$6 to $8 Gas? Prices Will "Skyrocket" If U.S. Stops Drilling, Says Former Shell Exec

We don't have the right to drill in the oceans. It is not our land, not our territory.

We humans have such a human-centric outlook on life and the world. For those of you who don't know dolphins and whales have brains as big and bigger than ours. There is a definite chance they are sentient, self-aware, like us and perhaps some species are even more intelligent than us humans.

Yet what are we doing to their territory, their habitat? We are extracting resources and turning their environment into a toxic waste dump. We don't have the right.

I use to be fine with offshore drilling but this BP catastrophe has opened my eyes. We are not destroying our environment with this we are destroying the environment of other species who are quite possibly sentient and all the ocean life that supports them. We are doing it without their permission, without their consent, and they have to live with the consequences of our actions. It is not right.

If stopping offshore drilling drives gas up to $6-$8 a gallon, so be it. Time to find a new source of energy generation and portable energy storage.

[edit on 4-6-2010 by Bobbox1980]

reply to post by Fractured.Facade


Solar, wind, hydro, bio, geothermal could completely eliminate oil. Lubrication can be synthetic.

Cars could be electric, trains, ships, even aircraft. All the technology is available, right now. Might hit a couple of hitches at first, but will catch on.

Electricity is our friend. Capturing it through means such as solar and wind is the only option, if it's not too late already.

reply to post by Bobbox1980


We didn't need to be drilling for oil at 5,000 feet underwater, that is the fault of strict regulations by our government.

Deep water drilling is extremely risky and we have all now seen why.

There are places where oil exists and it can be extracted safely with little or no risks, but the government will not allow that, so out in the deep is where we will go.

Policies, restrictions and bans meant to protect the environment have in essence caused this BP disaster.

Ironic?

reply to post by OurskiesRpoisoned


If you want to believe in fairy tales, nothing I post here will help you.

Seeing is believing, soon enough you will see first hand the results of energy reform.

God help us all.

reply to post by Fractured.Facade


People did not want oil being drilled in their backyard, not all that surprising considering the devastating effects it can have on the environment.

I'd hardly blame offshore drilling on environmental regulations, I'd blame it on the oil industry cabal and the cabal in government that is willing to spend trillions to control oil reserves through military force yet is unwilling to seriously fund alternative energy sources.

I'd blame it on we the people who enable their BS by driving around in gas guzzlers giving this cabal more money with which to bribe our Congress.

This bullsh*t, plain and simple. thier findingg excuses to simply inflate the prices, becuase they know if you need it, yuo WIL pay for it* look at the past few years, its only the past few years, gas proces were being gouged during the summer months. and that means as well! if gasoline goes up, so does milk and things mae from corn, because of the ethanol in it. corn flakes is already a rediculous $4.59 a box where i live in southwest CT, and about the same for a gallon fo milk. i remember when milk was $2.79 a gallon early 90's! could shell be hinting infaltion is coming?
IMagine those of us, i assume the majority when winter comes around and use oil furnaces* its already rediculous, the cost of diesel alone. Its weird to me, shell would say something like this, becuase they have the highest prices anyway of any gasoline supplier out their, usually being 9-10 cents more a gallon. right now here i am, at 2 local shells, 87 regualr is $3.19 a gallon, while mobil is around $3.09, and a getty station downtown belive it or not, is at $2.91 a gallon.
The higher cost fo shell gasoline, is belived to be becasue of its extra detergency. ALL shell grades of 87 and 89, have 2 times the minimum required detergency to keep engines clean, and their 93 octane has 5 times the detergency* the extra cost, is belived to be the jsutification on the higher price. the thing is...just because you have more detergency in gas dosnt mean you have a cleaner engine. some trucks/cars are known to be sludgers, and most people dont know how to do a flush n oil change change and combustion chamber cleaning time to time..thats what counts, not justifying extra cost of fuel simply because they know too, people DONT take care fo thier automobiles.
should be an interesting summer then. shell wants to raise the costt of fuel, i will simply go eslewhere, as i do my own autombile maintenance anyways

this is all a big scam, we already have resources we can use as alternatives to oil. but people refuse to change, if this oil spill is the beginning of the end then so be it. theres a crazy little plant that grows in almost every region on the planet except the poles and it can be made into lots of useful products that we use oil and trees for today. but since its also a versatile medicine and it grows for free its illegal and deemed unusable.

aside from hemp there are many other sources of fuel, we could use nuclear a tiny little chip of uranium could run your car forever, but how would they make billions of dollars they can never spend in 20 lifetimes if they made cars that run forever.

