Big Oil & Breaking It Down - What they don't want you to know.

Everyone talks about the big oil companies and the excessive profits they make yet why hasn’t anyone actually broken down the amount of profit made on a single 42 gallon barrel of crude oil? We’re not talking just about fuel for our vehicles because there are many more things that come out of that single barrel of oil than just fuel that you may not know about. Big Oil makes profit all the way down to the last ounce of that crude and I have yet to see anywhere in the MSM or on the internet that shows a complete and TOTAL RETAIL breakdown for EVERYTHING that gets made out of that one 42 gallon barrel. The oil companies just want to keep us in the dark to make it easier for them to justify higher fuel prices.

So here I am now asking for help from my fellow ATS community members with my first thread to bring some truth out into the public spotlight. I have done some research but I am unable to complete/find all of the information needed for a complete TOTAL of all the products listed below. For example: exactly what is in that .34gal of other products, how much does 2.10 gallons of Petroleum Coke retail out to be, and what are the total government subsidies given back to the oil companies to produce all those products out of that one 42gallon barrel of crude?

With just a few retail totals and information missing from what I have researched below we are already over $150 made from a $95 barrel of crude. I realize that some of the figures/prices are not 100% spot on exact and change daily depending upon the market but a reasonably close price will work.

Here is what I have so far now keep in mind that the total yield depends on the type of crude being processed and overall, refineries in the USA are yielding about 49% gasoline (20.5 gallons) from the mix of crudes they process.

Breakdown of products made from a 42gallon barrel of crude:

Gasoline 20.5 gal
Distillate Fuel Oil (Inc. Home Heating and Diesel Fuel) 9.83 gal
Kerosene Type Jet Fuel 4.24 gal
Residual Fuel Oil 2.10 gal
Petroleum Coke 2.10 gal
Liquefied Refinery Gases 1.89 gal
Still Gas 1.81 gal
Asphalt and Road Oil 1.13 gal
Petrochemical Feed Supplies 0.97 gal
Lubricants 0.46 gal
Kerosene 0.21 gal
Waxes 0.04 gal
Aviation Fuel 0.04 gal
Other Products 0.34 gal

* All the above adds up to 44.66 gallons of product and that’s more than the original 42 gallons because of something called refinery gain - "the processing and chemical changes decrease the density and hence increase the volume of the refined components."

RETAIL PRICES ON 8-16-2012
West Texas Intermediate (Texas light sweet) is at $95.28 a barrel.

Gasoline Average for Regular Unleaded (US) $3.71 gal
Distillate Fuel Oil (US) $3.96 gal
Kerosene Jet Fuel (US) $ 3.13 gal
Residual Fuel Oil (US) $3.93 gal
Petroleum Coke (US) –price needed
Liquefied Refinery Gases (US) $2.87
Still Gas (US) – price needed
Asphalt & Road Oil (US) – price needed
Petrochemical Feed Supplies (US) – price needed
Lubricants (Engine Oil US) $16.00 gal
Kerosene (US) $4.00 gal
Waxes (US) - price needed
Aviation Fuel (US) $6.24 gal
Other Products (US) - price & or breakdown needed


I will try to keep the above post updated as we get in new information.

here is another sum for you to do 750.000.000 barrels per week x 52 weeks x the ammount of time man has been pumping it out of the ground at times the figure can reach 900 million barrels per week ?.
science states that it takes 250-300 tonns of organic material to make one gallon of oil are we bleeding something dry as some ancient religions state that the earth is a living entity ? .
From the paint on the walls of your home/ office to the clothes on your back to the things we eat of it has even worked its way into your body o yes the origins of oil

reply to post by meticulous


A more accurate portrayal of what the oil companies make from a barrel would need to be based off of profits from each product minus the costs of production, shipping, storage, and distributors and stuff like that. Also here in California anyway, about $.70 of a gallon of gas is taxes.

Figuring all that out might be a pain in the butt, not to mention time consuming. Good thread though, must have taken a while to find all that.

IMHOP, it did not cost a lot of time, in my case 0.002 seconds.

