I still don't understand everyone's focus and fascination with Mid-East Oil, when we get very little of ours from there. Someone posted up a chart a few months ago- Between Canada, Mexico, South America, and domestic production, that accounted for about 70% of the oil we use. The balance comes from a mixed bad of locations over three continents. Bottom line- Mid-East oil isn't high on the list of causes or effects for current oil prices, as it relates to us.

 

polarbear : I did not see that post with the figures you post but I did just finish up a career in the oil patch and followed all activity related to my income very closely the whole time .

The last I was aware of we could survive about 3 1/2 weeks with all of our North and South American production and existing reserves .

Canada is number 17 on the list of US suppliers and 85% of all Canadian production is exported to the US .

Sooner or later some will realize that world fuel prices and OPEC's control of production and pricing in kind are not only related to our economy but the Global Market which is now going to dictate the price not the biggest consumers of this product .

The middle east can produce more product than we can use every day but are regulated to production levels relative to world needs not ours .

Throw caution to the wind and lift all quotas and open the pricing to the highest bidders for a spell and we will soon see exactly what the rest of the world is willing to pay for fuel . Which we would then have to pay as well .

And the oil company profits would sore to even greater hights .

 

Here's the numbers (*.pdf file)- it'd surprise you. In order of appearance- where the US gets it's oil:

1. Canada
2. Venezuela
3. Saudi Arabia
4. Mexico
5. Nigeria
6. Iraq
7. Algeria
8. Russia
9. Angola
10. Equador

Total Mid-Eastern imports as a percentage of total imports: 18.6%!

 

Having never been to California, and just going by what I see on TV, I assume the oil companies feel that if you live in California you must be a rich movie star, in some kind of show business, have your own TV show, build custom cars and or motorcycles, or a gang member that doesn't care what the gas prices are cause their buying it with stolen money.

 

California is an object study in the saying "be careful of what you wish for." Through a myriad of special regulations unique to California that control, among other things: the sulphur content of the fuel, the transportation of the fuel, and even the delivery of the fuel, they created a "California only" gas market. Because they're such a large market, they could do this. Because they are 100% dependent on those specially refined fuels, the oil companies can charge a fairly hefty premium...or cut them off.

 

We don't know why they're goughing us at the pumps . My guess is because they can get away with it . There's a lot of sheep out here.

Now excuse me while I make my movie about me, as a gang member who builds cars and motorcycles; while my other job is a talk show host, which I started with dirty money .

 

Gas is gas. That's why C.A.R B. (California Air Resouce Board) is one of the biggest jokes in California politics . Talk about a scam . Just about as bad as B.A.R.T.(Bay Area Rapid Transit)

 

That's the list I've seen before. We just did a big contract with a Canadian company for our oil and gas line equipment. The Canadians and Venezuelans might be our best customers outside of our domestic sales.

 

When you guys are comparing oil make sure it is a comaparion of the Type of Oil.

Sweet Crude (like Venezuela & Middle East) is used for gasoline

Heavy Crude ( Like what Canada has ) is used for Furnace oil & Diesel

 

I think a few companies like Valero are now refining heavy sour into gasoline. It costs a little more to refine, and not many companies have decided it is worth the investment. But heavy sour trades for much less than light sweet to begin with, by $7-17 a barrel.

 

I don't know how sour crude could be traded cheaper than sweet or where this trading is taking place but it costs about 35% more to process sour crude as it does with sour gas and the sulphur is quickly now becoming an additional cost by-product with less and less market for it now instead of a market commodity.

As Mil1ion has pointed out some are comparing apples to oranges and Canada's supply of light crude that creates any gasoline is very limited without Fort McMurry's Tar Sands being considered .

The energy deal referred to earlier was in relation to the Tar Sands Production and is looking at long term resources over a period of 20 years just like the North Slope Reserves .

This is not to say Canada will be punching hundreds of new wells in sweet crude reserves that do not exist to increase our production that supplies the gasoline market .

We may produce more off shoot products to supply grease or plastic or even coffee creamer as well as the thousands of other products that are processed
from heavy oil and gas bi-products .

None of these plans for the production capacities of the future will do anything to prevent North Americans from paying the same price for combustable fuel resources as the rest of the industrialized world expects to pay for it .

We are now processing sour gas that runs as much as 32% in some areas of Alberta , that's 320,000 ppm when the recommended human exposure for 8 hr is at a maximum of 10 ppm and most companies have adopted a 0 ppm work level which only adds to production costs even more .