gas prices and the strategic oil reserve

ive been pondering the rapid drop in gas prices lately and im wondering, could the president dump a bunch of oil out of the strategic reserve onto the market without there being any notifications? i have little to no idea how the reserve works but it seemed like a likely solution to the massive sudden drop in gas prices. i would appreciate anyone elses thoughts on the matter

Even if he were to be able to do it without an notifications beforehand, once he did it, I think it would quickly become public knowledge.

in the past you always heard about adjustments to the reserve but with this bunch in there? who knows?

Oil companies tied up the refining capabilities about a decade ago. There seems to be enougn oil but refinig capacity is way down. Of course the RW says that is because of environmental rules (total bullshit).
I have heard that we have been receiving tanker shipments of refined product from India starting in August. This is refined Iranian oil of all things.
How long we will continue to receive these shipments is anybody's guess. However if you have a trip to take I'd do it before the election.
BTW have you noticed how the price has dropped again with the Foley scandal heating up? Man those oil companies want the torture party to win.

:tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat:

Many people, here on DU, and elsewhere, are of the opinion that the reason why Bush and the neocons invaded Iraq was for oil. But, they're not in there to sell the oil - while they'll make some money if they suddenly opened Iraq's oil wells to the market, oil prices would go down, and the margin would be rather thin. Rather, they took the oil to take it OFF the market. Squeeze the supply, make things more volatile, and prices go up, while the costs of producing oil elsewhere, from Saudi Arabia to the Gulf of Mexico, stay the same. Huge margins, HUGE PROFITS.

Now to put this on topic. Since Iraq's in the neocon's pockets right now, mostly with disrupted oil production, they now have a huge knob they can turn to control supply, and hence control oil prices. Since the neocons want to retain power, and know that gas prices are inversely proportional to Republican popularity, all they have to do is let a little more oil out of Iraq. All of the sudden, there's a glut in supply, the market prices go down, we see prices at the pump go down, and a few of the more gullible among us vote Republican. After the election's over, just have a few IEDs take out some pipelines or other oil facilities in Iraq, that glut dries up, the market prices go back up, and it's back to profits as usual.

Yeah, I know, :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat:

at least as good as mine!

has written on this also.

This makes much more sense to me than "they invaded Iraq to get the oil". They don't seem concerned at all by the constant attacks on the oil infrastructure; actually, with the way BushCo are handling things, it appears ever more obvious with each passing month that chaos is how they like things, for precisely the reason you state. Control the market.

Now here's a question: what happens to this clever scheme if we leave Iraq "before the job is done"? And isn't that just code for making sure there's a regime over there that's stable enough and friendly enough to continue letting us control their oil?