Down with the evil Gas lords. (yes, i am brave enough to post another from myspace)

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Kaak
JohnT - read their yearly report. Reduction of operating costs have helped a little bit, but no where near enough to account for the 40% increase in profitability.

I did read their "yearly report" - hell, just cited it in the very post you responded to with the above!

What do you think a 10-k is????

[Kaak]

John: yes. experiment. to satisfy curiousity. I've said it more than once. and Do we have amoco stations in the US???

[Kaak]

didn't know what a 10-k is. but it seems if you had read it, you would have picked up on that. Maybe you did and just chose to ignore it...

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Zkribbler


I thought I was being sarcastic. Usually, when costs go up, profits go down.

http://www.econmodel.com/classic/terms/mc.htm

[JohnT]

Now they're called "BP".

But we're just assuming the world market doesn't exist, so we have to assume that BP doesn't exist and that it didn't buyout Amoco in 1999.

So who cares if there's an Amoco? We can call it KaakoCitGo and it wouldn't make a difference to the hypothetical.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by JohnT
I don't understand why he ignores that. Is the idea that we're supposed to play some thought-experiment:

"If the US were the world, and if Exxon were the largest oil company in the world, er, the US, er, whatever, and we boycotted Exxon, would the price of gas at Amoco go down?"

Well... no. Amoco would realize they have a more-captive market and raise their prices. Or not. Who the **** knows?

Overall price would probably increase in the short term. Exxon's refining capacity would be underutilised, placing strain on the refining capacity of other producers, increasing the price of refined products. Then Exxon would start wholesaling more of its refined products to its retail competitors and prices would settle back to normal or so.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse


Overall price would probably increase in the short term. Exxon's refining capacity would be underutilised, placing strain on the refining capacity of other producers, increasing the price of refined products. Then Exxon would start wholesaling more of its refined products to its retail competitors and prices would settle back to normal or so.

Probably. Or the government could temporarily nationalize Exxon and put a freeze on oil prices, ala Harry Truman and the coal mines.

Since we're playing "what-if" with no real-world constraints, I can just as easily argue that the aliens would come down and give us 5-cent fusion generators or something.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Kaak
Imran: Find someone from Cuba and ask them how much the equivalent of a gallon of gas costs.

Uh...what?

REASONS THE PRICE OF GAS IN CUBA MIGHT BE DIFFERENT THAN IN THE US

1) Different tax regime
2) Preferential supply from certain producers (Venezuela), i.e. Venezuela subsidizing Cuban fuel consumption
3) Cuban government subsidizing Cuban fueld consumption (don't know if they actually do this)
4) Isolation from large refining capacity of the US

What, exactly, is your point, son?

[Kaak]

AAAAAH dammit there i go letting you guys get me side tracked again.


This is the point, world market, local market whatever.

If Exxon Produces, from start to finish 1 billion barrels of oil a year, How does market value going up affect those 1 billion barrels if costs remain static???

[KrazyHorse]

What does that have to do with anything?

[Kaak]

ooooh....so what you are saying, is that since venezuela produces oil/gas, they can sell it to cuba for less? hmmm....interesting theory... That's my point. Thanks

[JohnT]

Price of a gallon of gas in Havana is US $3.03.

http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/global_gasprices/

That was last March (2005), when US prices were about $2.00.

[KrazyHorse]

What's your point? That Venezuela is basically giving away money to make a political point?

[KrazyHorse]

Kaak, what exactly is your argument? Do you even have one?

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Kaak
AAAAAH dammit there i go letting you guys get me side tracked again.


This is the point, world market, local market whatever.

If Exxon Produces, from start to finish 1 billion barrels of oil a year, How does market value going up affect those 1 billion barrels if costs remain static???

What makes you think costs were static? Again, did you not read the 10-k?

Refining expenses increased $3.6 billion in 2005 over 2004 (again, XOM), administrative expenses increased $500 million, excise taxes went up $3.5 billion, etc etc etc.

You don't look up things before you make statements, do you?