example: Waring Oil LLC which came out and told Kroger and Super Walmart that they would refuse to give them gas if they put in gas pumps. But Kroger is going ahead. What right does a small town private jobber who doesn’t care about the consequences of high gas prices in thier own community,to tell two coporations that they couldn’t put in gas pumps in the marketplace. Waring and Pantry have monopolized and exploited this market to thier own selfish ends. Locals in this part of the Southeast are crying for relief. People here are tired of monolopies. Were in any backroom deals made with Waring Oil?
   If oil corporate execs are force to testify on this issue and not thier surragates who are exploiting the food change of the oil industry. They and others should be before congress as well explaining the gas price delimma.
   3. Oil trade speculators should be before congress explaining thier shannigans as well.
   In this market there’s enough blame to go around.

3. Comment by bob c

   May 22nd, 2008 at 1:05 pm

   Senator Durbin is wrong.

   I watched Senator Durbin yesterday on fox news , saying that if we continue to keep drilling for for oil here in the US we will not become fossil fuel independent, and he will not support it..

   Sorry senator but we need to have some kind of bridge gap support to get there first. Do you stop growing food so people will lose weight also?.

   Let our country explore all avenues energy , nuclear, coal, hydro , solar etc. not to do so will only lead to a long long long recession.

4. Comment by Linda

   May 22nd, 2008 at 1:38 pm

   Congress should be the ones on the hotseat as to why they are allowing this to happen. Why is China drilling 36 wells off florida but we are not allowed; why is Russia drilling in the Anartic but we are not allowed - and both of these countries are using the angle drilling technique which means they are acquiring the oil situated in the US protected areas. Congress, the environmentalists and the speculators are the ones raising our prices - not the oil companies. Remember California a few years ago when they needed electric - who ran those prices up - the SPECULATORS!!! And no I do not work, have stock or related to any oil people. Another intelligent move by Congress was to pass the 30B farm bill - why would we pay them NOT TO FARM when they can receive better prices with crops, plus help the shortage for food worldwide — ANOTHER INTELLIGENT MOVE BY CONGRESS THAT WE ALL GET TO PAY FOR IN HIGHER TAXES, GAS PRICES AND FOOD PRICES.

5. Comment by David

   May 22nd, 2008 at 2:57 pm

   Alexis,

   Great questions. Congressman Smith is right. We are paying for 30 years of restrictive policies regarding energy exploration/refining/delivery in our own country, from our own lawmakers. Our infrastructure is adequate for 1970’s demand levels, not the demand levels we see now. Environmental protectionism has been a good thing, but not at the levels where it has almost totally shut down exploration and development. A common sense balance has not been reached and must, or this problem will just continue to grow. The fact of the matter is that when oil is bought and sold on the world market and China and other emerging markets will pay whatever price it takes to secure what they need, demand will continue to rise, supply is relatively stagnant, and the price will keep on climbing.

   As far as record oil company profits goes, one angle that I hear no one talking about is the effect that our restrictive exploration/development laws have had on profit levels. It used to be that a sizable percentage of profits were directed towards development and exploration. Because of our restrictive laws these companies cannot divert dollars towards those activities and it ends up on their bottom line.

   Congress really does need to stop grandstanding and pointing fingers when they are largely to blame for this problem.

   David

6. Comment by chuck

   May 22nd, 2008 at 3:54 pm

   What will congress do when the economic engines in communities stop all together when gasoline is at 12.00 a gallon?

7. Comment by Mareezy

   May 22nd, 2008 at 7:49 pm

   Alexis-

   Can you report on the Bakken Shale reserves that are under Western North Dakota and Eastern Montana? The state of SD is talking about putting up their own refinery. Currently this reserve provides 2% of America’s oil… but it has been estimated with new technology and a refineries, it could provide up to 25%. Evidently, the school districts in Western SD have been told to get ready because they need to educate an additional 1000 students next year. The whole area is like a boom town with new businesses, office buildings and hotels going up.

   I have been to ND and the western part is pretty sparse… not like disturbing a lot of wildlife or anything… not many trees to take out… and not many waterways to pollute. We may still have to do something in Anwar eventually, but since this project is going forward, why not let people know about it?

   Ed Shultz had an official from SD talking on his radio show about the fact that they need truck drivers, hotel operators and people to fill all the positions out there so it is good also to give people who are looking for work this information.

   Nice site you have here.

8. Comment by chuck

   May 23rd, 2008 at 9:40 am

   I was watching segment on the gas prices in the New Jersey area. Now history has once again repeated itself. Where gas prices there in the Northeast are twenty cents cheaper there; it’s twenty cents higher. Like 3.69 along the Jersey turnpike, on Clay Street Vicksburg Ms which links the interstate here are the regular gas prices and they’re obsenecly shocking:
   Texaco 3.89
   Kangeroo Express 3.89
   Pilot Fisher Ferry Rd 3.87
   Texaco Exxon Fisher Ferry Rd 3.87
   over two years ago there was a letter to the editor in the Vicksburg Post when the oil barrel price was $50 the price 1.69 New Jersey the writer pointed out the fact the price was still too high. Now one of the local county supervisors who was in Houston,Texas responded to the fact “Typical Vicksburg.” His statements in the Post at the time show he didn’t care; also one one of the President of the Supervisors tried to organized a town hall meeting for locals on how gas prices are high here. But the board of supes struck down the meeting. As if at the time they didn’t want to address the concerns of the public and thier constiutents. Mayor Leyens was quiet at that time.
   In the present Mayor Leyens is now worried over gas prices for it’s now cutting into the munciple city budget. Now the Board of Supervisors has been real quiet on the high gas issues here.

9. Comment by chuck

   May 25th, 2008 at 12:28 pm

   This come from Saturday’s Vicksburg Post.
   Now with gas prices still rising,here’s something that doesn’t make sense.
   Mayor Laurence Leyens has raised nautral gas prices for the fourth conesquitive time. Now it’s summer and most if not all of his local customers don’t use it at this time of year. Now Alderman Michaal Mayfield discented on this vote becouse he sees such hikes hurting this community. Furrther more Mayor Leyens layed out some of the options to him like he was school kid. Now raising nautral gas price rates isn’t new to this muncipality. When nautral gas prices were low on the marketplace two years,in January of ‘06 the Mayor and his board raised them which caused tensions with his constiuents becouse most were not using thier nautral gas heaters at all.
   Leyens was bragging to the post that Vicksburg has the lowest rates in the state but some differ on what Leyens has said to. One my associates told me that Vicksburtg has the highest nautrall gas rates in the state. Another fact is that Vicksburg Muncipility still runs the nautral gas and doesn’t want to follow the trend of outsourrcing out the mautral gas utilities like most if not all communities in this state have done. It appears that the mayor could freeze rates instead of responding to the marketplace. But his actions make one want to question his motiviations on the issue. He hasn’t uttered a word about high gasoline prices at all.
   The good news is that Kroger is going to have thier gas pumps up and going in June and they’re going to make it cheaper with the Kroger card.