Report: $5 Gas Coming Soon

[TurboDan]

So glad we haven't built a refinery in this country since 1976. 

~

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/10/05/4-gas-get-used-to-it/?hpt=hp_t3

FORTUNE -- President Obama may have a lot more to worry about than bombing the debate this week. Traders are starting to get particularly bullish over gasoline prices ? and that is bad news for the average driver, who may also be looking to vent his spleen at the voting booth.

Reports of gas shortages along the high-demand west and east coasts may be fleeting ? although deeply concerning ? but they highlight a problem that's expected to persist in the U.S.: our refineries are getting old. Given that a new refinery has not been built since 1976, commodities desks on Wall Street are bracing for more refinery outages and fires just as the nation needs to gear up for the busy winter heating season.

MORE: Fact check: Obama isn't killing small banks

What does that mean? Probably more weeks where we'll see U.S. crude oil inventories hovering above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year, yet gasoline inventories tunneling into the lower half of their average range, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday.

Translated in dollars and cents, retail gas prices likely won't be moving off the $4 needle anytime soon. In fact, some gasoline buyers think this may even usher in a run to $5 a gallon (especially out west where gas stations are shutting down because they cannot buy gas at price levels low enough to turn a profit).

More at the link...

[sportyaccordy]

OBAMA!!!!!!

[cawimmer430]

Noooooo! How am I supposed to drive my Ford F-450 Super Duty 100 miles to work and back every week!? This is bullshit!!! 

[MexicoCityM3]

So glad we haven't built a refinery in this country since 1976. 

You've been busy building the Googles, Microsofts and Apples of the world.
The oil refining business is an old business. Why the obsession?

[shp4man]

I posted in the chat thread about this. It's the real deal. $5 a gallon here already. It's gone up 50 cents in the last two days, and some stations are changing the price more than once a day.
I smell an Enron style conspiracy.

[TBR]

Yay for randomly and unnecessarily filling up a couple of days ago.

Also, what's the reason no refineries have been built? Asking because I don't know.

[AutobahnSHO]

cuz the current ones work?
cuz new ones cost lots and lots of ca$h?

[Colonel Cadillac]

Doesn't the US export refined gasoline? I'm not sure the number of refineries is the issue.

[TurboDan]

You've been busy building the Googles, Microsofts and Apples of the world.
The oil refining business is an old business. Why the obsession?

Because nobody can afford to drive to their jobs at Google, Microsoft or Apple anymore. 

[MexicoCityM3]

Doesn't the US export refined gasoline? I'm not sure the number of refineries is the issue.

Yes, I know we import a lot from you.

[SVT666]

So do we.  The reason we don't build any new refineries is because it's more profitable for the oil companies to export raw oil to the US then it is for them to refine the oil here and sell the by products...at least that's what the oil companies say.  Personally, I don't buy it.  I think the reason is that most of the oil companies up here are owned by Americans and they just want to ship the oil to their own refineries in the US.

[TurboDan]

Yes, I know we import a lot from you.

What's the deal with PEMEX in Mexico? Does the government mandate they can be the only fuel retailer, or are there others around that I just haven't seen in my trips there. Driving-wise, I've only driven on the east coast, from maybe Playa del Carmen down to Belize and back.

[MexicoCityM3]

What's the deal with PEMEX in Mexico? Does the government mandate they can be the only fuel retailer, or are there others around that I just haven't seen in my trips there. Driving-wise, I've only driven on the east coast, from maybe Playa del Carmen down to Belize and back.

Yeah, total constitutionally mandated monopoly. A nationalistic, anachronistic vestige from 1938.

This might change somewhat soon, the new president campaigned on an energy reform platform.

[MexicoCityM3]

What's the deal with PEMEX in Mexico? Does the government mandate they can be the only fuel retailer, or are there others around that I just haven't seen in my trips there. Driving-wise, I've only driven on the east coast, from maybe Playa del Carmen down to Belize and back.

BTW, how did you find the roads there? Pretty flat boring area for driving. We have a lot great mountain roads near here.

[TurboDan]

BTW, how did you find the roads there? Pretty flat boring area for driving. We have a lot great mountain roads near here.

Yeah, for the most part, very boring. Similar to the roads in coastal areas of the U.S. where I've lived (New Jersey Shore, Florida) where everything is flat.

It was a nice drive, though. Very little traffic on the highway and occasionally there would be an interesting site. We had a destination (I wanted to spend a day in Belize), so we didn't really stop in many places along the way except to eat, but I'm sure there were some beautiful locations had we done so. I'd like to go back to that area and explore it a little deeper beyond the touristy stuff.

[Speed_Racer]

I filled up the Trooper today, just in case. Gas jumped 10 cents last night. I had less than a 1/4 tank left which lasts me a week or two, but by then it may jump even higher.