Your figures are based on 1995 average yields for U.S. refineries. They are VERY stale.

I copied this sentence of yours into a Google Search window.:
" amount of profit made on a single 42 gallon barrel of crude oil ".

The first hit contains your typed out list, it's your opening post at ATS in this forum.
The rest of the first ten hits on the first Google page give the answers to your query.
And most of your typed out and copied/pasted text.

It is good manners in science and on internet forums, to reference your work at the bottom of your thesis, or your posts, like this :

REFERENCES :

Here's a list of your post and those first nine answers :


1. Big Oil & Breaking It Down - What they don't want you to know., page 1
2 hours ago – ... excessive profits they make yet why hasn't anyone actually broken down the amount of profit made on a single 42 gallon barrel of crude oil?

2. WHAT A BARREL OF CRUDE OIL MAKES
One barrel contains 42 gallons of crude oil. The total volume of products made is 2.2 gallons greater than the original 42 gallons of crude oil. This represents ...

3. How much gasoline can be made from one barrel of crude oil
wiki.answers.com › ... › Categories › Science › Energy › Fossil Fuels
How much gasoline can be made from one barrel of crude oil? In: Fossil Fuels, Oil and Petroleum [Edit categories]. Answer: 1 barrel of crude oil = 42 US gallons ...

4. How many gallons of Diesel fuel are made from a barrel of crude oil
wiki.answers.com › ... › Categories › Science › Energy › Fossil Fuels
One barrel contains 42 gallons of crude oil. The total volume of products made is 2.2 gallons greater than the original 42 gallons of crude oil. This represents ...

5. Refinery Oil Prices - Cost To Refine Oil Into Gasoline | What It Costs
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (D.O.E), the refining of crude oil ... refined from crude oil, U.S. oil refiners made an average profit of 22.8 cents. ... Nevertheless, one financial tracking institution reported that the profit-margins have now ... an oil company is paying $100 for a barrel (42 gallons) of basic crude oil.

6. Barrel (unit) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A barrel is one of several units of volume, with dry barrels, fluid barrels (UK beer barrel, U.S. ... Also, beer kegs are made in standardised volumes. ... Oil barrel, (abbreviation bbl): a legacy volume measure of 42 US gallons ... The standard oil barrel of 42 US gallons is used in the United States as a measure of crude oil and ...

7. Oil Industry Statistics from Gibson Consulting - gasoline
That amounts to 9.1 x 42 = 382,000,000 gallons per day x 7 = 2,675,000,000 (2.7 billion) ... Q: How many (US) gallons of 87 octane gasoline can be made from one barrel of crude oil? ... A: Retailer (gas station) profit is about 1 to 5 cents a gallon. ... A: The 42-gallon barrel of crude oil makes about 19½ gallons of gasoline, ...

8. Fat Knowledge: How Many Gallons of Gasoline in a Barrel of Oil?.
8 Feb 2007 – There are 42 gallons of oil in an oil barrel, so I first thought that there would then ... of products made is 2.6 gallons greater than the original 42 gallons of crude oil. ... the amount of energy in a gallon of gasoline with that of a barrel of oil. ... I've heard one of the major limitations to percentage conversion into ...

9. Glossary - Texas Oil and Mineral, Inc.
One barrel contains 42 gallons of crude oil. The total volume of products made is 2.2 gallons greater than the original 42 gallons of crude oil. This represents ...

10. What Is a Netback?.
The term netback refers to the gross profit per barrel of oil produced by an oil and gas ... One barrel of oil consists of about 42 gallons (158.98 liters) of crude oil, ... of gasoline — the exact amount of gasoline that can be refined from crude oil ...

I advice to read the last ref with a open mind, and to read the comment of ""gsm cdma • 4 months ago •"" in ref 5, ( business.whatitcosts.com...-512894217 ), to balance that last ref out.

