I fill up once a month whether I need it or not, if prices get too high a little trip change and I can go probably 3 months between fill ups . And people diss PHEVs
I live in Texas where gas prices have soared. I try not to be so smug, but I'm glad I don't have to fill up a big SUV or pickup that are very common around here.
I'm reading two types of reports: Not to worry, the refiners are coming online - optimistic, boosterism. About 6-7 weeks to full production - this makes sense as distillation units and catalyst have to return to operational temperatures and conditions. This is not a trivial problem. Personally, I don't expect to see prices increases to moderate for 6-8 weeks. Then they will return to a 'step up' value, probably with +10-15% to handle the costs a resuming operation. It will take another year or so to finally get back to competitive price levels. Bob Wilson
" NYMEX gasoline futures were down 4.2 percent to $1.6755 a gallon, levels last seen on Aug. 25, the day Harvey struck. Damage to the oil infrastructure in the Gulf Coast hub by Harvey appeared less extensive than some had feared, boosting the outlook for demand in the world's top oil consumer. Traders were nervously eyeing developments in North Korea, where the military conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test over the weekend. Pyongyang said it had tested an advanced hydrogen bomb ..." >> As far as gaso prices, forget Harvey, think Irma and Kim
Looming Gas Shortage: “Imports Can’t Make Up For This” | OilPrice.com "The Colonial Pipeline carries gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from several refineries in Houston, Port Arthur and Lake Charles, along the Texas and Louisiana Coast, up through the U.S. Southeast to Washington DC, Baltimore, and New Jersey. The pipeline had been operational through the worst of the Hurricane, easing fears about supply disruptions. But the outages at the nation’s top refineries along the Gulf Coast have forced the Colonial Pipeline company to announce on Wednesday that it was shutting down Line 2, which carries diesel and jet fuel due to “supply constraints.” And on Thursday, the company shuttered Line 1, the pipeline that carries gasoline. The pipeline company said that operations would only resume when it can “ensure that its facilities are safe to operate and refiners in Lake Charles and points east have the ability to move product to Colonial.” It is hard to overstate the critical role that the Colonial Pipeline plays. It carries 2.5 million barrels of refined products per day, or as the FT notes, “roughly one in every eight barrels of fuel consumed in the country.” More importantly, it is one of the only suppliers for major cities on the eastern seaboard, including New York, Washington DC and Atlanta."
For a tangent, there are some that felt building out a hydrogen distribution network would be an easy thing to do.
...also in the last decade many Northeast refineries and offshore refineries Virgin Islands etc. shut down due to more expensive crude from Mid East, but now of course OPEC is cost cutting the crude. Filled up the Prius tonite 6.7 gal at $2.66/gal = $18 bucks.
Most gasoline station owners don't know what the gasoline cost until the tanker truck arrives. But that doesn't stop the prices from going up. The gas prices went up the hour the news announced that they did. It's not supply and demand, it's what ever they can get. And if everybody is doing it, they can get away with it. (of course supply and demand drives prices over all, it's just that the price increase arrived far ahead of cost ) Feeding frenzy...
I am seeing everyone charging the same basic amount...so the normal price difference between cheap guys and expensive guys has collapsed.
When my friend owned a gas station, he would get a phone call telling him what to charge, delivery or not.
