Re: oil price.
 

In 1954 gas in the Omaha area was .25 a gallon at cut rate stations. Gas off the tank truck for farm use was right at .16c with out any taxes.

Re: oil price.
 

So, we really need to study up a bit, hmmmm? Profits-Schmofits! Like everyone, I hate when the price rises at the pump. But a couple of you guys fail to realize that what are commonly referred-to as "oil company profits" is kind of a misnomer. You also have to realize that virtually all of the biggies like Exxon, Chevron, Conoco/Phillips, etc. are publicly-owned corporations. You also must remember that besides the "biggies", there are thousands upon thousands of small corporations, independents and even little guys working out of the back of a dually pick-up with a magnetic sign on the door that make-up this TOTAL oil industry in the U.S. of A. Fact....in 2015, 10.3 MILLION folks in the U.S. (98,200 in Wisconsin alone in 2014) earned a living in an oil-related job. That was 5.6% of the total U.S. workforce. Lots of folks dependent on the "oil patch" to eat! Oil and gas make-up 7.6% of our GDP. There's little hope for our country if circumstances cause one of these giants to go down the crapper...we'd BETTER give a sh..! There MUST be profit involved for the incentive necessary to make a huge industry viable, an industry (in this case) that we cannot reasonably live without. With the glut in oil now going-on because most are staying home and because the airplanes are parked, obscene numbers of oil patch folks have ALREADY been laid-off. You can bet that these folks give a sh..!


It's understandably difficult to find actual NET profit figures for the U.S. "oil" industry exclusively, because the way most of these companies are structured, they don't do oil and gasoline ONLY. One loose figure I found was a NET profit of $257B (illion) for oil and gas companies in U.S. and Canada/2014.


That's a bunch of profits, for sure, but some Mr. Exxon dude, nor some Mr. Chevron guy doesn't put that profit in that safe in the back room at the corporate office. That same CEO doesn't get to take that profit check and go buy a new Mercedes for his old lady. Those funds come out of his personal remuneration based on corporate profits...a whole different story there! Remember though, that the "biggies" are all publicly-owned corporations listed on the NYSE. And that's where the profits, or lack thereof, come in. Even though I hate it when that price goes up at the pump, I'm fortunate that when the profits proliferate, I get to share in a few dollars' worth of those profits because of common investments that a bunch of old dumb-ass goobers like myself have made over the years. In fact, I have been jokingly-heard to say something like …..."PLEASE let them big oil companies make huge profits". I've also been jokingly-heard to say...."PLEASE let them charge me more income tax"! Understand that either of those statements means that THIS Coopman MADE MORE MONEY! So, as much as we love to bitch about profiteering by large corporations, just remember that YOU folks....or any other American with half a brain like me has the opportunity to share in those profits. Ya just need to "study-up a bit" and understand how this great American economy (it'll be back when the "profit-takers" allow it) can really work FOR you! Profits ARE what makes our economy thrive. DD

Re: oil price.
 

I do know that the large oil companies are profitable. I'm glad they are. I put in lots of hours working in refineries as a steamfitter. Besides me there were iron worker/welders, carpenters, electricians, insulators, painters, laborers, machinists, truck drivers, mechanics, engineers and many more. Not to mention the spinoff to many suppliers and their employees. The wicked Standard Oil/Chevron paid my dads retirement for many years and after he died they continued to pay my mother plus her medical ins.

The federal gov. does not give the oil companies anything. The federal government makes no money, they only take it from people and companies that do make it. They money that the gov. lets the oil companies keep is not given to them, it was never the governments money to start with. And exploration/ research is not accomplished for free either.

Re: oil price.
 

Darrel, that was well said...Anacortes Wa is the dropping off point to our ferry serviced islands. It is surrounded by oil refineries light up like the 4th of July each evening..... But 2 hours ago I paid 3.69 for reg and 3.89 for diesel at my local pump.

Re: oil price.
 

Oh Boy! More political opinions. Off to the next thread I go.

Re: oil price.
 

I saw a video clip on the news today of all the oil tankers waiting offshore to unload. looked like a parking lot.



FWIW: Today my wife saw gas in Brainerd MN going for $1.16 and 46.9 cents of that is tax.

Re: oil price.
 

V8COOPMAN- Well Said. The majority of the public does not realize the number of other industries required to pump that oil out of the ground and the thousands of employees that are laid off when the production is shut down. We need that oil to be able to continue to run these old Fords.

Re: oil price.
 

I noticed that motor oil has gone done in price also

Re: oil price.
 