Ref 10 text to preserve for ATS-eternity :

The term netback refers to the gross profit per barrel of oil produced by an oil and gas company. A company calculates a netback by subtracting all of the costs of delivering a barrel of oil to the marketplace from all of the revenues produced from the sale of oil or hydrocarbon byproducts. Oil and gas companies use the netback value to compare costs against competitors and to plan strategically for exploration and production of products. Costs included in the netback calculation may include finding and extraction costs, refining and production costs, and distribution costs. Other costs involved with delivery of oil to the market include taxes, royalties, and marketing costs.

For example, Company ABC incurs a total cost of $135 US Dollars (USD) to produce and deliver the end products of one barrel of oil. If the company sells those products for a total of $160 USD, the netback is $25 USD. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), almost 75 percent of the total costs of hydrocarbon end products relates to the costs of exploration and extraction. Refining costs account for an additional 10 percent of costs, with marketing efforts and transportation expenses making up about five percent of the total.

Oil exploration involves highly sophisticated technology and personnel. Widely considered a high-risk venture, hydrocarbon exploration has become an extremely expensive operation with the possibility of little or no return. Typical onshore oil wells cost approximately $100,000 USD, but offshore drilling increases the costs considerably. Shallow offshore wells may cost as much as $30 million USD, and deep offshore wells may cost a company as much as $100 million USD or more.

Production costs associated with lifting the oil to the surface depend on a myriad of factors. Accessibility, depth of the well, and pressure in the reservoir are among the variables involved. These characteristics, which vary considerably with geographic location, determine the break-even price levels for oil and determine the overall costs included in the netback. A company can extract a barrel of oil in Kuwait for about $17 USD, while in the Canadian oil sands, the same barrel of oil costs $33 USD to lift. The EIA indicated that the offshore lifting cost per barrel of crude oil in the United States was, on average, $63.71 USD in 2008.

Refined hydrocarbon products include gasoline, diesel, home heating oil, and kerosene. One barrel of oil consists of about 42 gallons (158.98 liters) of crude oil, which is usually converted to anywhere between 19.74 to 27.72 gallons (74.72 to 104.93 liters) of gasoline — the exact amount of gasoline that can be refined from crude oil depends on the type of crude oil and the refining process. If a refiner pays $90 USD for a barrel of oil, it pays $4.55 USD per gallon (3.78 liters) of gasoline, assuming the crude oil only yields 19.75 gallons (74.72 liters) of gasoline. A gasoline pump price of $5.99 USD per gallon includes refining costs, taxes and distribution costs, totalling about 92 cents. The netback for the company is about 52 cents per gallon, with the average profit per gallon in the United States running between 30 and 60 cents per gallon.

Ref 5 comment text to preserve for ATS-eternity :

Q.: When Saudi oil costs 2$ per barrel at the wellhead why are oil companies paying $100 a barrel?

A.: gsm cdma • 4 months ago •

Saudi Arabia has hedged its cost to United States for LifeLong, means, the cost price of Saudi to pump and make a barrel of crude, say $2 per barrel, it sells to United States for $2/Barrel. Saudi does not cost $100 to United States in an exclusive Oil Contract while forming Aramco (American Oil Company). But when Saudi Sells to other countries, it will be at rate at stock market price of Crude, the same situation is with New abducted Libya with NTC being dishonest to country by making pre-liberal libya having 35% of Libya Oil to only exclusive France, and hence, was the first Country who recognized NTC as an official government overthrowing a dictator who has ruled for 41 years.

Meanwhile, america try to rely on Oil of Arab countries to keep the American Oil wells intact and safe heaven for future generation. It is like keeping one owns wife virgin all lifelong and have the lay on girl's next door.

The price of refinery is solely an interim american refinery compiles based on US. US buys at 4 cents/gallon and if you are at least normal average school boy going mathematics at age of 8-10, you pretty much sure why the cost of selling gasoline at pumps are so astounding....

I have starred your OP because it should get a LOT of attention here at ATS.
Do not get upset about me correcting your online behavior, see it as a steep learning curve into mutual respect.

Big Oil.

What they really don't want you to know is the fact that US scientists a few years ago checked upon Russian literature about oil (hydrocarbons) created at high presure and temperature in a pressure-vessel filled with magma-like constituents and found it to be reliable science.

