Current level is pretty good.

Unless the world economy really takes off I'm think crude prices will be on a roller coaster.

As prices trend higher more and more fields will become profiitable. Which increases supply. More supply (with slow world growth) will lower prices. When prices overshoot the downside the high cost field are no longer developed which eventually leads to lower production and higher prices.

Just for perspective, lifting cost was $2/bbl IN 1989 at Prudhoe Bay.

Then the D word kicked in.

Oil is $64 for now, down from $66, If it would stay at this rate for a while that is good for the economy. Some operators are making money at $50, and I have a customer in the gulf that makes money at $35 due to not much debt. Let the gas prices go up, it means a LOT of folks are employed.

I agree with you and SOL above....no complaints at this level whatsover....but I know how greed works.....whatever they can charge and get away with :(.

Big Oil does not set crude prices. Gas prices follow crude prices. Gas is not really a cash cow. It is more of a loss leader to get you into the convenience store where the profit is made.

you guys have nothing to complain about we pay $6.50/US gal :(

We're spoiled

How much of that cost is tax?

State and federal vary here with an average around 60 cents

I ain't in that biz no mo. Got a sweet R&D job last year supported with gubmint grants! ;)

Putting away the emotions, I do figure the sweet spot for crude is around $75.

That's enough to justify domestic production to maintain energy independence from the OPEC-ers, and maintain very low unemployment.
it also provides a little more gubmint revenue to maintain our highways, bridges and such that seem to be such important topics nowadays.

If an extra 20 cents a gallon is enough to put a person in the poor house, they should have paid more attention in skool.

Gasoline is relatively (no, ridiculously) cheap when you compare it to bottled water, orange juice or even Starbucks.

economics 101
Supply and demand dictate price.
But you are right, charge what the market will bear is the American way.
Sorry if that rubs the komrades wrong, maybe we can get Maxine Waters to socialize oil production.
What could go wrong, it worked so well in Venezuela!

Where was the outrage when California decided to pass an extra 18 cents/gal tax on top of the other taxes and passed that at midnight on a Friday so no one would notice?

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I agree

XOM

Assets of 330 billion
Revenue of 218 biiliion
EBIT 8 billion

The last part I've been hearing my whole life....I just don't buy it. When the same tanker truck delivers gas to stations just a few miles apart, and there is a .20 delta between pump prices....well explain that. This would be a Sheetz truck...when they appeared on the scene here, suddenly all gas prices came down from competing stations...I don't believe those stations were then losing money per gallon...it just significantly cut their profit. These stations have their pumps occupied....lots of them, virtually all day long. Doesn't add up...

So that explains the metamorphasis on someone....errr, what's his name....nope, not gonna PARF you....

I might tell Wayne however ;)

No problem...just don't tell me a SOB story about how you only make a couple of cents per gallon when it ain't so. Walmart does the same thing....back when .22lr was unobtainable (being manipulated)...it would be delivered the same day to different stores here....8 bucks in one, 10 just a few miles away....it's the American way....warts and all. Gas price manipulation (spikes up), reek of what Enron et al did....I don't like warts :(.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-gas-station-owners-love-low-oil-prices/


before you cry foul, you should know that after all the ups and downs in a year, gas stations do not make much money from selling gasoline. After credit card fees and other operating costs, net profit for gasoline sales averages 3 cents a gallon, according the National Association of Convenience Stores.

When gas prices soar, and drivers think they're being gouged, stations are barely scraping by or even losing money. When the wholesale price is soaring, like it did in 2008, 2011 and 2012, station owners can't increase the price at the pump as fast as their costs are going up or they risk losing customers to competitors.

Breaking Down the Cost of a Gallon of Gas


Surprisingly, most of the profits for gas stations comes from the other products sold, and not gasoline. According to NACS Online’s 2015 report, the average mark-up per gallon of gas by the retailer was 18.9 cents over five years, but that is not all profit. After expenses, the gas station only makes about 3 or 5 cents per gallon sold.

How many more links do you want?? I can find dozens.

Gas stations don't don't make squat on fuel.

This is exactly why I pay-at-the-pump, with my CC, and deny myself the temptations of walking through the store inside.

Then explain the .20 difference at the pumps, on stations 8 miles apart...same costs, delivered from the same tanker truck? Studies, statistics, and spin aside...some might be "squeaking by"...but my eyes tell me different for others ;)

Some stores make more than others.

Why is Wal Mart significantly cheaper than other retailers?

You are far off base. Educate yourself on the subject.

Hell, government makes far more on taxes than most any wholesaler or retailers.