Featured Saw gas at $2.05/gal today

Great price.

Driving down to Palm Desert on I-5, I saw $2.97 at a small town Shell station along the way.

Better than the $3.39 per gallon anywhere else out here.

 

Oil has almost dropped below 50 a barrel.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

$2.29 today for me, on the way back from Wyoming (through South Dakota to Minnesota).

That 1,532-mile trip to coal country for the holiday really got me thinking about this upcoming oil crisis. We are about to see the bottom drop without any easy path to recovery.

We hit peak back in 2010, clearly marked by the loss of supply stability. That original measurement of oil quantity available in the ground still was proven worthless the moment investor activity started to become unpredictable. Seeing how much of a push coal has become in opposition to both natural-gas and renewables is what really made the problem obvious. The oil industry was already fighting among itself. That meant the entire energy market would end up getting turned upside-down.

Listening to the supposed "experts" related to plug-in vehicle support, any solution is problematic. Most have no idea what happened in the past. They don't bother to study hybrid history. Repeating the same mistakes will happen as a result. It's like reading reviews from over 15 years ago. There is no understanding of the market or what motivates mainstream consumers.

Our biggest problem in that regardless appears to be perspective. People here look at China as pusher of mandates and never bother to look beyond the government influence. If they did, it would become apparent that the culture there is more accepting of change. Our attitude here is if the vehicle isn't absolutely perfect, it will fail. We obsess so much with fine detail of reviews, we completely miss the point of the technology. That's really sad.

This plummet of gas prices will bring that point home in a painful way.

Watch what unfolds in the next few months...

 

A new war in the Middle East will bring gas prices up.

 

Now you're thinking.

 

$2.07 per gallon here, but if you buy 15% Ethanol like me, it's $1.97 a gallon right now.

 

Midterm Elections.

 

No way will I go along with another war in the middle east over oil, we need to get out of the region.

 

According to an article on Reuters, the Russians and Sauds are pumping at record rates. The United States? It didn't say, but only that we aren't cutting production. But it did say Trump is piling on the pressure for them to pump even more. I'm assuming to hurt Iran? - If so I'm good with that.

Saudi Arabia pumps record amount of oil as Trump piles on pressure

I'd always heard this "Oil from the Middle East" thing, so I looked it up. It's significantly less than I thought. I honestly assumed we got the majority of our oil from there - but apparently not. Canada takes that prize @ 40% (I'm assuming the United states makes up the remaining 31% when you add it all up?)

How much petroleum does the United States import and export? - FAQ - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Imports listed by Country (All of them)

Net Imports of Total Crude Oil and Products into the U.S. by Country

 

The US doesn't import much from the Middle East, that's true, but events there that affect oil prices affect the price of oil in Canada and the US.

Low gas prices hurt hybrid sales.

 

Send those cheap gas over here. In SD, I am seeing around $3.70. We have to fund non car related programs, you know.

 

It was $3.92 at the foot of the happiest place on earth.

Thankfully our Prius will make it to the other side of the grapevine where it is cheaper .

 

Hopefully this drop holds up.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Cheap oil puts the squeeze on tar sands oil.

 

It also puts a squeeze on tight(shale) oil, hybrids, and plug ins.

 

Cyclical. At a certain price they can't afford to drill anything new. So eventually supply will lessen and raise the price again.