Oil is for the most part replenished from strata under the earth' crust, sipping through cracks in the still solid rock formations and ending up in the existing lower oil fields.

And of course it gets filled with hydrocarbons that can be carbon-dated, when pumped up from those low depths. While it is sipping in those fields from underneath them, it soaks up all those dead organisms' cells already present in these lower strata.
That's why all these 19th century scientists thought it to be clear as hell that oil is made from dead organisms under mild pressure.

IT IS NOT.

It is replenished from far underneath those fields, originating from the melted magma chambers which are formed under huge pressures and temperatures and which produce hydrocarbons in the top of these chambers, but at a slower pace than the Seven Sisters would want that to happen, nowadays.

So, one solution is to make extra artificial cracks? Induct huge earthquakes?
They have trillions (to) spend on such research....

Or, consume less oil for transportation, and use the surplus for medicines, plastics etc.......The green solutions.
But they are far more difficult to block with artificial economicic constraints to the public. And introduce their usual profit scams.

Just keep that same public believing in the fading oil fairytale is much cheaper and brings much more profit for the coming decennia.

You have been, and always will be conned, until you decide to choose for real politicians with real power and real durable responsibility to their voters.
And then the world will be an honest and pleasant place to live in, with prosperity for every single soul.



You'd better try to calculate what the global citizens have to spend per capita per year, when we ever manage to set all these profit creators aside. And real prices are set by means of interactive responsibility.

Its not that difficult at all.
You know the amount of humans on earth.
You know the yearly amount of income and spending of nearly all countries on earth.
You should meticulously check their SPENDINGS lists...and see what YOU would cut in those.

There are websites devoted to all these incomes and spendings.
I believe the CIA publishes it yearly, a list for any country on earth.

PS : check with Google Earth in night fashion, the HUGE oil fields in the northwest of Russia and Siberia.
You will see the huge fackling-off of surplus gas created by the very-deep-well pumping of them.
Compare that huge area of extreme deep wells to the lights of the low-wells oil fields in the Middle East and Arabia. Its about 10 times bigger an area.
And they get gas for nothing as a by-product, they now sell for years already to Western Europe and further east too.

The Russians are much further with this technique than the West.
Guess why they are not interested anymore in artificial cold-wars?
The greed is introduced in their circles.
And hit the bullseye.

reply to post by meticulous


Make sure you get the salary of every employee working at whatever company you are trying to go after here also....

Payroll, equipment.....All that stuff is a factor in trying to figure total profit......

Make sure you calculate in testing, EPA, all companies involved on site that require payment also.....

Not saying big oil doesn't profit TONS of money each year, but to be accurate, you will need to dig much deeper than just what they charge for the oil.....

Good luck on that front.........I can appreciate your thoughts here, but I don't think you will be able to accurately measure the total profit from any individual company.....

I know the OP is about how much they charge per barrel of oil, but this is all calculated into that pricing also......

Sorry I can't offer too much insight on how this can be done, but just throwing some more thoughts out there!!

Good luck!!

Originally posted by watchitburn
reply to post by meticulous

 

A more accurate portrayal of what the oil companies make from a barrel would need to be based off of profits from each product minus the costs of production, shipping, storage, and distributors and stuff like that. Also here in California anyway, about $.70 of a gallon of gas is taxes.

Figuring all that out might be a pain in the butt, not to mention time consuming. Good thread though, must have taken a while to find all that.

We will not be factoring in any costs of production, research, shipping, or distributors. It is valid point and those costs of production can be easily factored in later after we have established a good solid retail total. Why you ask? Because we are trying to avoid some disinformation traps that only state the profit big oil makes on a single gallon of gas sold at the pump without giving us any real numbers behind it.

Let’s try to keep this thread on topic with RETAIL PRICES of all the products and updated quantities produced from any information on new refining/cracking processes and let’s not forget about the government subsidies which include tax credits, grants and others credits given back for production.

