In 2010, the major Oil Companies made quite a lot of profits, and
those on the Left have been complaining about these profits as if they
have a genuine issue. In past years, the only time the price gouging
occurred was when the Oil Companies conspired to increase gas prices at
the refinery levels by an extra 50 cents a gallon from May to September
in the summers of 2005 and 2007. These increases more than paid for
industry wide C-Store gas station retro-fits, EPA and Air Quality Pump
upgrades, refinery upgrades and rebuilding of refinery and other
industry infrastructure. In other words, rather than take it out of
profits or move the bottom line, the consumer was forced to pay for new
industry upgrades through the nose.
In the meantime, there were massive station sell-offs of Company owned Company operated (COCO) gas station units (e.g., such as British Petroleum selling off its recently or within several years acquired Corporate takeover stations from the Atlantic Richfield Co). and massive industry layoffs at the convenience store level, in which about half or less than half were temporarily re-hired. In California, the majority of COCO to Franchise station sales appears to have gone to foreign and recent Immigrants from Asia and the Middle East investors. But that is another issue at present.
The graph from the US Dept. of Energy, NYMEX showing the last 10 year pattern between prices of regular unleaded gas at the pump on average nationally and the price of a gallon of light sweet crude tells the situation IMMEDIATELY.
In that 10 1/2 year graph, at the above link, along with the graph of 30 months from the Energy Information Administration
and dates of and amounts of crude oil prices for the last 5 plus years from the New York Stock Exchange
In the meantime, there were massive station sell-offs of Company owned Company operated (COCO) gas station units (e.g., such as British Petroleum selling off its recently or within several years acquired Corporate takeover stations from the Atlantic Richfield Co). and massive industry layoffs at the convenience store level, in which about half or less than half were temporarily re-hired. In California, the majority of COCO to Franchise station sales appears to have gone to foreign and recent Immigrants from Asia and the Middle East investors. But that is another issue at present.
The graph from the US Dept. of Energy, NYMEX showing the last 10 year pattern between prices of regular unleaded gas at the pump on average nationally and the price of a gallon of light sweet crude tells the situation IMMEDIATELY.
In that 10 1/2 year graph, at the above link, along with the graph of 30 months from the Energy Information Administration
and dates of and amounts of crude oil prices for the last 5 plus years from the New York Stock Exchange
we see a pattern of corruption arise.
For over 10 years, the average industry variable between a gallon of processed light sweet crude and a gallon of gas at the pump was only 75 cents a gallon. Taxes added on top of the cost of a station's purchase price from the refinery, so only the profit variable of 8 to 24 cents per gallon are effected by the owners of the gas stations themselves. When price wars happen in times of a price gouge, such as an agreed to Big Oil industry increase of 50 cents above market variable, some price wars may show a -16 cents per gallon cost on the books, but the actual is the 75 cent per gallon variable + 34 cents per gallon price gouge mark up. And when these events do happen, they will require either a regional manager or Vice President approval, and be temporary, generally less than 2 weeks in price competition nature (most often never extending more than 4 or 5 days and to designated communities or sub-community locations to pump up traffic flow as if an "advertising" expense within the Corporate mindset.) Or so, that's how it USED to be.
For over 10 years, the average industry variable between a gallon of processed light sweet crude and a gallon of gas at the pump was only 75 cents a gallon. Taxes added on top of the cost of a station's purchase price from the refinery, so only the profit variable of 8 to 24 cents per gallon are effected by the owners of the gas stations themselves. When price wars happen in times of a price gouge, such as an agreed to Big Oil industry increase of 50 cents above market variable, some price wars may show a -16 cents per gallon cost on the books, but the actual is the 75 cent per gallon variable + 34 cents per gallon price gouge mark up. And when these events do happen, they will require either a regional manager or Vice President approval, and be temporary, generally less than 2 weeks in price competition nature (most often never extending more than 4 or 5 days and to designated communities or sub-community locations to pump up traffic flow as if an "advertising" expense within the Corporate mindset.) Or so, that's how it USED to be.
The variable between light sweet crude per gallon and
gasoline sold at the pump remained fairly constant in 2010 an industry standard
of a 75 cent variable for most of the year, and reflected the average expected industry price variable used over the last 10 years.
At 2010 year’s end, the variable of the joint industry of Big Oil at the Gas Stations or Consumer Purchase Points (CPP)'s jumped to a $1.00
variable.
In 2011, maintaining a consistent average of about a $1.00
variable, in May 2011 following the release of the forged Obama Birth
Certificate, the oil industry began price gouging the consumer.
Again, the Oil Industry only truly began price gouging the US Consumer
without residual upgrades or benefit to the Industry following the clear
and obvious Obama Long Form Forgery. In other words, they factually
know Obama isn't legit in the Presidency, and are now taking the
consumer to task to fund their greed on a gradual increasing basis.