Originally posted by Elysarian
You Americans annoy me sometimes...

Mass outcry at the possibility of paying 6 to 8 dollars for a gallon of petrol?

Try living in England for awhile, we already pay the equivalent of $8 a gallon - and rising.

Look at the bright side. If our gasoline prices rise to $8 per gallon, you'll be paying about $14. You acknowledge that its your government's fault for taxing the hell out of you, so don't be annoyed at us. You can thank the people you elected for it.

[edit on 5-6-2010 by vor78]

I believe that if they cut production, there will be a raise in gas prices. That is the basic law of supply and demand. Supply is going down, demand remains high and to prevent problems the petro industry will turn around and raise prices to slow the demand down.
But what I see happening, is that we cut drilling and that may seem fine for a short bit, until OPEC, decide to raise the price per barrell, in an attempts to get richer, and a few countries will choose not to sell to the US, and that will cause the price for a gallon of gas to skyrocket. I remember the gas lines of the 1970's, it was an eye opener, as well as te price of gas in Europe, as it was very high. My family got into the habit of only going out when it was necessary and then doing all of the running around in one shot, if possible. The industries that will be affected will be grocery, the foods produced locally will be cheaper, and the more exotic stuff will be alot more. People may have to start doing things like doing home gardening to make ends meet.

I find it hilarious when Americans moan about the price of gas. Go to any other country, your jaws will drop. Your hearts, full of a sense of entitlement to cheap gasoline, will literally explode.

Things in the UK are on average twice as expensive as the US.

In fact, our Petrol (Gas) is already at $10 per gallon here.

You guys normally earn twice the hourly rate as the average UK worker for the same type of job.

So living in the US compared to the UK means you are 4 times richer (better off) than we are etc.

Now where's my green card application form lol?

Great idea just because a foreign oil company screws up now we penalize US oil companies.

The foreign oil companies just move there equipment outside of the US till drilling starts again.
And the US companies end up cutting employees, idling rigs and loosing money.

reply to post by Fractured.Facade


And remember this well was drilled 30,000 feet below the earth's crust after they went down 5,000 feet in the water.

Originally posted by sdcigarpig
I believe that if they cut production, there will be a raise in gas prices. That is the basic law of supply and demand.

Crude petroleum is a globally produced and sold commodity. There will be an effect on prices if the supply restriction is significant next to global production.

Deepwater offshore USA production is infinitesimal.

At present the most promising place to get large amounts of oil with least technological/environmental problems is Iraq. This is because Iraq has very favorable geology (like Kuwait/NE Saudi Arabia) but has not been exploited with modern production techniques ever.

I would hardly call 6-8 dollars a gallon skyrocketing, though it would be high.

IMO, nothing even resembling an alternative energy movement will take place in this country until we reach upwards of $20/gallon. Only then would a public uproar reach fever pitch.

That's where people start not being able to afford things like fuel oil to get them through alaskan winters. In the Winter time, fuel oil here in the interior of Alaska is already like 6 dollars a gallon or higher.

It's also the point at which public outcry overcomes the ability of the oil lobby to maintain the status quo. At some point, oil and fuel prices will just reach a level that is completely economically unfeasible for the average working American to afford. Until that time, people will kick the gas pump a little harder but continue to fill up at the pump regardless of the price...

A couple years ago I started a thread about how long it might take for fuel prices to reach the $20/gallon mark. It's wasn't that far off. Some independent estimates said fuel prices could double within 4-6 years even though most predicted that the intense rise in oil prices a couple years ago would eventually come back down and normalize. If the rate of increase were to continue we would already be at about $20/gallon right now if not already.

When the oil market goes haywire like it did back then it doesn't take long for things to go south. In alot of ways it's simle supply and demand inbalance.. But, then again, in alot of ways it's so difficult to tell what the market will do you never know. My point though is if it happens again (and it might) it would take months for oil prices to double/triple instead of years.

