The 6 Reasons WHY gas is so Expensive

[Nexagen]

Having worked for Exxon/Mobil and having talked to some specialist about refineries here is what I have come up with to explain to you all why the gas prices are so high right now.

#1 - Inflation
It's a problem we just cant ever get rid off and as more and more people come into this world more and more cars will be in demand resulting in higher consumer demand for gas leading to higher gas prices.

#2 - The Saudis are'nt exporting that much gas this year.
From what I've heard the saudis have cut back oil exports by as much as 590 Million gallons of oil and dont expect to return back to normal exporting amounts until November of this year.

#3 - Goverment Regulation on Cleaner Summer Fuels
In the summer the government gives laws to refineries in which they have to comply with a more expensive mixture of gas that will not polute the environment. With a more expensive formula that refineries have to follow in the summer, prices at the pump go up as well.

#4 - Refinery Maintenance Repairs and Costs
Starting in the fall and all the way till the end of spring every year refineries have to undergo a "Tune-Up" or a yearly maintenance to keep everything working. This means human labor through various contractors which costs refineries millions of dollars to hire. This is what they call a Turn-About and refinery contractors work around the clock 24-7 to re-build key refinery structures to ensure full operation of a refinery.

#5 Gas is a LIMITED resource and we've been using it for more than a century now to power up our vehicle's engines. Another century more and we will really be low on gas to the point where I think cars will be obselete. It is my opinion that a war will errupt over who is the last nation to hold and control this resource and I hope it does not require nuclear force. We are seing it now with the war in Iraq but not necessarily directly, rather more indirectly.

#6 Blame it on the Gas Guzzlers!
If we all drove Motorcycles, Civics, Honda Insights, or Geo Metro. We would have more than enough gas to last us for another century. Sadly we dont. It is my personal opinion that the world supply of gas has been severely affected by the millions and millions of V8 and SUV Owners around the world. How about we give them a big round of applause?

[ghostguy6]

yeah i work for an oilfield supply company and the oilfield companies are trying to recover some of there lost revenues from overspending on some really big projects

[NerveAgent]

Damn it... I hate gas prices.

[87_Mustang_GT]

I rather go fast and have less engine rebuilds than having this "environmentally friendly" gas....

[aznxthuggie]

realistically speaking, i couldn't give a crap, for as long as i live im sure gas will be around so im just going to use it as i please, and i drive a honda accord (inline 4) so its not like its a gas guzzler but im also with you on the fact that those giant friggin suv's are useless, all they do is take up space and suck gas

[-Jayson-]

umm the war for oil. . .i dont think so buddy. In the next 10-20 years so many new forms of technology will be refined and developed that gasoline will only be used in lawnmowers and small engines. Cold fusion is a reality and so are many other hydrogen powered vehicles. I read a report online about a university that developed a technology that works to generate power with no moving parts. IT uses the polar fields of water molecules to generate engery, The one they had only produced enough energy to light a very small light bulb. . .but its a start. Personally i see the high gas prices as motivation to move away from being slaves to crude oil. It frees us from the 200 year old technology.

[AZFlyingDiver]

And don't forget TAXES... :-(
(gas about $2.15 here in Phoenix...)

[Raz_Kaz]

Wasnt this posted somewhere else???

[public]

I will be very glad when we get an electric (or whatever) car and we can tell the middle east to keep their damn oil. I went and bought an electric lawn mower 3 years ago. I have a 1/4 acre yard and I love that thing. I can hear the phone ring when mowing and I just turn it back on when I'm finished talking. If my car was that reliable-one moving part-that would be cool. I guess I will get one of the hybrids till then.

[jdrumstik]

remember when bush cuts taxes on gas? Yeah I could buy gas here in CA for $0.85 a gallon. so much of it taxes tis rediculous. personally the oil companies know when they are going to run out the goverment should let them charge accordingly. and when we actaully do start to run out, prices will go up and then maybe ppl will seriously consider hydrogen.

besides that we havn't even drilled alaska yet. People are always discovering new sorces of oil. Isn't it entirly possible that its a replensihing resource?

[Raz_Kaz]

Holy old-school shite!!!!

[Z_Fanatic]

it will take at least 20 or more years to completely switch over from internal combusion engines to a renewable resource fueled engine, and even there are variations - hydrogen fuel cells, electric, grease, etc, etc. which will be the standard? and no corporate oil owning company would want to lose business so soon. they have lobbyists in the Congress waiting 24/7. plus of course, distribution of these energies into local pumps require billions of dollars budget. and even after all that, the need for oil would still be in demand, i.e. other countires, industries, petrol-fueled motors, etc.

[catback23]

I personally blame them damn 7,8,9 passenger SUV's and big ass vans that 98% of the time only have 1-1.5 passengers at any given moment. I believe the gas prices reflect the way people and society behave. Most of us are very wasteful and we don't even take a second to care. Look at this post, we're taking about high gas prices and some of us own gas guzzlers and complain that we spend too much per week on gas. We don't even stop to think about how much gas were eating up. We don't even care, we only care that we can buy the amount of gas we want for a reasonable price. It's sad when you see a Yukon XL owner, that complains gas is too hi, spend near $70 on gas just so he doesn't have to use one of his other smaller family cars.

[Raz_Kaz]

OMG, this is old and still going?
Lock this down somebody