Beginning with a $1.25 variable in May 2011,
the gap increased in profiteering for the Oil Industry to a $1.62 a gallon variable between light sweet crude prices and pump prices on average
nationally. In other words, Exxon Mobil
and the rest of the oil/gas industry gouged the consumers an extra .87 cents a
gallon on average, beating their COCO Stores gas pump EPA upgrades / renovation and refinery fund raisers of a
$1.25 a gallon variable in May – September 2005, and again at the same $1.25 a
gallon variable in May to September 2007. And again, the CPP price by these examples already has the taxes and local station markup of 8 to 24 cents a gallon factored in.
No one single oil company can do this "price fixing" or "price gouging" on their own. All prices are fixed together, and are set by those companies owning the Refineries. The refineries are own by BIG OIL.
Instead of a price war of dropping to even 25
cents lower per gallon than the next competitor down the street, the prices
remain fixed, because the base charge that is paid at the pump by the consumers comes from the refineries. Even the franchises must approximate their
prices to a profit of 8 cents to 24 cents a gallon on average for gas sales,
usually creating profit variables across the grades to increase revenue (such
as 8 cents profit on 87 grade, 10 cents profit on 89 grade, and 14 cents profit
on 91 grade, for example).
Again, that being
the case, exactly who controls the refineries in order to “set” the gasoline
prices charged at the pump? And every
couple years we get the same old tired lying that “no one controls the gas
prices conspiratorially, they just happen by market forces”. Excuse me, but the same or approximate same
price crude in all refineries cannot be all happenstance price gouging /
profiteering at the same ratio all around the country at the same time without
coordination and inter-industry collusion.
That’s a conspiracy to price fix to the circumvention of normal
competition and free-flow capitalism.
On October 19, 2011 AAA
http://fuelgaugereport.aaa.com/?redirectto=http://fuelgaugereport.opisnet.com/index.asp listed a graph showing October 1, 2010 to October 1, 2011.
You will notice that the price variable between Crude and wholesale to Franchises jumps from a 37 cent variable to a slightly more than $1.00 variable on August 1, 2011, and drops back to about 90 cents variable mid September 2011, before settling to about 84 to 86 cents on October 1, 2011. The Crude to Consumer variable begins at about 82 cents on October 1, 2010, and by mid to late September 2011, the variable spikes over $1.70 a gallon in the variable. In the AAA example, the overcharge is around 95 cents per gallon at the CPP (Consumer Purchase Points -- i.e., at the pump).
On October 19, 2011 AAA
http://fuelgaugereport.aaa.com/?redirectto=http://fuelgaugereport.opisnet.com/index.asp listed a graph showing October 1, 2010 to October 1, 2011.
You will notice that the price variable between Crude and wholesale to Franchises jumps from a 37 cent variable to a slightly more than $1.00 variable on August 1, 2011, and drops back to about 90 cents variable mid September 2011, before settling to about 84 to 86 cents on October 1, 2011. The Crude to Consumer variable begins at about 82 cents on October 1, 2010, and by mid to late September 2011, the variable spikes over $1.70 a gallon in the variable. In the AAA example, the overcharge is around 95 cents per gallon at the CPP (Consumer Purchase Points -- i.e., at the pump).
For
last year, for 2010 ExxonMobil reported profits, after paying
shareholders 22% on their stock investments, a profit of 30.5 billion
dollars. (p. 4 of pdf. link)
DutchShell report 20.474 billion dollars in profits
By
comparison, Exxon and other BIG OIL is on track, with the new price
gouging shared conspiratorially with the rest of the industry (as is
apparent in the graphs) to increase last years profit margin between
87-88% minus sales tax per gallon, or around 80% on average. In other
words, ExxonMobil is on track for a $54,000,000,000 gross profit year for 2011,
and DutchShell for a $36,000,000,000 gross profit year for 2011.
Now
if they only report in the first quarter of next year that they had no
net increase in profits compared to this year, they will have squirreled
away and mis-reported profits of almost $1 for every $1 profit
reported. But that is an if for now, and a "let's wait and see".
I hope that economists who have greater resources than I, can do a more thorough analysis, and expose the Industry wide Price Gouging at the Refinery Level that is happening right now in the Oil/Gas Industry in 2011 against the US Consumer. And as to the Price Gouging, if misreported in 2012 as less than record profits, such may warrant an IRS investigation for Corporate Tax and Corporate Income Fraud. Peace.
I hope that economists who have greater resources than I, can do a more thorough analysis, and expose the Industry wide Price Gouging at the Refinery Level that is happening right now in the Oil/Gas Industry in 2011 against the US Consumer. And as to the Price Gouging, if misreported in 2012 as less than record profits, such may warrant an IRS investigation for Corporate Tax and Corporate Income Fraud. Peace.
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