Gas Prices

[my5cents]

So therefore; Why doesn't the government get involved and control the costs of phone, internet, and electricity?

Ooopps, yes they do control electric prices somewhat, how about the cost of data packages that so many depend upon these days?

There are alternative suppliers for cable, internet, data, phone, VOIP, etc.

If the government does all the price fixing for gas, what do they care about refinery shutdowns, transportation/delivery issues, oil fields running dry, production costs.......?????

The portion of the discussion regarding the government regulating the price of gas pointed out that gasoline is an essential commodity, that is ingrained in our entire society. Phone, internet, cable, are not.

[ferri]

[Urban Cowboy]

At least in their case, the taxes they take from us at the pumps, do in some form make it back to us.

They're effectively taking the taxes from the oil companies, not us. Taxes on fuel don't cost us a penny... see my recent examples for an explanation of why this is.

To the rest of your point... why should gas be priced differently at every station? I'd expect it to be priced exactly the same because it's pretty much exactly the same product at every station. On top of that, the buying experience is pretty much the same at every station... it's not like one has a significantly nicer atmosphere or better/worse customer service than any of the others, especially since most folks do self service and pay at the pump.

I just don't understand why gas wouldn't be priced the same (or extremely close) everywhere within a similar geographic region, unless it's a situation like Costco who is trying to attract and retain members for their warehouses.

I don't dispute what you're saying for the most part, but then we shouldn't be told we have choices when the arrangement is clearly an oligopoly operating as a monopoly due to collusion.

Oligopoly meaning = An oligopoly is a market structure in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of large sellers or producers. Oligopolies often result from the desire to maximize profits, leading to collusion between companies.

Seems to me that hits the nail square on the head insofar as our situation goes.

[raft-cove]

"Oil Prices Jump As OPEC+ Considers 2 Million Bpd Production Cut"

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/ ... n-Cut.html

Ooops, oil heading back to $90's, even during a recession. Unprecedented.

$2.50/L at some point in 2023. Caused by rising oil prices and domestic shortages of gasoline from refining outages.

Didn't the Liberals promise that EVs would REDUCE demand for fossil fuels?

[rookie314]

"Oil Prices Jump As OPEC+ Considers 2 Million Bpd Production Cut"

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/ ... n-Cut.html

Ooops, oil heading back to $90's, even during a recession. Unprecedented.

$2.50/L at some point in 2023. Caused by rising oil prices and domestic shortages of gasoline from refining outages.

Didn't the Liberals promise that EVs would REDUCE demand for fossil fuels?

My boss is off the grid. Full solar. Drives a 2012 Tesla S. Uses no gas. So the idea that EV's will reduce the demand is valid.
My wife went to Calgary and back with a friend of hers who has a Mach-E Mustang. They "refueled" in Golden each way. Total cost. 21.00 bucks. In Calgary they plugged into the hotel electrical in the parking lot. Took longer to charge but it was free.

[raft-cove]

"Oil Prices Jump As OPEC+ Considers 2 Million Bpd Production Cut"

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/ ... n-Cut.html

Ooops, oil heading back to $90's, even during a recession. Unprecedented.

$2.50/L at some point in 2023. Caused by rising oil prices and domestic shortages of gasoline from refining outages.

Didn't the Liberals promise that EVs would REDUCE demand for fossil fuels?

My boss is off the grid. Full solar. Drives a 2012 Tesla S. Uses no gas. So the idea that EV's will reduce the demand is valid.
My wife went to Calgary and back with a friend of hers who has a Mach-E Mustang. They "refueled" in Golden each way. Total cost. 21.00 bucks. In Calgary they plugged into the hotel electrical in the parking lot. Took longer to charge but it was free.

Commendable.

Unfortunately not a realistic option for most middle class Canadians.

Even if demand for gasoline wanes over the next two decades, there will be less oil production available to satiate global demand.

BC wonderful for hydro electric power generation but look east and you'll see they need natural gas fired power as baseline production if they are not developing nuclear.

[raft-cove]

Ooooops, higher oil prices now leading to higher gasoline prices...

Castanet has the story!

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#388901

For gasoline gurus with all the answers:
"The impact of the production cut on oil prices — and thus the price of gasoline made from crude — will be limited somewhat because OPEC Plus members already can’t meet their quotas."

