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View Full Version : The Arrogance of Big Oil



Essex502
06-24-2004, 07:22 AM
Gasoline Prices 'A Bargain' -ChevronTexaco CEO
By Chris Baltimore
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. gasoline pump prices near $2 per gallon are "really quite a bargain" when compared to historical levels, the chief executive of the No. 2 U.S. oil company said on Wednesday.
“The current average pump price "doesn't look too bad," compared to 1981, when the average inflation-adjusted prices averaged $2.79 per gallon”, said David O'Reilly, chairman and chief executive of ChevronTexaco Corp.
"By historical standards, today's energy prices are really quite a bargain," O'Reilly said in a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The average retail U.S. gasoline price has fallen about 13 cents to $1.937 a gallon since hitting a record $2.064 per gallon in late May, according to the U.S. Energy Department.
U.S. consumers need to get used to higher prices because of soaring global demand, O'Reilly said.
"We're emerging from a period of cheap oil and even cheaper natural gas," he said. "That model doesn't exist anymore."
Rising gasoline prices helped propel ChevronTexaco's first quarter net profits sharply higher to $2.56 billion, compared to $1.92 billion one year earlier. Earnings from ChevronTexaco's refining and marketing arm doubled to $640 million in the first quarter.
The industry's surging profits and high gasoline prices recently prompted Democratic attorneys general in eight states to launch an investigation into whether big oil companies are illegally pushing up prices.
O'Reilly also said the U.S. Congress should loosen environmental standards that have discouraged building new refineries and allow more oil and natural gas drilling in places like Alaska, the Rocky Mountains and the Outer Continental Shelf.
"I would suggest that now is the time to play ball," O'Reilly said. "In the United States, that means allowing access."
Does this a-hole sound arrogant or what?

little rowe boat
06-24-2004, 07:40 AM
That arrogant piece of sh!t,probably doesn't have to spend a cent for fuel.

Dave C
06-24-2004, 07:49 AM
I am big proponent of the free market but that is really really BAD. some things are just better left unsaid.
I disagree with his analogy of 1981 because there were different economic effects at that time that were driving the price up. Oil was much more than $40 (adjusted) and rampant inflation had driven the price up.
We dont have an inflation problem right now. Oil is less than it was in 1981 (adjusted)
Not only are they making money on refining but also on production. They should make their money and be happy and say, thank you.

Fiat48
06-24-2004, 07:54 AM
They think are soooo clever! Last year they hit us with $2.00 a gallon. We bitched but paid it.
This year they jumped it right over the $2.00..quick and sudden. And they have held it there. Now it's near $2.00 and they are preaching THAT price is a bargain!
Sad truth is we will pay whatever they say. Nobody is going to do without. People...we are in training.
:mad:

78Eliminator
06-24-2004, 07:56 AM
Originally posted by Fiat48
They think are soooo clever! Last year they hit us with $2.00 a gallon. We bitched but paid it.
This year they jumped it right over the $2.00..quick and sudden. And they have held it there. Now it's near $2.00 and they are preaching THAT price is a bargain!
Sad truth is we will pay whatever they say. Nobody is going to do without. People...we are in training.
:mad:
Makes you kind of want to build an alternative fuel car. Then I think you won't even have to pay DMV registration......

AgentX85239
06-24-2004, 08:49 AM
I posted something like this on another thread a while ago, but here's an idea:
http://www.dancingrabbit.org/biodiesel/vegetable_oil_fuel.html