Gridlock Mikey

OK we have come to accept it (Which is wrong IMHO) but what exactly is it that pushes the prices up 2,3,4,5 even6p per litre over night?
It's not like we goto war and that's it, no more petrol is it? Not straight away! So there's a war in the middle east, who exactly dictates that a barrel of oil shall suddenly increase in value, the oil companies, the petrol firms? who?
When there was the fuel strike over here a few years ago, prices didn't suddenly go up did they?
Some could argue about the supply and demand thing but between Iraq and my petrol station, there must be millions of gallons of oil/petrol that has already been processed/bought so has a finite cost.
The other annoying thing is that when any threat of war has passed, do the prices drop back to pre-war prices? Do they heck!! [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]
I suppose it's true, sad, but true that war is the biggest business on this planet. War sells and at the moment business is good!

Mikey

SiDHEaD

The government could keep them at a steady level by modifying the (rediculous) tax rate - but do they buggery! Who gives a shyte what the public think as long as they get extra money to try and fill in the gaps the asylum seekers have caused.


Andy

Reffro

The cost of oil is the determining factor in the rise of the fuel prices. Oil is now priced at almost historically high levels, and this is entirely due to a very real threat of war disrupting smooth supply. Oil is bought far in advance of the oil company receiving it, so prices today are for delivery in 3 or 4 months time. Now with 300,000 troops armed and almost ready to enter Iraq, its very likely that during the next 3 or 4 months there is likely to be a hiccup in the supply chain. I for one would be very nervous sailing a 1300ft 350,000 tonne oil tanker anywhere near the north of the Arabian Gulf. Therefore to guarantee your supply oil companies are having to pay higher prices.

So there you have it, oil prices have been rising for the last 3-4 months on the back of the speculation about a war in Iraq. Now that increased price the oil companies have paid is being reflected in the pump prices. Just so you know, oil prices are about double what they were, and with the petrol before tax costing about 15pence per litre, you could look at a potential price rise of about 10-12ppl overall, if oil prices continue to stay high.

Katana

If they got rid of the NHS and unemployment benefits, they can reduce the price of petrol by 60-70p..

Gridlock Mikey

So because there is more risk involved in transporting it, it costs more?????? That sucks. Risk should be factored into the price at outset "incase" there is a war.
Soldiers don't get paid MORE for going to war, police don't get paid MORE for going to a fatal RTA or a riot, people know the risks involved with their relevent jobs and tasks and they decide at outset wether it's worth the wages being paid.
Why should the threat of war make it more expensive to move/sell oil? More awkward yes, more damngerous, maybe, but more expensive
I'd love to go up to my MD and say, "It's really difficult out there at the moment selling photocopiers, companies are waiting to see what happens in Iraq first (Why?) Can i get paid more?"
I'd soon get told to eff off..and rightly so.

Mikey

brickboy

Anti-war sentiments on Scoobynet? Never ...

We could call it Optimax diplomacy ...

merkin

So, Mikey

If you owned an Oil Tanker worth 100m$, and an oil refining company wanted you to move 50,000 barrels from the gulf to the UK, you wouldnt be asking a higher price for the risk involved with the threat of war imminent?

You'd have the shortest lived career in Oil transportation ever!

Thats only a small part of it. Arab nations are the worlds largest oil producing nations, it stands to reason that the threat of war, and the inherent instability that causes would make prices rise. Oil is a finite resource, Noone can say what for sure will happen when war breaks out, so the price rises due to the threat of reduced supply from that region, be it temporarily, or permanently. It's called the law of supply and demand.

PS. if your photocopiers were MADE in Iraq, and 50% of the worlds photocopiers were made in the arab region, what do you think would be happening to the price of them now?

Gridlock Mikey

Hiya merkin,

Valid points but I wouldn't go into the oil business in the first place, too risky (Not to mention that I am not a billionaire ) If copiers were made in Iraq and because of war I had to say to customers sorry, your copy charge has gone up to 2 p per copy and that quote I gave you last week is now £400 out, they'd tell me to get stuffed and goto a competitor. Now if all copiers were in the same boat and all competitors were having the same problem, we would never sell another copier because people would refuse to buy. Eventually the manufacturers (Iraqis?) wouldn't be able to enjoy the massive profits etc from the good old days, they would suffer losses and eventually go bust (Very simplistic terms I know but you get the jist)
Petrol companies though, seem to get it the other way round. Times get tough, petrol prices rise 09.11 twin towers attack, petrol prices go up General election due petrol prices rise Budget petrol prices go up
Prices even went up when the oil kartels decided that they should have a "gentlemens aggreement" (We all know how effective they are 280 BHP anyone? ) over the maximum increases in a fiscal year on a barrell of oil.
It's a great big massive global blag to get more money floating around to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

Mikey

Now looking over his shoulder waiting for the oil barrons henchmen to stage his demise