Worries About Texas City Refinery Lift Oil, Gasoline Prices

In today's Houston Chronicle. www.chron.com (please click the headline and it will take you to the business page)

Went up about a buck

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"What this should remind us is that the refinery industry in this country is so tightly wound that any problem could have ramifications for the entire country."

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15 people dead.

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"The BP refinery...produced 30% of the companies' North American supply"

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The other news seemed to conclude that any price rise is a psychological reaction on the part of the markets; however, refinery capacity is so high right now, a 3% loss in supply could be more serious than what the experts predict IMO.

Have they ruled out domestic terrorism? How about corporate sabotage? How about Enron style management?

Why are there more loose ends than answers?

The death toll is now 15.

If the economists at George Mason University don't like it, then I'm afraid that's just too bad.

p.s. nice looking bunch

If the damage was confined to the isomerization unit then the main gasoline producing units will still be running. These are the Cat crackers, platformers, and alkylation units. This is what i gather from reading the article.

BP officials said this affected two of 30 sections of the plant and should not affect their production overall. Seemed a little nervous as soon as he said it. As though he just realized his answer would affect the markets, which is probably illegal/unethical for him to to. Tried to steer the conversation and emphasis back on how to help the dead/injured and their families.

Ill look to see if I can find a link.

even the chimp was saying we use too much energy the other-day.

if the reality wasn't crashing through their tightly managed media matrix they wouldn't even say, boo, as usual but it can no longer be concealed.

http://news.globalfreepress.com/movs/Al_Bartlett-PeakOil.mp4
http://images.globalfreepress.com

peace

It wasnÕt very long ago that gas prices went up because of a Òoil barge accidentÒ on the Mississippi River.

The Real Price of Gas is at least $5 per gallon that is what is paid in Europe. We need higher prices at the pump AND affordable, reliable public transportation - A report by the CTA

This report by the International Center for Technology Assessment (CTA) identifies and quantifies the many external costs of using motor vehicles and the internal combustion engine that are not reflected in the retail price Americans pay for gasoline. These are costs that consumers pay indirectly by way of increased taxes, insurance costs, and retail prices in other sectors.

The report divides the external costs of gasoline usage into five primary areas: (1) Tax Subsidization of the Oil Industry; (2) Government Program Subsidies; (3) Protection Costs Involved in Oil Shipment and Motor Vehicle Services; (4) Environmental, Health, and Social Costs of Gasoline Usage; and (5) Other Important Externalities of Motor Vehicle Use. Together, these external costs total $558.7 billion to $1.69 trillion per year, which, when added to the retail price of gasoline, result in a per gallon price of $5.60 to $15.14.

TAX SUBSIDIES - $9.1 to $17.8 billion.

The federal government provides the oil industry with numerous tax breaks designed to ensure that domestic companies can compete with international producers and that gasoline remains cheap for American consumers. Federal tax breaks that directly benefit oil companies include: the Percentage Depletion Allowance (a subsidy of $784 million to $1 billion per year), the Nonconventional Fuel Production Credit ($769 to $900 million), immediate expensing of exploration and development costs ($200 to $255 million), the Enhanced Oil Recovery Credit ($26.3 to $100 million), foreign tax credits ($1.11 to $3.4 billion), foreign income deferrals ($183 to $318 million), and accelerated depreciation allowances ($1.0 to $4.5 billion).

Tax subsidies do not end at the federal level. The fact that most state income taxes are based on oil firms' deflated federal tax bill results in undertaxation of $125 to $323 million per year. Many states also impose fuel taxes that are lower than regular sales taxes, amounting to a subsidy of $4.8 billion per year to gasoline retailers and users. New rules under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 are likely to provide the petroleum industry with additional tax subsidies of $2.07 billion per year. In total, annual tax breaks that support gasoline production and use amount to $9.1 to $17.8 billion.

http://www.distributiondrive.com/Article4.html