Proffit margins in the oil and gas industry are very very marginal. If you buy a barrel of crude at 90 dollars a barrel you will be lucky to sell it for 92 dollars a barrel. The reason they make make such proffits is due to the volume of output and demand. If you sell 30 million barrels one day, thats a lot off 2 dollars.

The oil companies are a masterwork of engineering in what they are capable off, they can bring you oil cheaper than bottled water of perfume, it is a feat of human ingenuity that should be truly marveled.

Oh yeah and "refinery gain" doesnt really exist, it is balanced out by "refinery loss" also, all it is, is the mathematical discrepancy between the correction factors used to calculate volume and weight in oil and gas transfers. Pretty much every refinery operates at a loss, they are simply there to service the markets for the traders who buy and sell it.

Originally posted by LaBTop
IMHOP, it did not cost a lot of time, in my case 0.002 seconds.

Your figures are based on 1995 average yields for U.S. refineries. They are VERY stale.

I copied this sentence of yours into a Google Search window.:
" amount of profit made on a single 42 gallon barrel of crude oil ".

The first hit contains your typed out list, it's your opening post at ATS in this forum.
The rest of the first ten hits on the first Google page give the answers to your query.
And most of your typed out and copied/pasted text.

It is good manners in science and on internet forums, to reference your work at the bottom of your thesis, or your posts, like this :

REFERENCES :

Your reply did not help answer a single question from my OP.
Your first hit did NOT contain my full list of products.
The text I posted was mine and not a copy and paste.
This thread is NOT a thesis nor did I claim it to be.
Out of all of those references that you say I should have included in my post I had only viewed one of them before I started this thread.
None of your posted references contained current retail prices per gallon for the products listed and several of your references used pre calculated profit percentages per barrel without showing any market prices or other numbers to back up their claim.

reply to post by meticulous


See the problem you have is, you cant actualy break down a barrel of oil and say with certainty this is what your going to get.

Crude oil various depending where its from, from sweet to sour crude. You have benchmark crudes such as west texas intermediate and Brent Crude, very very good quality crudes, traditionaly low in sulphide and metals. You are ultimatly restricted to what you can make depending on where your crude is coming from, it varies radicaly from well to well.

Mores the fact different refineries special in producing different grades, every refinery doesnt just make all those grades you posted, perhaps a refinery specializes in producing heavy engine oils, why would they make gasoline?, perhaps there location gives them no viable market share via shipping.

Im not entirely entirely sure the oil companies specificaly keep anyone in the dark about what they do, I just think you dont really understand what they do. There are literaly tens of thousands of chemical engineers who understand EXACTYL what they do, and again tens upon tens of thousands of traders who understand what they do

Originally posted by Murad
Proffit margins in the oil and gas industry are very very marginal. If you buy a barrel of crude at 90 dollars a barrel you will be lucky to sell it for 92 dollars a barrel. The reason they make make such proffits is due to the volume of output and demand. If you sell 30 million barrels one day, thats a lot off 2 dollars.

The oil companies are a masterwork of engineering in what they are capable off, they can bring you oil cheaper than bottled water of perfume, it is a feat of human ingenuity that should be truly marveled.

Oh yeah and "refinery gain" doesnt really exist, it is balanced out by "refinery loss" also, all it is, is the mathematical discrepancy between the correction factors used to calculate volume and weight in oil and gas transfers. Pretty much every refinery operates at a loss, they are simply there to service the markets for the traders who buy and sell it.

edit on 21-8-2012 by Murad because: (no reason given)

edit on 21-8-2012 by Murad because: (no reason given)

I realize that and have even stated in the OP that “total yield depends on the type of crude being processed” but at the same time I don’t anyone to overlook the point of this thread.

What we are trying to get at here is a Retail Number that is CLOSE not exact, not perfect, just a close number. If we can come up with a price for all those items produced out of one barrel that is at (+) (-) $25 it is still CLOSE enough to see the big picture. That $2 a barrel profit myth needs to be exposed as the disinformation sham it is really is.

