Where to by gas

[Makavide]

I Received this in an email last night and I have not been able to check the validity of this information yet, but thought I would pass it on - and hoping someone could help verify any of it.





"Subject: Where to buy Gas

Why didn't George W. think of this? Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it. It might even be good for us!

The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor. An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS. Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis.

Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends. I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil (for the period 9/1/00 - 8/31/01):

Shell.........................205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco.........144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil..............130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway...117,740,000 barrels
Amoco......................62,231,000 barrels

If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION!

Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:

Citgo....................0 barrels
Sunoco............. ..0 barrels
Conoco............. ..0 barrels
Sinclair............... 0 barrels
BP/Phillips.......... 0 barrels
Hess...................0 barrels

All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing.

They report on a monthly basis. Keep this list in your car; share it with friends. Stop paying for terrorism.............

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do. Now, don't wimp out at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I'm sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. How would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day all 300 MI LLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next eight days!"

 

[Kyle]

 

[Sharon]

Kyle!

Mmm.... Spam

 

[Oz]

I saw this too. Seems someone has too much time to waste looking at -OLD- data PRIOR to the Sept 11 tragedy. I wish the oil companies could find the original author and ruin them with a slander lawsuit. Also, one should consider numerous mergers in the oil industry that make these numbers even more questionable. Whoever did the adding and subtracting forgot to account for -all- of the mergers.

If you ask me, buy your gas from the families who support our tri-county community - namely the Burch / Besche / Wills stations and skip the new super-station format.

 

[Ken King]

The 2002 data is out there and it looks like all the major companies get some product from the Persian Gulf region. The DOE webpage is http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/...y_level_imports/current/data/summary2002.html

 

[Heretic]

Oz

Do you mean the stations that gouged the motorists in the area for years? It was funny if you went across the Potomic River Bridge gas was over 25 cents cheaper, then Sheetz and Wawa began popping up everywhere and now the gas here and there are roughly the same price.

 

[willie]

The power of the 'true word' on the internet can be scary.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by Heretic
Oz

Do you mean the stations that gouged the motorists in the area for years? It was funny if you went across the Potomic River Bridge gas was over 25 cents cheaper, then Sheetz and Wawa began popping up everywhere and now the gas here and there are roughly the same price.

No, I mean buy from the same companies who, for years, have supported your children's athletic booster club at every high school in the county. The same companies who support the local fire and rescue organizations. The same companies who helped build this community. The same companies who donate to nearly every local charity who walks into their office and asks for something. YES - I say buy from the companies who actually have an office in Southern Maryland. The same people who live here. Look in your new Verizon phone book. You can find 2 of the 3 CEO's of the 3 local oil companies I mentioned right in there. But I can't find a Louie Sheetz in there anywhere. And, what's a WaWa?

As for price gouging, well, that's not really fair. Yes, they made a profit. But you don't hold that against the restaurants you eat in, do you? Virginia has a lower fuel tax than does Maryland. Before WaWa and Sheetz moved in, Maryland made it illegal for fuel retailers to sell below their true cost. According to the retail trade magazines I read every month, the fuel super-stations use gas as a loss-leader, and then sell you a sandwich at a wicked profit margin.

Do you ever buy a cup of coffee in a convenience store? You'd be more correct to consider that price gouging considering the cost of it, versus the selling price. But if you like coffee, you'll pay the price without a complaint. How about Starbucks?

Here's a fair question... What do you think a fuel dealer actually keeps out of the current $1.619 gas price I saw this morning?

 

[Heretic]

You really think Sheetz and Wawa take a loss of 90% of their buisness? Heck I never even go into the store just stick my credit card in fill up and leave. If gas were just something to get people in the store they would have never put in pay at the pump.

If a buisness takes a loss on a $20 fillup but makes up for it on a 75 cent cup of coffee or a $5 sandwich it must be some sort of magic.

The gas stations you mention are also the same ones that raised hell until the gas station on base could no longer sell gas cheap to the servicemen on base.

Don't you think some of those guys got together and "set" prices so they could all maximize profit? Price gouging isnt making a profit, it is different competing companies agreeing to keep their prices high, much like Kellogs, General Mills etc did with kids breakfast cerials.

