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260 comments on DrumBeat: May 10, 2008

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Leanan on May 10, 2008 - 10:43am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

That will never happen. It requires gas station owners to invest in new infrastructure, when a lot of them are hurting from the high prices worse than their customers.

Besides, checking tire pressure is best done before you start driving, not at the gas station when you may have been driving for awhile.

What do you think of the WSJ's idea that we should sell oil from the SPR?

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Robert Rapier on May 10, 2008 - 10:47am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

It requires gas station owners to invest in new infrastructure...

I think most of them already have the compressors. It's a matter of education and access.

What do you think of the WSJ's idea that we should sell oil from the SPR?

It's kind of like running without insurance. It's a great way to save money - provided I don't have an accident.

If one had some kind of knowledge that oil would definitely be lower in the future - and the guy advocating that clearly felt that way - then it would make sense. But if you think oil is going much higher, then it would be stupid. Remember, people have been calling for the SPR to be tapped since oil hit $20. Imagine the situation we would be in now - $120 oil and an empty SPR - if those calls had been heeded.

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Leanan on May 10, 2008 - 10:59am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I think most of them already have the compressors. It's a matter of education and access.

They have the compressors, but as you note, there's usually one, off in a corner, away from the pumps. Having them at the pump, as you suggest, would force stations to have more than one.

It's kind of like running without insurance. It's a great way to save money - provided I don't have an accident.

Yeah, but the non-peak oil aware won't really care about that. They just want to know if it will work. (And note they are in favor of maintaining a certain minimum level in the SPR, so we'd never be entirely without insurance.)

And we'd be able to fill up again, once oil drops below $40/barrel!

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jbunt on May 10, 2008 - 12:34pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I think that we need the SPR. Remember New Orleans after the flood. A major city without gasoline will look the same in a few days.

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greenish on May 10, 2008 - 7:13pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Remember, people have been calling for the SPR to be tapped since oil hit $20. Imagine the situation we would be in now - $120 oil and an empty SPR - if those calls had been heeded.

That's really the perfect comeback for people like us to use. Of course, the government can't use it lest it cause panic. This administration probably even has reason to think oil could soon spike, and they can't say that either.

It's the strategic reserve, not the "cheapskate" reserve anyhow.

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folsomman on May 10, 2008 - 11:58am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Maybe our fine President *knows* there will be a problem with oil supply in the near future...

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tstreet on May 10, 2008 - 3:45pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Like when we invade Iran?

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celticoil on May 10, 2008 - 11:33pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

In which case the reserve would probably be used to make fuel for military vehicles and aircraft. In the event of an attack on Iran, fuel shortages would last a lot longer then 90 days, and the US military is one of the world's largest users of oil...during WWII, people didn't drive unless they got the right permit...everyone else walked or took a bus.

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gwb on May 10, 2008 - 10:35pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

As I see it, the SPR isn't there so we can keep driving to the Dairy Queen in our SUVs -- it's there for the military, and emergency services, and health care, in the event of a national crisis. I don't think selling oil out of the SPR would make much of a difference in oil prices -- we here in the U.S. are no longer driving the bus, when it comes to global oil demand and consumption.

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Peak_a_Boo on May 10, 2008 - 10:56pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The DOE wants to do this with the SPR:

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To decrease the cost of filling the reserve and improve its efficiency, GAO recommended in previous work that DOE should include at least 10 percent heavy crude oils in the SPR. If DOE bought 100 million barrels of heavy crude oil during its expansion of the SPR it could save over $1 billion in nominal terms, assuming a price differential of $12 between the price of light crude oil and the lower price of heavy crude oil, the average differential over the last five years. Having heavy crude oil in the SPR would also make the SPR more compatible with many U.S. refineries, helping these refineries run more efficiently in the event that a supply disruption triggers use of the SPR.

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AlanfromBigEasy on May 11, 2008 - 7:13am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Iran has 20 million barrels of heavy oil in storage in tankers. I suspect that they would be willing to make a one time deal at a good price (payable in euros through Swiss bank). This would effectively fill our SPR (701.x to 721.x million barrels) and allow us to bomb them.

Best Hopes for Rational Behavior :-(

Alan

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260 comments on DrumBeat: May 10, 2008

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