You mean oil is required to make gasoline?? Brilliant.

Even the media gets it. And they are students of Liberal Arts.

[dreamon]

For those of you that don't have spark plugs, here is an explanation why your fuel has become consistently more expensive than us more refined drivers.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/di ... 022-10-14/

LONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Global shortages of middle distillates such as diesel, gas oil and heating oil are intensifying rather than easing – making it more likely a relatively severe slowdown in the business cycle will be necessary to rebalance the market:

U.S. inventories of distillate fuel oil depleted to 106 million barrels on Oct. 7, the lowest seasonal level since the government began collecting weekly data in 1982.
EU distillate inventories were just 360 million barrels at the end of September, the lowest seasonal level since 2004.
Singapore mid-distillate inventories have fallen to just 8 million barrels, the lowest seasonal level since 2007.

Worth reading the entire article if interested

[bidwell2]

Doesn't answer the question why Alberta gas price has remained fairly steady at almost $0.50 per liter less than BC, or why the price started sliding back right after the Thanksgiving long weekend (coincidentally the last big road travel weekend of the year). This has been going on for many many years, and to blame it is not due solely to supply/demand.

[Glacier]

Doesn't answer the question why Alberta gas price has remained fairly steady at almost $0.50 per liter less than BC, or why the price started sliding back right after the Thanksgiving long weekend (coincidentally the last big road travel weekend of the year). This has been going on for many many years, and to blame it is not due solely to supply/demand.

Diesel prices have gone up 30 cents in the past couple of weeks, and continue to rise. I drive a diesel car.

[dreamon]

Doesn't answer the question why Alberta gas price has remained fairly steady at almost $0.50 per liter less than BC, or why the price started sliding back right after the Thanksgiving long weekend (coincidentally the last big road travel weekend of the year). This has been going on for many many years, and to blame it is not due solely to supply/demand.

Correct, it didn't answer that and wasn't intended to.
Excluding the two GVA's BC's gas tax in $0.145 per litre more than AB's $0.00
https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-res ... nada/18885

Oil extraction, refining and distribution is a business in our country. As such the shareholders have an expectation of a profit.
The profit amount will be determined by the difference between the income and the expenses.
When demand for your product is in a peak period, it only makes sense to charge more for it.

For people who want to offset or lover their fuel bill, drive less, turn the heat down, own shares in energy companies that pay you dividend.
If that doesn't work out, here is a list of countries that have state owned old companies and fuel distribution if that is more one's cup of tea:

Country Name Fortune Global 500 Rank 2019 Revenues
China Sinopec Group 2 $443B
China China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) 4 $379B
Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco 6 $330B
Russia Rosneft 76 $96B
Brazil Petrobras 120 $77B
India Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) 151 $69B
Malaysia Petronas 186 $58B
Iran National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Not listed $19B*
Venezuela Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) Not listed $23B (2018)

[mullyman]

So therefore; Why doesn't the government get involved and control the costs of phone, internet, and electricity?

Ooopps, yes they do control electric prices somewhat, how about the cost of data packages that so many depend upon these days?

There are alternative suppliers for cable, internet, data, phone, VOIP, etc.

If the government does all the price fixing for gas, what do they care about refinery shutdowns, transportation/delivery issues, oil fields running dry, production costs.......?????

The portion of the discussion regarding the government regulating the price of gas pointed out that gasoline is an essential commodity, that is ingrained in our entire society. Phone, internet, cable, are not.

tell that to a millennial...

[1932ford]

It's to bad we can't boycott the first company that raises their prices!!

[lesliepaul]

It's to bad we can't boycott the first company that raises their prices!!

You could, but apathy reigns supreme in this country..........and most companies that gouge at will know this. It would be a piece of cake bringing ANY of the brands to their knees..........if it's Petro-Can, you boycott ALL of them in the area.......if nothing changes after a day..........add Shell or Esso to the list. There is no inconvenience to 99% of the drivers because gas is STILL available down the street.

...........in Kelowna you can cut the apathy with a knife and it would be the LAST place in Canada where the idiots would give a about anything.

[Ken7]

Am I missing something as of this week. Why would the price of fuel be hiked up once again??