Russia vs Ukraine on Gas

Much has been made about how energy markets have distorted world politics. But what happens when energy markets come up against a resurgent Russian Republic eager to return to Empire? We may soon learn as Ukraine and Russia are at loggerheads over gas shipments over a Russian pipeline that passes thru Ukraine to get gas to Europe for sale.

Ukraine -- long at odds with the Kremlin over its ambition to join NATO -- accused Moscow of deliberately cutting flows to Europe and said the bloc needed to send a signal to the Kremlin that it cannot bully its pro-Western neighbors.
"If Europe ... does not help us get out of this situation, then it can expect a more aggressive position from Russia on gas and other issues," Oleksander Shlapak, a senior Ukrainian presidential aide, told Reuters.
Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom blamed Ukraine for siphoning off or blocking deliveries of gas equivalent to one sixth of the total Russian supply to Europe, and said it was increasing exports to make up some of the shortfall.

Archer Would So Do This

I've been reading Dear Abby for a while now and this question was posted today. I can so see Archer handling the situation this way. I think the criminals got what they deserved.

"DEAR ABBY: A few weeks ago, I returned home after mowing the lawn at my mother's place and parked my truck behind my house. I left the lawnmower and a 5-gallon can of gas in the bed of my truck and went into the house for a drink of water. When I returned, the gas can was missing.

I bought another can, filled it with gas and added 2 pounds of sugar. Again, I parked my truck in the same spot with the gas can visible. An hour later, it too had disappeared.

A short while later, I noticed a neighbor's son and his friends pushing his car up the street. They said they had "engine problems." My wife thinks what I did was wrong and that I should offer to pay for this lad's engine repairs. What do you think? -- "A-GASSED" IN ILLINOIS

DEAR "A-GASSED": I disagree with your wife. What if the boys had another kind of engine problem and this was just a coincidence? I'm sure whoever stole your gas got an expensive lesson. Let's hope it also saved them from a life of crime."

Cheap Cars to Drive

Two years ago, when I bought a new car, I decided to go for a fuel-efficient vehicle which would give me few problems, rather than the most feature-packed model out there. It has worked out well for me with the spike in gas prices. And more and more it has been validated, as with this Consumerist article that rates the top 10 cheapest cars to drive. My Vibe came in #7.

10. Suzuki SX4
9. Kia Rio
8. Toyota Corolla
7. Pontiac Vibe
6. Scion xB
5. Nissan Versa
4. Toyota Yaris
3. Hyundai Accent
2. Chevrolet Aveo
1. Honda Fit

Gas speculation card

One of the major factors economists are positing for the rapidly-rising price of oil is speculators who are buying gas futures on the open market for higher and higher prices. Not to let the American consumer be outdone, now a company is letting the average American speculate on their next tank of gas.

Save money by pre-purchasing gas at today’s prices, then fill up with your MyGallons Card when prices rise. No matter how high prices at the pump will go, the price of the gallons you’ve purchased will be locked-in.

While I am always up for saving a buck, I have to say I am skeptical about this kind of scheme. First, there is no guarantee that you won't buy high (when gas is up) and wind up gassing up when the price is lower. (It does happen, really.) Second, this tends to make us less sensitive to sudden changes in price, thus insulating oil companies and Congress from our ire. Third, it is accepted "by most fill-up stations", so there is no guarantee that the one you choose to use will be among those.

Still, I have to admit it is a creative way to combat rising gas prices.

Creative Solution to Rising Gas Prices

Interest Rate Cuts Cause Inflation

I finally have found an article that states what I have been saying to Nomad for a few months now. When The Fed lowers interest rates, it weakens the dollar which is contributing to the rise in cost of oil/gasoline. I asked an economic professor who I know and he confirmed that this made sense to him, but economic policy wasn't his specialty. To put it simply, the by product of lower interest rates is that there are more dollars in the economy. When there are more dollars, the value of each one goes down. As the value of the dollar goes down, prices go up. So, each dollar buys less or any given commodity. (Like Oil) I'm not sure The Fed shouldn't have lowered interest rates, but we need to be honest with the American people that there is no magic fix to our current situation. Now that things have stabilized some, the best policy is probably to do what we can to strengthen the dollar. This is the only way to really lower the cost of oil, gasoline and food.

Oil or Congress on Trial?

