View Full Version : How do you punish Big Oil?
GR02XR
06-25-2008, 07:08 PM
By letting Mobil off the hook for $2 billion.
To date, they have not paid a cent of that $5 billion (cut in half by the courts to $2.5 billion) they were ordered to pay since ’89 and now they get it reduced to the equivalent of a few weeks of profit? They had been trying to get it eliminated all together so this may still not be over….and they still have a chance to get out of paying ANY punitive damages.
20cougar01
06-25-2008, 07:36 PM
i hate gas companies. all they are is greedy *****es
work_in_progress
06-25-2008, 07:59 PM
As far as I know the gas companies are not really making a profit off of this since the oil itself is what's so freeking expensive. Even refineries are at a crunch. One I work at is apparently selling off some stuff and out of budget for projects around the plant itself. And if I'm right, this all started because some douche said something one day (real exact, I know) and then oil futures went up the next.
Sick what's happeneing tho. What the heck caused that court to halve their dues?
20cougar01
06-25-2008, 08:14 PM
13Billion in profits in the 1st quarter of 08 is profit if you ask me. And they had a Gas company Exec on tv and they asked him does he make 1 million a year he said yes, 2 milion/ year- yes, 3 million/year- yes, and when they asked does he make 4 million or more a year he said I CANT REMEMBER. that is some serious bull****!
NorCalCoug
06-25-2008, 11:13 PM
He's talking about this:
Connelly: Exxon's slap on the wrist (http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattlepolitics/archives/142017.asp?from=blog_last3)
Basically, the Exxon Valdez accident that caused billions in damages and killed tons of wildlife and ruined coastal seashore in Alaska, they appealed the fine and were awarded the appeal.
skater
06-26-2008, 07:24 AM
For the record, they appealed the PUNITIVE damages. They've still paid the actual damages, which have totaled in the billions.
The bigger issue is the precedent the Supreme Court may have set by limiting the punitive damages in the way they did.
[QUOTE=work_in_progress;1489765]As far as I know the gas companies are not really making a profit off of this since the oil itself is what's so freeking expensive. QUOTE]
Wait... who do you think owns the oil?
carajo
06-26-2008, 05:29 PM
They make their money selling stuff like Mobil1 at a huge markup.
Everybody in here using the cheapest motor oil they can find? Come on, let's have a show of hands...
***** all you want, but you contribute more there than at the gas pump.
jonnycat
06-26-2008, 06:31 PM
:rofl: Punish big Oil :rofl:
Only if you can create an alternative, and resist the greed to sell it to them.
Blackcoog
06-27-2008, 01:37 PM
They make their money selling stuff like Mobil1 at a huge markup.
Everybody in here using the cheapest motor oil they can find? Come on, let's have a show of hands...
***** all you want, but you contribute more there than at the gas pump.
I use the cheapest oil I can find when I break in new motors. I've actually been fairly impressed with Walmarts supertech products.
carajo
06-27-2008, 06:26 PM
I use the cheapest oil I can find when I break in new motors. I've actually been fairly impressed with Walmarts supertech products.
And after you break them in? Or is that the only time you put oil in your car?
NorCalCoug
06-27-2008, 07:57 PM
They make their money selling stuff like Mobil1 at a huge markup.
Everybody in here using the cheapest motor oil they can find? Come on, let's have a show of hands...
***** all you want, but you contribute more there than at the gas pump.
Mobil 1 isn't even a true full synthetic- it still contains dino oil.
A full oil-change of Amsoil 0-30 100% full synthetic that will last you 20-30,000 miles costs $60, assuming you use 6 quarts to avoid spinning a bearing.
A single tank of gas that lasts me 340 miles costs me $60.
I think I'm spending a little more on gas than oil in that 20-30,000 miles.
Mobil 1 isn't even a true full synthetic- it still contains dino oil.
A full oil-change of Amsoil 0-30 100% full synthetic that will last you 20-30,000 miles costs $60, assuming you use 6 quarts to avoid spinning a bearing.
A single tank of gas that lasts me 340 miles costs me $60.
I think I'm spending a little more on gas than oil in that 20-30,000 miles.
same here.
except i spend over 100 bucks to fill up my tank.
carajo
06-28-2008, 11:32 AM
Mobil 1 isn't even a true full synthetic- it still contains dino oil.
A full oil-change of Amsoil 0-30 100% full synthetic that will last you 20-30,000 miles costs $60, assuming you use 6 quarts to avoid spinning a bearing.
A single tank of gas that lasts me 340 miles costs me $60.
I think I'm spending a little more on gas than oil in that 20-30,000 miles.
What does that matter, that it's not fully synthetic? Profit's profit to Mobil or Amsoil or Hess etc. On those 30,000 miles, if they're taking a 1% profit on gas, they're making $52. And in that 6 little quarts they sold to you, they're making probably close to that much in profit. When you're looking at volume, they have to sell a lot more gas to make that profit than oil. And most people change their oil every 5,000 miles. Even though they're not getting the hi-test oil, it's still a lot less volume for Mobil to produce the same profit.
TrackCat
06-28-2008, 12:20 PM
when a company posts PROFITS thats means they are profiing I know it's a new concept.
As far as I know the gas companies are not really making a profit off of this since the oil itself is what's so freeking expensive. Even refineries are at a crunch. One I work at is apparently selling off some stuff and out of budget for projects around the plant itself. And if I'm right, this all started because some douche said something one day (real exact, I know) and then oil futures went up the next.
Sick what's happeneing tho. What the heck caused that court to halve their dues?
What does that matter, that it's not fully synthetic? Profit's profit to Mobil or Amsoil or Hess etc. On those 30,000 miles, if they're taking a 1% profit on gas, they're making $52. And in that 6 little quarts they sold to you, they're making probably close to that much in profit. When you're looking at volume, they have to sell a lot more gas to make that profit than oil. And most people change their oil every 5,000 miles. Even though they're not getting the hi-test oil, it's still a lot less volume for Mobil to produce the same profit.
fully synthetic means there is no connection whatsoever between the stuff that comes out of the ground...
burton160w
06-29-2008, 04:14 PM
I don't know about your areas, but where I live in south Jersey it really seems like gas prices are starting to drop. For about the past two months, prices had stagnated around $3.95-$3.99
Now yesterday I saw $3.89 at my local Petro (which usually costs a lot thanks to being off the NJT) and in Willingboro it was $3.83
It's funny, because the price drops coincide with the recent news reports that people are changing their driving habits. Now call me crazy, but the Law of Demand states that as the demand for a market drops, so does the price... hmm. Even oil isn't immune to such laws.
Speculation of price is only a small part of the game. It's really how the world market plays out as a whole. What the higher prices will do is drive up the demand for alternative energy and more fuel efficient cars. You're seeing this already with the drop in sales of F150s and Hummers. The cheap prices of the 90s contributed to the rise of SUVs in the United States.
Now for the individual, it sucks at the time being. No one wants to pay this much, but just as always - the market will balance itself out. It won't go to the $1.80, but thats market equilibrium for you.
Oh and
:raises hand:
Advanced Auto Parts oil FTW!