 

[Heretic]

Depending on the station it seems they make between 5 and 15 cents per gallon profit on gasoline.

So this tells me before the "super stations" came to town either the local stations were making 35-50 cents per gallon or now that they are closer to Sheetz and Wawa prices they are now loosing money....since I dont think that is the case I say they were gouging (fixing prices) motorists in the area.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by Heretic
Don't you think some of those guys got together and "set" prices so they could all maximize profit?

That is price fixing, which is conspiracy. If you have evidence to that, I'd love to hear it. But to answer your question: No I do not believe that, and I have no reason to ASSume that happened. Right now, fuel prices are 8 cents lower in Virginia, and that's because they have lower taxes, and much of VA isn't subject to the EPA's Metropolitan area fuel requirements for lower emissions.

 

[Heretic]

Originally posted by Oz
Right now, fuel prices are 8 cents lower in Virginia, and that's because they have lower taxes, and much of VA isn't subject to the EPA's Metropolitan area fuel requirements for lower emissions.

There use to be a 25 cent difference just a couple years ago, and St Marys county isnt subject to the EPA metro law either.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by Heretic
Depending on the station it seems they make between 5 and 15 cents per gallon profit on gasoline.

When a dealer makes 15 cents per gallon GROSS profit, they are doing well. But you hit the low and high markup for self-service filling stations.

As long as I can remember, our local gas prices were below the national average. And they still are. Last week, the average price for self-serve nationally was $1.72. Maryland's average was $1.58, and today locally, I'm looking at $1.62. Check again on Tuesday when the numbers are published again. St. Mary's will be at or below the Maryland average (even at the superstations,) Virginia will be below the Maryland average by about 8 cents, and Maryland will be below the national average. Prices are market driven and reflective of local taxation.

If Sheetz and Wawa dropped gas prices locally by 7 or 8 cents per gallon at the most, does the community really benefit? Neither of us will go broke buying fuel for our automobiles, regardless. But, aren't you one of the ones who doesn't like seeing 24 hour neon gas stations on each corner?

 

[Heretic]

Thats not me, put up bright pink neon every where you want and it wont bother me. What I cant stand is the stoplights every 20 feet on a main artery like 235.

I think a good way to compare gas prices is with Western Maryland. Three years ago when I moved here gas was cheaper in Cumberland than it was here, now its cheaper here than it is in Cumberland.

National average prices include California, which isnt exactly fair because every thing sold there is reformulated gasoline which is about 50 cents a gallon more than regular gasoline.

If someone picks my pocket I dont care if its a penny or $100 its still picking my pocket.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by Heretic
There use to be a 25 cent difference just a couple years ago, and St Marys county isnt subject to the EPA metro law either.

If you say so, I guess it was 25 cents. I don't have data, so I won't argue with you.

However, there is a Federal Fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon nationally.

Maryland fuel tax is $0.235 cents per gallon.
Virginia's fuel tax is $0.175 center per gallon.

(According to API 1/03)

 

[Oz]

National average prices include California, which isnt exactly fair because every thing sold there is reformulated gasoline which is about 50 cents a gallon more than regular gasoline.

Yes - the gasoline that eventually ruins the fuel delivery system in your car. We have that too in the metropolitan zone.

As for California's state gas tax - 18 cents per gallon...

 

[Oz]

The original email posted in this thread ticked me off so much, it required more investigation.

Sweet Crude comes from the middle east and only from the middle east. A barrel is 92-96% usable when refined. Sweet crude is low in sulfer so it requires less refining to become a usable product.

Sour crude comes from other regions of the world. A barrel is roughly 82% usable when refined. Sour crude is high in sulfer which much be removed through a refining process that requires burning propane.

So, refining crude oil from the middle east uses less energy to produce the products we consume. Oil from the middle east contains less waste byproduct so you get more usable product from the same barrel of crude. Not only does this make sense for companies, financially, to refine crude from the middle east, but it is apparently more environmentally friendly along the way. And, it does more to preserve our natural resources.

I'm not saying we should support terrorism. But we should support helping these idiots who create email chain letters find something better to do with their time. Making uneducated appeal to people's current emotions just wastes a lot of everyone's time.