Many people are complaining about gasoline prices and their ability to affect our economy. With that, many are also showing sheer ignorance at how gasoline is priced, while demanding the government intervene and DO SOMETHING!
Sure, the OPEC nations have something to do with oil, thus gas, prices. When they limit production, that drives the price up. Classic supply and demand. The president releasing millions of barrels from our “strategic oil reserves” can also affect supply and demand. But as all politics is local, and the price of gasoline affects us on a personal level, it really has little to do with any government policy.
Gas station owners receive gasoline at regular intervals, depending on the street traffic that gas station enjoys. Let’s start by agreeing on something we all know: gas stations have different prices. Now, why is that?
Let’s say, the station is due to receive a shipment of gas in three days and there’s a lot of gas in the underground tank. That station owner has to make room, as he or she may not have enough gas to last two shipment periods. How’s the best way to empty the tank?
Reduce the gas price. Many people comparison shop, and they patronize that gas station with the lower price per gallon.
Conversely, if that station owner is due to receive gas in a few days, but his tank is really low, he or she doesn’t want to place that “out of gas” sign on their pumps. You do that and you risk some customers never coming back. So this is a perfect opportunity to jack the price, make some money, and not run the tank dry before the next shipment arrives.
How can America become more “energy independent”, thus hopefully lowering the gas prices? Until we cease to be held hostage by environmentalist concerns and can drill domestically for our own oil, build more refineries to convert more of the imported oil to gasoline, adopt one national blend of gasoline instead of the many we have state-to-state that slows down the process in those refineries, we will be held hostage by the OPEC nations, and our gasoline prices will continue to rise.
It’s really as simple as that.
Gas pricing hikes are hurting most of us. Thus man people are outraged. I’m certainly not happy about it. What gasoline consumer would be?
However, the best solution to all of this is to complain less and educate ourselves more on how to find real solutions to high gas prices.
After all, it’s not likely that we’ll see a significant decline in gas prices any time soon; but that doesn’t mean we can’t take action to do what can be done within our means to try to cut back on our gasoline expenses.
Hence, there are ways to save money on gas. We just need to discover what they are, and take action to make it happen!
Well wonders of wonders we are breaking ground for our first new refinery (instead of expanding capacity at existing ones) in 30 years right next to an existing one in Houston.
But then most don’t realize we are so short on refineries that we import 14% of our refined product now , not just crude oil.
Plus, Gas is delivered in a “Load”. A Tanker truck doesn’t fill the underground tank and stop with some left in the trailer, the tanker is filled with enough to fill the station’s tank, and thus is emptied entirely.
No, it’s easy for those of us who actually think about these things. I tried to explain this to my brother yesterday. Like talking to a brick wall.