The question is can McCain, Obama, or Clinton change this dynamic? Somehow I am doubtful.

Is the gas/oil shortage a myth?

So says Ed Wallace of Business Week. If he is right, then Congress should be grilling oil executives over a high heat until they are deeply cooked.

Gasoline reserves on hand are at the highest levels since the early 1990s, which is remarkable considering the nation's refineries have been cutting back on the production of gasoline because their margins have declined. In fact, average gasoline reserves on hand have risen since this past October, while oil reserves in this country have gone up virtually every week this year—and only fog in the Houston Ship Channel that kept oil tankers from unloading their crude one week kept it from being every week.

I have to admit, the more I learn about the oil industry, the more disgusted I become. There is so much work to manipulate prices on what is essentially a fungible resource. If this article is right, then the Republicans do deserve to lose the presidency.

Gas Prices

Unfortuately, I left my camera phone at home today, so I have no photo. But I paid $3.129 per gallon today. Thought fans of gas prices would want to know

Ranting about Gas Prices and Traffic Rules

Can I give a nickel's worth of free advice to our governments? Gas prices are high. Politicians are offering to have hearings on the gas companies, investigations into refineries, negotiations with foreign dignitaries. Instead, how about putting on hold "Click it or ticket", "Truck Safety Week", and the rest of the never-ending traffic-related programs which are causing you to set up police checkpoints? I must have spent an hour the last month waiting in line at various checkpoints for police to confirm I was obeying the law, when I was burning gasoline and spewing pollutants into the air for NO REASON.

Sigh. Okay. Moving on.

Gas Price Alert: Gas Stations shutting down over price gouging

As the oil companies continue to have record profits and argue that their gross margins are still too lean, consumers are increasingly feeling gouged by high gas prices. You know exactly what I am paying for gas, and even at a discount club the prices are insanely high. Now, the high price for gas - and the incredibly low profits that individual gas stations get for it - are driving individual stations away from even selling gasoline in favor of just doing car repairs.

Including the wholesale cost of gas and other taxes and charges, he was being asked to pay $3.44 a gallon Friday, a day when the competing stations down the street were selling gasoline for $3.47.

"Three cents a gallon doesn't cut it," Curro said. "It doesn't pay the bills."

Add to that the money he loses every time a motorist uses a credit card at the pump, and there was no reason to keep selling gas, Curro said.

Credit card companies and banks get an average of 2.75% on every gallon of gas sold, and credit card processing fees now rank as the second-biggest expense for gas station operators, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores.

"The way I see it is, I'm doing all the work of providing the labor, the wages, the electricity, the lighting, the maintenance of the pumps, the repairs and the insurance, which is quite substantial," Curro said. "I'm doing all the work, and somebody else is getting fat on me."

It is time for the oil companies to realize their business model is fundamentally broken. Whether by refinery issues, problems in the Middle East, or by their own incompetence, they are rapidly reaching a point where consumers are demanding relief. And that relief will come. Either in the form of their own action, Congressional action, or alternative means of getting to work. I am actually telecommuting now far more often than before to save money on gas, and bought the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid I could. How long until a practical alternative to the gasoline-powered car is out there, and the bottom falls out from the oil machine?

New Engine to Transform Gasoline Cars?

Science Daily is claiming that a new part of the internal combustion engine called "variable valve actuation" could transform the industry.

In today's internal combustion engines, the pistons turn a crankshaft, which is linked to a camshaft that opens and closes the valves, directing the flow of air and exhaust into and out of the cylinders. The new method would eliminate the mechanism linking the crankshaft to the camshaft, providing an independent control system for the valves.
Because the valves' timing would no longer be restricted by the pistons' movement, they could be more finely tuned to allow more efficient combustion of diesel, gasoline and alternative fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, Shaver said.

The technique could allegedly increase gas-burning efficiency by 15 to 20 percent, making gasoline-based cars as efficient as diesel. It also leads to more completely combusted fuels, meaning fewer greenhouse gases emitted.

Maybe the future is not in the electric car after all. At least not the ones envisioned recently. Maybe instead it is an ultra-efficient hybrid-gasoline engine.

Gas over $3 per Gallon

Over $3 per Gallon
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.
I know most Mod-Bloggers have been paying over $3/gallon for a week now, but I managed to put it off. I had forgotten how much it hurts.

Gas Prices

Gas Prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.