WayneS

High Gold Prices: It's the Oil, Stupid

I have no idea what the average Nigerian thinks or knows. I know what the Ogoni and Ijaw claim. I don't think Chevron or Shell has an army. It is dispicable that Shell tried to bribe these people with promises of jobs: as they (the Nigerians) claim. I never said that these efforts worked, just that someone was trying to do something other than bomb them; answering rick12345.


On Nov 26 02:38 PM Michael Fitzsimmons wrote:

> WayneS: i am not so sure the average Nigerian would agree with your
> post.

High Gold Prices: It's the Oil, Stupid

This is what companies like Chevron and ExxonMobil are doing, except for the nuclear plant part, in exchange for chance to develop oil fields in mostly Africa and other parts of the world. They use the World Bank to provide transparency and to ensure that the funds are not siphoned off by corruption. They provide sanitary drinking water and are fighting malaria, educating the populace, providing job training, etc. Of course there are dictators like Hugo Chavez and Nancy Pelosi who scheme to nationalize the operations after the fields are developed. These humanitarian efforts are "subsidizes" that we the people are upset about.
On Nov 26 05:56 AM rick12345 wrote:

> I have an even better idea. Instead of trying to blow the piss out
> of countries like afghanistan, Iraq & Iran while spending billions
> to do so, why doesn't the US offer to build a few Hospitals, Universities,
> nuclear power plants and the like, in exchange for oil. In the meantime
> open your trade borders' to these nations and work co-operatively
> to develop a long term solution to the problem of dwindling oil reserves.
>
> A little international diplomacy can go a long way you know.

High Gold Prices: It's the Oil, Stupid

Too late. I retired last year at 55. Had to wait until then so I could keep affordable health insurance with my company. I live on pension and dividends from stock I have bought over last 35 years. In 6 years, I might get social security.
It's not a whole lot, but much more than I need.

On Nov 24 08:00 PM Genesis wrote:

> WayneS,

> I hope you follow a good investment advisor, cause you are apparently
> unable to reach any accurate conclusions on your own.
>

High Gold Prices: It's the Oil, Stupid

I agree with you with most of the times and enjoy your articles. Just some minor points we seem to disagree on.
See post above. Diesel for smaller vehicles should only be a stopgap between gasoline vehicles and something better. People get new cars every few years anyway. When I get my propane tanks refilled, I go to a gas station, where they fill them and I pay by the gallon (about the same price as gas & diesel).
Only, this pump is behind a chain-linked fence and the pumpers should be wearing face and I protection. The dangers are high pressure, highly flammable fluid and frostbite. Natural gas might be a good replacement for gasoline, but a lot of work needs to be done before it is safe for us to use. Also in my trailer, where my propane tanks goes, there is special provision to direct any explosion downward. At 7 1/2 tons it isn't going far. How about a 1-2 ton car?
My main idea to wean us off of imported crude is to just use less fuel through fuel efficiency, better driving habits, better choice of vehicle, efficient travel plans. This costs nothing. Can be done now. We do need to replace what we have, but we have been talking and researching for all of my life with no real improvement. My first car, 1960 Rambler, got over 30 mph and was pretty darn safe, after my father had seat belts installed.


On Nov 24 10:16 AM Michael Fitzsimmons wrote:

WayneS: but diesel comes from foreign oil, and it is foreign oil
> that is bankrupting the country. although i agree that diesel engines
> are more efficient, i disagree that diesel is the solution because
> it is not a *domestic* source of energy and therefore will not help
> the US unshackle the chains of foreign oil, deficit spending, a weaker
> currency, and a failed foreign policy based on fighting oil wars
> we cannot afford.

High Gold Prices: It's the Oil, Stupid

Actually, I only have a diesel-powered truck because my home is a 7 1/2 ton 5th wheel trailer (retired). I was pleasantly surprised that the truck gets pretty good fuel mileage for everyday driving. It was out of necessity that I was introduced to the better efficiency of diesels. Wayerhauser will soon (I heard) be producing bio-diesel. Even ExxonMobil (notice no "e" on the end) is investing in bio-diesel. This is just one way we can get away from importing crude.
I learned in the 60's that gas stations don't make a profit on gasoline from my friend's father. He owned the gas station so he could use the garage for his profitable business, speedometer repair. Back then gas stations were a come on for garages. Now, they are a come on for grocery, convenience and discount stores. I was told recently by a gas station owner that if someone buys "at the pump" he loses money.
Back to natural gas. I hope we use natural gas for power and even vehicles. My wife owns leases with gas wells. A gas-powered generating station will be built in 10 months and power 55k homes in the Texas panhandle. Also, there are thousands of wind generators around here.
But, it's getting too cold here in eastern New Mexico and I have a diesel truck capable of moving my trailer over the mountains to arizona.

PS that $.47 a gallon is the excise tax we pay at the pump, which the government made the gas station remove signs indicating this.
The government takes a good chunk of money from every step from reservoir to gas pump.
In the 1800's "gasoline" was a waste product. Oil companies talked the motorcar busines to use this waste instead of alcohol. There's other things that are made from crude that are much more profitable than gasoline. The refineries wouldn't miss the losing trend they are in today.
Since I was born in the 50's all of the homes I have lived in were heated with natural gas. Whoops, except when I lived in Berlin, where I carried brown coal 3 blocks and up 5 floors to heat our apartment. I told my wife, before she came over, she would love our apartment: "it has two fireplaces." She was doubly mad when she found out there was no bathroom, just a WC.