Do your own research and look around the internet and be objective! You will find article after article with most of them being out of date quoting off of each other time and time again. If an article breaks down what can be produced from a single barrel it will not give you any prices and then again if it gives you prices it will not break it down to let the reader know what they based their profit percentages shown on and which items were being produced.

Now think about this…… If I was Big Oil and I told you this statement “I’m only making a $2 profit on a barrel of oil in my production of diesel fuel after the market cost so I have justification for charging what I want for it”.
Now hold on a minute and keep in mind that I am knowingly withholding from you the fact that the majority of that barrel of crude is left over from the diesel production and it will be used in my same refinery to make other products for me and the fact that all my resources were kept in-house (so I did not need to deal with the open market)…… Would you consider my $2 profit statement a lie?

Keep in mind that most Big Oil Companies own the:
1. Mineral rights
2. Well Head
3. Crude
4. Pipelines
5. Refineries
6. Transportation
7. Distribution

No matter how they make it look on paper they can keep nearly all the costs in-house. Do you really believe that “open market” prices affect the profit on something that is kept completely in-house from ground to pump? Think about it……

Why do you think that there is so much disinformation out there about biofuels? It’s something that most Big Oil Companies have to outsource to blend into their product. It cuts into their massive profits because they can’t keep it in-house!

To expand on my earlier contribution, here are some references in Journal articles, about the abiotic origins of crude oil.

1. Robinson, Robert, Nature, 212, 1291 - 1295 (17 December 1966); doi:10.1038/2121291a0
The Origins of Petroleum.

Robert Robinson, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, University of Oxford.
Is the origin of petroleum organic or inorganic?
In a discourse to the Royal Institution on November 11 1966, Sir Robert Robinson argued that both theories are correct and that petroleum has a duplex origin. He went on to consider the carbonaceous constituents of certain meteorites and noted a possible implication relating to the origin of life on Earth.

A list of 36 references is added.

2.Anton Kolesnikov, Vladimir G. Kutcherov & Alexander F. Goncharov, Nature Geoscience 2, 566 - 570 (2009)
Published online: 26 July 2009 doi:10.1038/ngeo591
Methane-derived hydrocarbons produced under upper-mantle conditions

There is widespread evidence that petroleum originates from biological processes. Whether hydrocarbons can also be produced from abiogenic precursor molecules under the high-pressure, high-temperature conditions characteristic of the upper mantle remains an open question. It has been proposed that hydrocarbons generated in the upper mantle could be transported through deep faults to shallower regions in the Earth’s crust, and contribute to petroleum reserves. Here we use in situ Raman spectroscopy in laser-heated diamond anvil cells to monitor the chemical reactivity of methane and ethane under upper-mantle conditions. We show that when methane is exposed to pressures higher than 2 GPa, and to temperatures in the range of 1,000–1,500 K, it partially reacts to form saturated hydrocarbons containing 2–4 carbons (ethane, propane and butane) and molecular hydrogen and graphite. Conversely, exposure of ethane to similar conditions results in the production of methane, suggesting that the synthesis of saturated hydrocarbons is reversible. Our results support the suggestion that hydrocarbons heavier than methane can be produced by abiogenic processes in the upper mantle.

More articles like this are shown at the bottom of the page.

3. ScienceDaily (Sep. 12, 2009), Fossils From Animals And Plants Are Not Necessary For Crude Oil And Natural Gas, Swedish Researchers Find.

Researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm have managed to prove that fossils from animals and plants are not necessary for crude oil and natural gas to be generated. The findings are revolutionary since this means, on the one hand, that it will be much easier to find these sources of energy and, on the other hand, that they can be found all over the globe.
“Using our research we can even say where oil could be found in Sweden,” says Vladimir Kutcherov, a professor at the Division of Energy Technology at KTH.

Together with two research colleagues, Vladimir Kutcherov has simulated the process involving pressure and heat that occurs naturally in the inner layers of the earth, the process that generates hydrocarbon, the primary component in oil and natural gas.

According to Vladimir Kutcherov, the findings are a clear indication that the oil supply is not about to end, which researchers and experts in the field have long feared.

