Fill up today!

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I'm going to guess this will add $.20 to a gallon of gas by the end of the week, currently $2.95/gallon at the no-brand cheap place locally.


Blast rocks Texas oil refinery

* Story Highlights
* One person injured, all workers accounted for, spokesman tells AP
* Explosion at refinery in Big Spring, Texas, produces huge cloud of smoke
* Blast felt three miles away, I-Reporter says
* Interstate 20 shut down

(CNN) -- An explosion rocked a Texas oil refinery Monday morning, shaking homes three miles away, witnesses told CNN.

Video from I-Reporters showed a massive cloud of smoke forming over the refinery in Big Spring, Texas, about midway between Dallas and El Paso.

One worker was injured in the blast, and all workers had been accounted for, Blake Lewis, a spokesman for refinery owner Alon USA, told The Associated Press. He said the fire was under control.

I-Reporter Larry Bates said he was lying in bed when the walls of his house shook and he heard a large boom.

"And I thought immediately, 'Oh, my God, the refinery,' " Bates said. VideoWatch huge cloud of smoke over refinery »

I-Reporter Diane Murphy said the blast rocked her home a couple of miles away.

"I was just in the kitchen, and it shook the whole house, and it popped the doors open," she said.

"I thought it would knock the walls down," John Moseley, managing editor of the local newspaper, the Big Spring Herald, told the AP.

"It was extremely scary. You shook, you were so scared," Laura McEwen, who lives about two miles from the refinery, told the AP. "Our walls shook. It jolted your bed. It was like an earthquake."

The refinery employs about 170 people and can process about 70,000 barrels of crude oil a day, according to the Alon USA Web site.

It supplies an area including West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, southern Oklahoma and Arkansas with fuel products and asphalt, the Web site says.

CNN affiliate KOSA-TV reported that Interstate 20, which passes the refinery, had been shut down.

Residents living within a mile of the facility were asked to evacuate, according to KOSA.

[rouxroux]

And again we ask: "Why have we not built a new refinery in the U.S. in the last 30 years?"

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by rouxroux

And again we ask: "Why have we not built a new refinery in the U.S. in the last 30 years?"

Because it is impossible. The tree huggers and their lawyers will not allow it.
http://www.yumasun.com/news/refinery_39400___article.html/land_arizona.html

They've been trying to build this one for at least 13 years, but so far they've moved the location three times, they've spent more money than you can count fighting lawsuits, they've watched as their building permits expire, because the stupid idiotic retarded imbecilic environmental terrorists keep filing one BS law suit after another.

[sammyg2]

BTW, this refinery won't hurt the supply or the price much at all. There is an over-supply of winter gas right now which has caused the wholesale price of gas to dip below $2 a gallon.
You can thank the taxes (about 50 cents) and the greedy station owners for keeping it close to $3 a gallon at the pumps.

I can think of at least 6 refineries that are either down or partially down right now.
If they aren't back up and running in a month or two it could make a big difference.

Now, if you live in Hawaii and like to drive you better get a moped. There are two refineries there, one is about 50% down and has had two explosions in the past 3 months. It lost about $85 million last quarter, due to one explosion and the stupid price cap that Hawaii passed. That refinery may be shut down for good if things don't change, it isn't worth it to run it at a loss. If that happens the politicians over there will have to either get rid of the stupid law or they will not have enough gas to go around. Very few companies will be willing to import gas to the islands if they have to sell it at a loss.
Gas will be cheap there but you'll only be able to buy a gallon at a time.

[rouxroux]

Exactly!!!!! And I'm just waiting for most of the oil companies to move refining elsewhere due to liberal U.S. B.S. Hey, then we can declare Baton Rouge as a "Superfund project"!!!!!!!!!!!

[dd74]

If more refineries were built, would the price at the pump go down? Or are the greedy station owners allowed to artificially inflate prices to whatever amount they see as fit?

