Oil $66 per barrel!!

a reply to: Aazadan

The US was trying to be self-reliant by 2020ish.

This price drop, if lasts long enough, will bankrupt smaller companies and only the strong will survive. This will lead to maintaining the reliance on foreign oil because exploration, drilling ultra-deep wells, and fracking some wells wouldn't seem profitable for these companies.

If you can significantly damage the shale\ competition, you can raise the prices to what ever you want. The US has to pay that price, and the US needs oil. You will get less investment in electric cars, less investment in renewable energy, and less regards for fuel efficiency. It's not overnight you can just say "okay boys, lets get exploring and drilling since the prices for a barrel of oil is outrageous" when they decide to jack up the prices again, it takes MANY years to get back into the game and start producing to levels you wish you were at, and I'm afraid for when we are even more reliant on foreign oil that they will have us by the balls. 150-200 a barrel? Sure why not.

originally posted by: Laxpla

If you can significantly damage the shale\ competition, you can raise the prices to what ever you want.

I think since this basically appeared over night it can again. As soon as oil hits 90 per barrel again so will the fracking start again. Its not like the oil is going anywhere, might as well buy theirs cheaper as much as we can, then we can stabilize the market to prevent the 150 200 per barrel you are talking about.

originally posted by: Laxpla
If you can significantly damage the shale\ competition, you can raise the prices to what ever you want. The US has to pay that price, and the US needs oil. You will get less investment in electric cars, less investment in renewable energy, and less regards for fuel efficiency. It's not overnight you can just say "okay boys, lets get exploring and drilling since the prices for a barrel of oil is outrageous" when they decide to jack up the prices again, it takes MANY years to get back into the game and start producing to levels you wish you were at, and I'm afraid for when we are even more reliant on foreign oil that they will have us by the balls. 150-200 a barrel? Sure why not.

So here's a solution that exists outside the free market. The government subsidizes the price of oil in the US on the condition that the barrel of oil is sold inside the US at market rates. If the oil companies need $75/barrel and the Saudi's drive the price down to $60/barrel, the government covers that $15/barrel difference to the oil companies and we pay it out of our taxes. It effectively establishes a floor price of what it takes to keep our alternative oil companies in business, and in the end saves us money because the Saudi's will never be able to raise the price of oil once our companies are out of business.

That plan is very non capitalist and is much closer to some mix of socialist and fascist but it does protect us in the long run.

a reply to: Aazadan

I love this idea. I read it in a tweet a couple days ago, it's kind of similar.

twitter.com... Nov 28th

a reply to: Xtrozero

Honestly, there is going to be no investment in exploration or drilling if companies go under. You lose money if you drill, you can't invest into anything new. It takes many years to get a ideas into action. Government regulations are at an all time high, we would be 5-7 years behind of where we are at now if smaller companies crash. We wouldn't be looking at self-sufficiency until I would guess pretty roughly 2030? That's If the prices were not to flux again.

I could see existing wells being abandoned for the time being, placing one of these things in the well. I talked to a rep from Halliburton a few months back and he said that these have no time frame of how long they can stay in, and could be a long-term solution.

www.halliburton.com...

But the idea of raising the taxes is a great idea, and if that is the plan it would solve some of the problem.

Rather than pay a heavy subsidy for expensive off shore wells I think at some price point the US might start expanding the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve this would provide protection from future foreign oil embargo.
The cost of opening up a few more salt caverns for storage of cheap foreign oil is probably less than fracking the deeper wells.
That would have the effect of putting an artificial floor on the price of oil relatively soon then as the reserves were filled the price of foreign oil would ramp till deep well production was profitable again but no further.

Pre market opening futures have oil in $64 territory and still falling on Sunday night. The only reason it probably didn't fall further last week was because of very slow Thanksgiving trading.

a reply to: Slichter

I thought the petroleum reserve was nearly full already? USA needs to persuade OPEC to produce less, if they want the price of oil to stay high.

Of course, Republicans will blame Obama for high oil prices, then call on OPEC to reduce drilling to keep oil prices aloft because it helps the US economy.

Here's what some are saying about the Saudis attempt:

UTSA economist Tom Tunstall, who studies the Eagle Ford, says most producers can withstand oil prices as low as $60 a barrel and still remain profitable.

It is true, fracking is more expensive than traditional oil production, but with some 2600 frack wells already drilled in the Eagle Ford Shale south of San Antonio alone, that expense has already taken place, and the oil producers are now engaged in making back that investment, something that is not likely to stop with oil prices moving lower.

In fact, due to technological advances, including what is called 'Super Fracking,' experts say much of the Eagle Ford could withstand oil prices as low as $40 a barrel, a level which would bankrupt Saudi Arabia, which has 90% of its exports in crude oil.

WOAI news San Antonio

Basically, while it may slow some new well development in Mexico and other areas, the price manipulation will have little affect on current production from fracked wells.

a reply to: quercusrex

Media is reporting that two of the largest fracking sites in the USA are in trouble at $66 a barrel.

What evidence does the op or anybody else have in claiming that fracing (without a K ) needs to have 80$ a barrel in order to be profitable?

a reply to: babybunnies Post a source so I can check it out, please.

Basically this is what I've been saying. Jamie Webster just tweeted this out.

Twitter

CNBC

Also remember, all oil wells are not fracked. It's mostly natural gas that's fracked rather than oil.

a reply to: Tarzan the apeman.

Actual Seafoam, or is that and enzyme product?
Or Chemical stabilizing agent?

a reply to: Wildmanimal
Seafoam does have a gas treatment and motor treatment. Stabil is ok, but I have never had any problems with gas in my boat or hog or mowers when I store them away for winter using seafoam. I also use non ethanol gas with all my small engines. Only use ethanol gas in my cars or truck and suv. It is a matter of choice or what works best for you. I just think that ethanol isn't that great to begin with. Like putting sugar in your tank.

a reply to: Tarzan the apeman.

Yeah I agree.
I think all the gas at the station has ethanol
has that in it here. I'll have to look closer.
I have had untreated gas turn to jelly in
carburators/float over the winter.

Oil fell to $62.95 a barrel in New York, down $2.89. That brings the overall decline since the summer to about 40 per cent

m.theglobeandmail.com...

On the news (tv) tonite they said it's price is expected to keep falling

originally posted by: projectvxn
I'm not complaining. It will drive the prices of other products down as well as transport costs go down.

If anything this will put a sort of buffer on the excess inflation the Fed has been creating. But it can only last for so long.

Don't be so sure about that, there's something fishy going on. I drive a truck and was expecting the Diesel to go down. It hasn't, I think last time I fueled it was still around $3.45 +/- That was last week. Diesel used to be cheaper than gasoline back in the day, it's been way above gasoline for a while now, sux because Diesel as I understand it is a byproduct of making gasoline.

Also would like to add how long it takes gas stations to bring the price down, but as soon as the oil price goes up a tiny bit they already have the price jacked up in an instant.