Beholden to the System

Tribalism aside, it’s just the nature of the entire structure. I see it every day on a smaller scale where I work. I’ve heard it described as “too big to get out of our own way” Smaller entities can address problems and correct course to avert disaster. Bigger entities are too bogged down with bureaucracy, red tape, and in general, too many hands in the pot. I just hope nobody has to freeze to death because of the impending situation.

 

Knowing this administration, I'm pretty confident the CEO won't get a response as that letter probably went in the round file. Even if he did read it, I'm not at all confident he can comprehend it anyway.

 

More good news.


U.S. only has just days of diesel left before supply runs out

 

I first heard of this from the most hated man in media (name rhymes with schmucker schmarlson) and knew half the country would either ignore it or not believe it because of the source. Good to see Newsweek cover it anyway. We’re in for a bumpy ride

 

I think we all know that the President has already did enough damage to the petro chemical industry all by his lonesome via EO's.

Do keep in mind that everything we consume, wear or use, came by diesel powered truck at some point and the insane increases in diesel fuel directly contribute to the rising inflation. Last time I checked, railroad engines were diesel powered too. Maybe not so much in the New England corridor but everywhere else.

Guess I need to put spot lights and ADT on my 500 gallon bulk tank. It's already locked but one never knows do they?

This is going to be a long cold winter for a lot of people not just in Europe, but here as well, I suspect.

 

If there was ever a plan to nationalize every industry, it would probably start with the deliberate destruction of the current privately controlled industries.
In that kind of maelstrom even self-proclaimed free market capitalists will practically be begging for a strongman to come in and restore order

 

Freight and passenger locomotives run on diesel. In the big cities and places between (i95 corridor) passenger runs on electric.

Remember the end of the world that was supposed to happen if class 1 raroads (BN, CSX, etc) shut down due to strike for 6 HOURS? Imagine if the whole of railroading slows down for lack of diesel?

Sca

 

The problem imnsho is no new refineries built in the last 50 years and old ones shutting down. The fires and other breakdowns have not helped the situation at all.
Next is when they shut down for maintenance we have no extra capacity.. So one /two shut down and it makes the whole market spike.
The next problem is selling our domestic production on the global market instead of taking care of the homebase first.
I'm not knocking capitalism, but there needs to be a control mechanism in place to sell first domestically and excess than sold to highest bidder on the global stage.
Which kinds of goes against the whole capitalism thing by putting controls in place. But why the heck should we suffer and let these companies make major profits?
I personally am for windfall taxes on these companies and put that money back into the energy sector to subsidize our fuel costs.
Fracking was supposed to stop all this but in reality nothing changed. We were the top oil producer in 2021 yet we are running out of diesel?
come on! meanwhile exxon makes a record profit for their 3rd quarter and both political parties are guilty.
Please think logically here, we didn't see our energy costs come down because of a person being in office, it was because the world shut down.

 

You brought up some very good points, albeit some will find them hard to swallow. I can agree with a lot of what you said, and I'd love to elaborate on a few things you touched on, but I'd rather not get too far down the rabbit hole.

 

In the Pines, I agree you have some good/valid points but also being logical, you have to think/know some of the EO's and policy's put in place (some on the first day) are compounding the problem.

 

The Keystone pipeline may not be involved in diesel production. However someone has millions tied up just sitting there. I would be reluctant, in this political climate, to build new refineries or start extensive new drilling, wondering when a stroke of the pen would stop everything.

 

I don't like either the last admin or the current one but the bottom line is we are the top producer of petroleum (in top 3 at the least for this year) and we are suffering.
Is it policies? Exports? the cost of doing business? it really isn't just one thing.
I don't believe any EO's have made anything worst than it already was. Cancelling the pipeline doesn't matter, that was going to the world market anyway.
the speculators and short sellers manipulate the market too much.
Stopping new permits doesn't matter, plus there are over 7k unused permits right now! You can't put the blame on the current admin all the way.
we have wells shut down right now that can produce. It's in the oil companies interests to not put more oil on the market when they can make record profits right now. Greed is more the driver than policies right now because we are going to pay one way or another.

 

You have missed my point completely. I'm done.

 

No I didn't you just want to push blame on the current admin.

 

I agree, this is above the mere level of politics. Well involved with, but more of a global issue.

 

Very well said Pines . I posted this a bit ago but I’ll say it here again as just an example to your post .
Family member is an electrician for a oil company in Wyoming. He works on a pipeline and covers 3 states . He has told me when the price bet barrel on the market drops( I assume to some benchmark) his company will just shut down the pipeline . No need to make a small profit , they wait until price goes up and start it back up . Price manipulation for sure and this has been going on for quite some time no matter who’s in the Oval Office .

 

1-15-2023 is meat day for me. Steer goes into the meat locker to be killed, butchered, packaged and frozen. End of January I can pick it up.

 

Record profits is a term used to make people mad at whatever industry is being talked about and it in $ amount. But profit as a percentage of what is outlayed, is a whole different thing. Record profits for US oil companies last year, according to Google, was 4.7% last year - which is lower than any company I've worked for that stayed in business - 2 out of 3 companies that I worked for that folded technically "made money", but not enough of a percentage to stay in business. Those were private businesses, not beholding to shareholders.

Sure, profits are up this year, for various reasons. Also, leases are great to have - but that is not necessarily on land that is conducive for oil production and would cost a billions to build the infrastructure for an oil field (assuming there is oil to be had). Then you have years and years to fight the EPA and other environmental interests, and that can squash the desire to develop (even Wally World will only go thru so much of this type of stuff before they decide a town isn't worth building in - ask me how I know).

Not saying the oil companies don't take advantage while they can, such as now, but hopefully those windfalls will eventually be invested in more capacity and/or production in the future.

 

Yeah I certainly wouldn't call low to mid single digit level profits "windfall"... I doubt any of us would start a new company if we would only make 10%...and that's over double them!

 

If not mistaken our last round of family raised beef was around $3.30lb put in the freezer. Curious how comparable it is where your at. If you care to divulge