He adds that there is no way that fossil oil, with the help of gravity or other forces, could have seeped down to a depth of 10.5 kilometers in the state of Texas, for example, which is rich in oil deposits. As Vladimir Kutcherov sees it, this is further proof, alongside his own research findings, of the genesis of these energy sources – that they can be created in other ways than via fossils. This has long been a matter of lively discussion among scientists.

“There is no doubt that our research proves that crude oil and natural gas are generated without the involvement of fossils. All types of bedrock can serve as reservoirs of oil,” says Vladimir Kutcherov, who adds that this is true of land areas that have not yet been prospected for these energy sources.

But the discovery has more benefits. The degree of accuracy in finding oil is enhanced dramatically – from 20 to 70 percent. Since drilling for oil and natural gas is a very expensive process, the cost picture will be radically altered for petroleum companies, and in the end probably for consumers as well.

“The savings will be in the many billions,” says Vladimir Kutcherov.

To identify where it is worthwhile to drill for natural gas and oil, Vladimir Kutcherov has used his research to arrive at a new method. It involves dividing the globe into a finely meshed grid. The grid corresponds to fissures, so-called ‘migration channels,’ through underlying layers under the surface of the earth. Wherever these fissures meet, it is suitable to drill.

According to Vladimir Kutcherov, these research findings are extremely important, not least as 61 percent of the world’s energy consumption derives from crude oil and natural gas.

The next step in this research work will involve more experiments, but above all refining the method will make it easier to find places where it is suitable to drill for oil and natural gas.

Vladimir Kutcherov, Anton Kolesnikov, and Alexander Goncharov’s research work was recently published in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience.

In 1999 I have already provided a link to the same researchers at a chemistry forum. Their work has since then been peer-reviewed by US and other scientists too, who all came to the same conclusion.
The Russian very-deep-well technique was based on their and other russian scientists research, and has proved being a good gamble after all for the Russians.

I cross-reference this thread for the valuable texts it contains :
Enough World Oil Reserves for the Next Million Years?
One of these texts is this precious one, by jimmyx :

jimmyx : it's always amazed me that the countries that charge the highest rate for gas and oil products, are the same ones that have private oil companies. the countries that have nationized their oil and gas, have the lowest cost to their citizens for the same products. so much for "competition"...because there is none between these oil corporations, it is a cabal, and they engage in price fixing among themselves and the representative governments around the world, don't do a damn thing about it.

Nationalized their oil production :
Indonesia (1500 Rupiah per liter, 10,000 Rp is about 1 US dollar, that's 15 cents the liter.!....), Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina lately. Any more?

Maybe one of the shills of the K-O-C-H bro's idiot-brigade Right-wing Neo-con army can extract some juicy details of this topic from their master.

The big dirty oil tycoons masterminding their army of IDIOT shills here to fight for ALL that is BAD for the country should have some juicy details about this.

Dirty oil, dirty ethics, dirty money, dirty shills, dirty secrets...

Originally posted by LaBTop
To expand on my earlier contribution, here are some references in Journal articles, about the abiotic origins of crude oil.

Please quit posting useless garbage in this thread. It seems that your intentions with the walls of useless off topic text and quotes are malicious in nature. Do not continue on this path to purposely misdirect and bury posted useful information.

This topic is about OIL CORPORATIONS RETAIL PRICES and PRODUCTS PRODUCED OUT OF A SINGLE 42 GALLON BARREL OF CRUDE. We need to fill in the gaps and find the numbers they don’t want you to see.

The discussion is NOT about the history of methane, fossils, origins of crude oil, oil hydrocarbons, Russian scientists, oil exploration or walls of off-site quoted text that only discuss the so called “COSTS” of production that the big oil companies love spoon feed you all day.

What we need is a complete present day list of products sold from that 42gallon barrel of crude after it has been processed down to its last drop. – Not costs.