On Nov 24 08:00 PM Genesis wrote:

> WayneS,
>
> It appears you want a pat on the back for saving on fuel costs by
> using a diesel-powered truck.
>
> I found the following ratio on the Internet: "Three barrels of crude
> will produce two barrels of unleaded gasoline, and one barrel of
> heating oil." Heating oil is essentially the same thing as diesel
> fuel. So... are you suggesting that we throw away all the gasoline
> since it is "inefficient", and have every motor vehicle in the U.S.
> run on diesel?
>
> Then you compare gasoline to ethanol... ??
>
> Also, according to Wikipedia, 47 cents out of every gallon goes toward
> taxes, not "half of the cost of gasoline."
>
> Also, this statement is absurd: "Gas stations don't make a profit
> on gasoline. Never did." I guess before the quickie mart days, Goober
> had to rely on tips from windshield washing.
>
> There are so many absurdities in this post (nat gas is used to heat
> homes; tf, nat gas produces heat), that I do not have time to address
> them all.
>
> I hope you follow a good investment advisor, cause you are apparently
> unable to reach any accurate conclusions on your own.
>
> On Nov 24 09:49 AM WayneS wrote:

High Gold Prices: It's the Oil, Stupid

We use natural gas to heat our homes. In vehicles, heat is a waste product. Gasoline and ethanol is not much better. Diesel engines are the most efficient we have. My one-ton dually truck gets 23 mpg, better than most cars. Even the vehicles that can get better than 23 mpg don't because of bad driving habits. These habits not only waste 25-40% of the gasoline purchased, but kill and maim millions per year. The US exports vehicles to Europe that get 47 mpg.
At $4/gal, waste was curtailed and 1700 lives were saved.
Over half of the cost of a gallon of gasoline goes to taxes. Gas stations don't make a profit on gasoline. Never did. Refineries are losing money. We import 70% of the crude.
Why doesn't "government" fix the problem. We the people would vote them out of office for messing with our right to waste gasoline with fast, imposing vehicles. Lose/lose situation.

The Fatal Flaw in Healthcare Reform

"Health Care" is broad and ambiguous.
What needs to be done is to break it down into individual units, define the subject, decide if it needs reform/fixing or not.
I have noticed in Congressional bills,state amendments, etc, what it says and what it does rarely are the same.

Ethanol Versus Natural Gas or Coal: Not Even Close!

PS: We made methane from CO2&H2, not ethanol. Sorry for gaff.

Ethanol Versus Natural Gas or Coal: Not Even Close!

I bought "gasohol" from Diamond Shamrock in the 70's.
We, in college lab, made ethanol by flowing CO2 & H2 through a
reduced nickel catalyst.
Renewable energy projects are energy projects that are renewed
every 20 years, make alot of money, produce nothing,
then fade into history

The Fatal Flaw in Healthcare Reform

The bottom line is that we are going to pay $1.2 trillion to supply/force health insurance to 8% of our population.

Buffett's BNI Purchase: Bearish Bet on the Economy?

If our new government is commited to stopping global warming, they will have to stop all long distance trucking and force companies to use railroads. Railroads are at least three times more efficient than trucks.

Exxon Mobil: Further into Oil Sands

XOM is probably using their small footprint method with a couple of dozen wells per pad.
Pumping steam into shallow wells causes more damage to the tubing than damage to the environment. I would bet that XOM has/is developing a better method to extract the tar. I would suggest using CO2, it is a great solvent. In the 70's, I worked on research for New Mexico's tar sands, using microbes to convert the tar into pumpable crude.
If it wasn't profitable, safe and environmentally-neutral, XOM wouldn't be there. Remember Colorado shale in the 80's

Oil: Supply and Demand? Hardly!

Gas stations have never made money selling gasoline. American refineries have lost money this quarter. We drivers waste 25-40% of the gasoline we buy. The price at the gas pump needs to go up so we can learn to use less gasoline and maybe help to stop our reliance on foreign oil.


On Nov 01 09:37 AM The Greatest Rip Off of our Time wrote:

> Crude inventories are rising, gas inventories are rising, so why
> does the price at the pump keep going up?
> Every American need’s to call, write, fax and email their representative
> ASAP and ask these same questions! Where will the world be when the
> oil industry has all the money? The current world depression will
> not heal as long as fuel cost continues to escalate. The cost of
> fuel is the corner stone of any recovery because it affects every
> aspect of the world’s economy. It is so simple, just get off oil
> and start keeping our $25 Billion a month that we spend on foreign
> oil here at home to rebuild our economy. Our government has way too
> much oil money in it and Congress needs term limits. Where is the
> investigation into the oil and gas industry?

Why Exxon Should Significantly Increase its Dividend

In the early 80's, Exxon, instead of buying back shares, was hiring hundreds of people per month and investing in every alternative energy they could. All of a sudden, the bottom fell out of crude prices. 300,000 people within 100 miles of my house lost their jobs. My house was worth 10% of what I owed. My interest rate was 15.5%. What if, (since 2000) the oil business had followed the banks in investing in risky ventures? It took Exxon 20 years to recuperate. I'm glad I kept all of my 81-85 stock.


On Oct 09 10:07 AM bindlepete wrote:

> Is Exxon playing a game of low dividend =low stock price = more shares
> bought into their treasury? Is this manipulation? Is this good business
> and if so for whom? Management and their personal holdings until
> they decide to bump it and get out?

How Much Natural Gas Remains in the USA?

If you want to make some hydraulic frac fluid for Halloween, go to a drug store. In the the diet or food additive areas, buy a product that is mostly hydroxyethylcellulose. Put about 3-5% by weight water in a Waring Blender and "blend" for several minutes. Let it sit overnight. Turn the blender on slow and add boric acid (also found at the drug store) until it crosslinks.
If you pour 40% of this fluid out of a cup and then turn the cup back up, the fluid will flow back into the cup. It's good for ghostbusters slime and fake snot too.