-ChriS

When I bought my last car I was mysteriously compelled to get a flex fuel car.. Very glad I did , filling up at 1.99 a gallon is nice now even with gas at $2.60 a gallon.. if it skyrockets due to drilling bans.. I should not be effected by it that much.. not to mention ethanol burns way cleaner than gasoline making the engine last longer and better for the environment in many ways.

Also a tip for folks.. most non ethanol (flex fuel cars) will run fin on up to 50% ethanol.. however some rubber fuel lines ect may not last 20_ years when exposed to that much ethanol , most gasoline cars are designed for some alcohol content.. as much of the gasoline in the USA now is gasohol.. with 10% ethanol in it... so it should hold up quite well to a stronger percentage..

Also ethanol stores far better than gasoline.. good tip for survivalists.

Another related tip, old diesel vehicles can with small modifications, run on any oil.. from used motor oil to vegetable oil..

Originally posted by minkey53
Things in the UK are on average twice as expensive as the US.

In fact, our Petrol (Gas) is already at $10 per gallon here.

You guys normally earn twice the hourly rate as the average UK worker for the same type of job.

So living in the US compared to the UK means you are 4 times richer (better off) than we are etc.

Now where's my green card application form lol?

How in the blue hell do you guys live? Honestly. I have a good job (good for my area and my education level). I work at a hospital and am the supervisor of housekeeping and custodial. We're a small hospital, but growing. I make $12.71 an hour.

Gas is currently under $3.00 per gallon in my town. I've seen it over $5.00. That's the highest. I spent $200 on food at the grocery store last week (enough for 2 weeks, almost). I spent $100 for my gas/electric bill, $120 for internet and cable tv, $400 for rent on my house, $150 for my car payment...I am barely making it. If gas went to $8.00 per gallon, it would cost me $70 more to fill up my take. $110. That would last me maybe 2 weeks (I don't live in the same town I work in).

How is it that we're so much better off, but I'm barely squeaking by and am a cry baby?

reply to post by jaysinn


Excellent post. I think you should make a thread with those thoughts.

$12.71? I'm an electrician, and the last time I worked for someone else, I made $33 an hour. I'm self employed now, an I work alone mostly. I charge $65 hr, plus 30% mark-up on materials.

But I can't even touch most of the people I do work for. People in the military, making $200,000 plus a year. WTF. I thought the military was voluntary?

Doctors, who laugh at $200,000 a year.

My paltry $70,000 a year affords a comfortable living. I would like a bigger greenhouse though. The only debt I have is my house, which I'm financing through the owner, on an 8 yr, $1000 month payment, with 5 yrs left.

It angers me that people who work hard at useful jobs suffer while people who manipulate others money lives in comfort.

Those days are coming to an end. The new age will be much more fair.

"People need to get back into the reality we are actually in before it is too late to save the economy"

Yes, the economy, the one which has had us running on a treadmill for decades either trying to keep up with the Jones's or obtain the elusive "American Dream".

The "economy" of the West has been beneficial for a few at the cost of many, and the many don't complain becuase they have that golden carrot dangled in front of them.

The "economy" fuelled by oil, which the West will continue to extract at any cost.

But we can eat fish from the Black Sea, and apricots from Argentina, we can buy cheap watches from China and be on the other side of the earth by lunchtime.

I welcome to failure of the "economy". Yes, we will be poor in material things. Probably will never get to eat Romanian chestnuts again, and may have to actually use our feet to get us around.
We will have a closer more intimate relationship within our communities. We will appreciate the land and seas on our doorstep which will feed us, and we will appreciate the fact that a smaller world is better for us then internationally connected behemoth that demands to be fed blood tainted oil to keep up its lumborous trek to extinction.

Having lived in Europe and in America, I can say with assurance that Europe's public transportation system is inferior to America's. Living in Germany you could always catch the bus reliably, get to where you needed to be, etc. Only "large" cities in America get the good public transit. Most people in America are then forced to drive everywhere themselves because everything keeps getting built out, not up. All in all, $4/gal gas in America is tough #, especially when you consider minimum wage is $7.25 in most states. Half your money every hour goes to gas, and with high gas prices come high electricity bills. Not saying that paying $7/gal doesn't suck for Europeans, but understand why it matters to us. And not all Americans drive around in gas guzzling over sized suv's and trucks.