CBD oil is cheaper too. :D

Re: oil price.
 

Here you go.

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Re: oil price.
 

Joe
When I started driving in 1957 gas was .19 - 21 cents depending on where
where we bought it. Jay

Re: oil price.
 

Just put 22 gal in my truck for a little over $19.00. Get $.10 off on my credit card.

Re: oil price.
 

Buy and drive if you can. Maybe put a few bucks in oil stocks down the road. When it opens up and it will, it'll be a deal.

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Just bough home heating oil for 1.00$ less pr gal. than the last fill up. now 1.35

Re: oil price.
 

My state of Alaska is totally reliant on oil revenue. For the past 3 years as the price per drum dropped , so has the oil field employment in my state. Now that the oil companies are not producing as much oil due to the drop in price , the revenue needed to operate this state also has dropped dramatically causing a major recession . We are enjoying fuel in my town at $1.85 per gallon but actually hurting this state the same time.
Vic

Re: oil price.
 

Yes and to make matters worse, tourism will be way down this summer due to the COVID 19. My daughter lives at North Pole, AK. We go up every summer but might not make it this year. Time will tell.

Re: oil price.
 

you have trouble explaining fuel prices TRY THIS i do roughly 120Ks round trip each work day so fuel price at one of the locals $1,05 per liter roughly halfway to work same branded outlet [the pommy one B*] same fuel $0,89 per liter and just around the corner from work $1,30 per liter supposedly same fuel yet 3 different prices on the same day between 11am and 12noon and it happens all the time they all claim that the oil company sets the price so whos ripping who ACCC where are you

Re: oil price.
 

Private citizens pretty much cannot buy actual stock in crude oil. The best one can do is trade in oil futures, but you'll need to hold a minimum of $10,000 liquidity in your account to do that with most brokers and be prepared to break even or get wiped out should oil continue to stay low or go lower. The fear there is that as soon as global oil demand rises again, Russia and the Saudis will reinstate their price war to secure contracts and corner the market. This would keep oil prices low if not lower.

The second best thing one can do is a ton of research on companies' financial health and take a substantial risk buying stock in smaller oil exploration and mining companies whose stock has tanked and hope the companies survive long enough for their stocks to rise.

Neither of these two options will allow you to own actual stock in oil. You'll either own stock in speculating what oil will be worth in the future, or you will own stock in exploration/mining companies.

Investing in big oil corporations is a nonstarter since they aren't hurting much at the moment. For instance, Chevron was at about $90/share two weeks ago prior to oil diving below $0. Their stock decreased to $82/share the day oil crashed, and as of closing Friday, stock was back to about $88/share. Same pattern goes for Exxon, Philips 66, and the other major US corporations. There's no profit to be made there due to the oil crash.

As for oil ETFs, they are a ponzi scheme during volatility since they don't hold stock in actual crude oil but instead track futures indexes that are months behind what is currently happening. Those ETFs work pretty well when oil is stable, but when it's volatile they are junk since it takes months for their true value to show in the market. People buying ETFs now thinking they're going to cut a fat hog in four months will be shocked in four months when those ETFs finally catch up to the April crash and the ETF stock is worthless while oil prices might be much higher at the same time.

Trading in actual crude oil is a game only billionaires, millionaires, and corporations who have the capital and ability to store physical oil can play. The rest of us get to dream about how cool it would be to buy thousands of dollars of oil at $0.01/barrel, store it somewhere, sit on it for a couple years, and sell it at $60/barrel. In reality, the best we can do is buy a few 55 gallon drums of gas for $65/each, put them in our residential garage/shop for later use, and hope they don't blow up our house and cars or that the neighbor doesn't call the cops. :p We then wait until the price of refined oil decreases, buy out all our local parts stores of our preferred viscosity, and have enough oil for three lifetimes of oil changes. In either case, we'll be those weirdos standing outside a gas station in four years trying to sell quarts of oil and gallons of rotten gas at a discount out of the back of a 1949 F1 panel truck. :p

Re: oil price.
 

Like anything, you speculate futures. It's a gamble. You can invest as an individual in commodities, futures, or oil expansion. Better to do as a fund (100k individuals with 100k investment, is 10 billion dollars) as you don't have to store the actual barrels, there will be a lag when reserves will come into play. US gov just took a big investment on private oil companies. Oil is a safe investment. So is walmart, mcdonalds, and amazon. Basic 10% stuff or not. Only a few get real rich.


In a year or 5 will we be driving cars around? Yep. It will go up.