Interesting break down, but there are a lot of variables concerning quality of oil and yields of a barrel. When I was playing banker I financed a refinery that had 15% profit contract from the US Navy because of its location. The principals discussed the refining margins and although many years ago I don't think the economics have changed much. According to my client they could make 26 gallons of gasoline out of a barrel of Saudi Light(high quality oil) and the by products would pay for refining and marketing. Yes, that's right it does cost money to transport, refine and market gasoline. Even at that time when oil was around $40/bbl gasoline less taxes(the biggest flaw on your list is leaving out state, federal and local taxes) I was confused why gasoline was so cheap. In fact at $90/bbl, I get $3,46/gallon before taxes. Of course many of the majors own their own reserves so their feed stock costs may not be $90/bbl. They also have net back agreements with many large producers and exchange refinery profit for barrels. At least the argument is about profit from refining as integrated oil companies do not sell oil they buy oil. None of them produce as much oil as they refine. Nevertheless looking at the refining profit without taking out taxes or the costs of refining makes the whole exercise somewhat futile.

reply to post by billyjack


I understand your post but again all the costs can be taken out AFTER we come up with a good retail total. There is a point I’m trying to make here and I know a few of you understand where it is going.
No one has done this before and I don’t think it can be done without all the smoke, mirrors and disinformation from those loyal to big oil in some shape or form. Some random rant about costs, taxes, or oil imports will ALWAYS derail this type of discussion. Again, things like taxes and costs can easily be factored in AFTER the government tax breaks, production subsidies, and retail sales prices of ALL the products are known.

So, no one can come up with any solid numbers for the missing info without throwing costs or taxes out into the ring at the same time? It was what I expected would happen. I just can’t fathom how the public can sit idly by and take what they are being told as fact without raising a single question as to the validity.

Big Oil is the ringmaster of this circus and you’re not really in the audience like you think you are. You’re the main act down on the floor jumping through flaming hoops while the ringmaster cracks the whip. The political clowns can’t help you because the ringmaster already paid them before the show started. They’re true purpose is to distract everyone with bright colors while they get the public to laugh at the political antics of them bashing each other time and time again.

Originally posted by meticulous
So, no one can come up with any solid numbers for the missing info without throwing costs or taxes out into the ring at the same time?

I am not sure that we could and no more sure that anyone would believe you if you could work up something based on several dozen variables! What we can do is look at the information they release publicly and information provided by insiders as well as profit margins&share prices which gives us a fair idea of how oil companies are valued by each other and the market in general .

It was what I expected would happen. I just can’t fathom how the public can sit idly by and take what they are being told as fact without raising a single question as to the validity.

Oh people do realise that they are being lied to and cheated even if they rarely realise the scale of the cheating or the full implications. Even if many did they would be too busy working two crap jobs trying to make a living to do much about it! The productivity of the American worker has doubled in 50 years with buying power decreasing and working hours increasing so perhaps the point is not merely profit but also ensuring that you have no time left to participate in a nominally democratic system by either informing yourself or having sufficient energy left for direct action?

Big Oil is the ringmaster of this circus and you’re not really in the audience like you think you are. You’re the main act down on the floor jumping through flaming hoops while the ringmaster cracks the whip. The political clowns can’t help you because the ringmaster already paid them before the show started. They’re true purpose is to distract everyone with bright colors while they get the public to laugh at the political antics of them bashing each other time and time again.

Big oil is but a small, if significant, segment of transnational corporate system that runs the circus you describe and while i have in the past taken part in mocking the average working stiff i no longer see the point and hope to find something more constructive to say! Sure the politicians seem to be bought but isn't the surprising thing rather how cheap one can get them or for that matter how they seem to often be the very same corporate type people?

Oh well.

Stellar

Strange, no one is talking about what is happening with crude oil right now but it has been blowing up for weeks. I found this topic as a means of historical reference. the gas price if I recall from this post is 3.71 and now its close to one dollar less...per gallon! OPEC is choking the shale boom in the US, russia is losing so is latin america. I see that low dollar producers (people that can extract and bring to market at $30ish and still make a profit) are going to survive and possibly...My opinion...Buy everyone out on the way up to $100 a barrel