I have to admit, I'm getting tired of the environmental lobby too. In this state, they're mandating to me what I can and cannot buy as far as automobiles are concerned. Meanwhile, are there any concerns about our need for better mass transit? (I'm of course talking about L.A. ).

[rouxroux]

Originally Posted by dd74

If more refineries were built, would the price at the pump go down? Or are the greedy station owners allowed to artificially inflate prices to whatever amount they see as fit?

Greedy station owners? Hardly.
Take a look at the "pure profit taxation" per gallon taken by your government and then tell me that the station owners are "greedy".
(What did they do to deserve that? Exploration? transport? refining)?

[strupgolf]

20 cents? Hell, it goes up that much around here when the cows fart. After extensive investigation, no one can find the answer. (because there is none)

[on2wheels52]

Originally Posted by dd74

Or are the greedy station owners allowed to artificially inflate prices to whatever amount they see as fit?

My buddy up the street has a tire shop that sells gas. He says he loses money if someone buys $20 gas and pays with a credit card.
Jim

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by on2wheels52

My buddy up the street has a tire shop that sells gas. He says he loses money if someone buys $20 gas and pays with a credit card.
Jim

Yup. Many gas stations make less than $.01/gal. They make their money on the other stuff. The gas stations aren't the ones with record profits.

[MBAtarga]

Convenience stores make around $.05-08 per gallon.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Station operators have actually very little say over how much they're allowed to sell their gas for. Condition of carrying the particular brand name. That's my understanding anyway - and based on personal observation years ago (used to work at a Mobil station while in college) - we used to get uploaded the prices for the coming day each night from Mobil corporate and "had to" set the prices according to that. No idea what would happen if we didn't though, but it probably wasn't good.

[anotherblack944]

OK, so on the way home tonight I see several statiions jumping $0.08 from where they've been for a few weeks. WTF!! This stuff is ALREADY in the tanks. Count me in on the AWM group! $3 for a gallon of milk, $2 for a dozen eggs, frigg'n $18 for a gallon of laundry detergent, raise the price/cut the size, on and on.. (yes I do ALL the shopping). This is WAAAAY out of hand! What choice do we have?!?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

you only pay $3 for a gallon of milk? $3.99 here. at least it's tasty goodness. milk seems to have gotten better in the last year.

[TimT]

Greedy station owners? Hardly.

Station operators have actually very little say over how much they're allowed to sell their gas for.

Dont know if I can buy into that.

For example, my local Hess sells diesel for 3.799, the local Getty sell for 3.999, the local BP sells it for 3.419

So we have $0.58 price difference between the three stations, Im sure each pays exactly the same per/gal when they purchase fuel. The taxes charged are the same.

It does pay to shop around...

[anotherblack944]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

you only pay $3 for a gallon of milk? $3.99 here. at least it's tasty goodness. milk seems to have gotten better in the last year.

We USED to be the dairy state remember (keeps prices down somewhat compared to other places)? From what I see Mexifornia has claimed that title for now... Watch that beef recall by the way.. And, @$16+/Lb.!!!

I only buy the cheapest. $3 is definately NOT the lowest. I think the others are ~$3.50 currently. I'm talking the discount/volume grocery too. Ffrom watching the weekly ads, the "normal" stores are overall higher.

NO brand names, generic/sales items whenever they appear.

[BRPORSCHE]

Used to live in Baton Rouge, hence the screename.

Always very interesting when their was a plant explosion. Almost everyone in town including my dad works at them. Everyone is glued to the tube trying to get some news.

Now I move to the next superfund site. Just north of Texas City. Which is home of the most attrocious refinery in the world. BP.

[slodave]

There is a local Shell station here that has not changed prices in at least 6 months. I used to go there, but I can go elsewhere and save $0.30.

[Danny_Ocean]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aRKz9TK.mCyo&refer=africa

[WolfeMacleod]

Gas here went up 15 cents today at several local stations.