My friend told me due to Hurricane Ike fuel prices are supposed to surge up to $5 by the end of the weekend. Anyone else see this stuff on the news? -Joe CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. -- Keep a close watch on the hurricane, the gas prices, and your wallet. Gas prices across parts of Metro Atlanta have gone up at many stations, and motorists are filling up in anticipation of prices spiking above $4 a gallon due to the impact of Hurricane Ike on oil production. At one Clayton County gas station, gas prices went up 12 cents a gallon just before 11 p.m. Thursday. The owner of a Shell gas station in Jonesboro said Thursday that his supplier charged him 11 cents a gallon more -- and blamed it on Hurricane Ike. Gas customers are highly skeptical that Hurricane Ike might be to blame for a possible spike in pump prices this weekend. "Every excuse that they can muster up, they use that to raise the gas prices," said Clayton County resident Louis Fisher. Right now, wholesale gasoline prices along the Gulf Coast are nearly $5 a gallon -- an increase of about 50 percent in one day. And wholesalers blame Hurricane Ike for steering a collision course right into the oil refineries that are responsible for one-fourth of the nation's refining capacity -- and those refineries will be shutting down for the storm. "They can withstand strong winds," said Garrett Townsend of AAA South. "But, of course, you have flooding and other things that could happen. So it's hard to say how much we could expect the prices to go up." Gas station owner Junaid Virani said, "We heard that it's going to shoot up probably another 20 or 30 cents a gallon." Virani said he just got some unwelcome news from his wholesalers. "We got a couple of faxes the last couple of days saying that the gas companies are on allocation, and there are going to be shortages, stuff like that," he said. His latest delivery -- Thursday morning -- was a day late. "And the price shot up 11 cents," Virani said. Oil analysts are saying that retail gas prices could soon rise above the record high in July of $4.11 a gallon. "Guess I'd better fill it up now, then," said Clayton County resident Donald Jenkins. "Fill up now while you can -- try to save a few dollars." Oil analysts are saying that because demand for gas is so much lower now, that if prices go up, they could go back down quickly after the storm passes. http://www.wxia11.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=121058&catid=40
Heard that too... allready creating mass histaria at my work... and the Race Trak is out of regular(not sure if its a coincidence). Filled up just in case. I predict nothing happens....
I predict nothin happens as well..i remember this happened a few years ago...cost me like $45 for my 11gal tank in my xb...haha
Gas will go up and it will be hard to find the lower grades. Production of gas has already been cut by 3 million barrels a day from Hannah and Ike is heading for the refineries that provide 16% of the total US production. Just turning these refineries off because of the storm will impact an already tight supply. If the storm actually damages something and keeps them off line for a week we will see shortages like we did with Katrina. Good thing I had to fill up yesterday.
i thought the government locked gas prices during emergencies such as inclement weather...I remember the news writing articles about how all the gas stations that were getting heavy penalties for gas gauging during Katrina. Hopefully they learned their lesson then...
Yesterday 93 octane was $3.69. This morning it was $4.09 and I beat myself up for not filling up as I needed gas anyways. They are inforcing a 10 gallon limit here.
i dont fucking get it. Oil was 147 the last time prices were this high. its near 100 $ right now. WTF.
They are price gouging. They see the frenzy and see dollar signs. I wouldn't be surprised if Bush doesn't go public stating gas price gouging will not be tolerated. Some places on the Gulf are already at $5.
I predict a drop on Monday. The same thing happened a while back. The spike hit on the weekend to maximize the sales. As they figured, people freaked out and swarmed the gas stations like it was the end of the world. After the weekend the prices fell almost $.50/gallon. Spikes NEVER come during the weekdays, lol. Yes it needed during the hurricanes, but not so much I think. Damn money hungry oil folks:fawk:
I may just go up to 5 a gal, OPEC is cutting production to drive up the barrel price because the offsore oil drilling ban ends this month or next they said on the news recently. "Drill Baby Drill"
"Drill baby drill " wont do sh!t if you can't "refine baby refine" What we really need is more refinery capacity but nobody wants to live near one of those.
http://www.maxgladwell.com/2008/08/stephen-colberts-formidable-opponent-takes-on-offshore-drilling/ that was seriously the best explanation as to why more drilling doesn't make sense. plus its stephen colbert. watch it
I believe you are correct, Mere... I if I recall, the reason prices went up so bad after Katrina was because three of the US refineries were shut down, seriously hampering the US oil supply. Price per barrel means shit if you can't make it usable...
I'm driving 15 hours to Topeka this weekend.... with a suburban... and a trailer... Can we say "FAIL"
WHAHAHAHAAH! I have to drive to Marietta everyday in a car that gets 15 MPG from Lilburn. Good thing I just tanked up on Wednesday.
Jake seriously comedy central. Mike it will do something its called speculation...THAT is exactly why the problem is what it is. You are absolutely right tho we need more refineries as none have been built in nearly 1/2 a century. Yes they are discusting to live near I was < 10 from one in Chalmette, it why my uncle could not rebuild the chemicals leaked in the water.
Drilling, with no real national program to invent and build infrastructure for a renewable source of energy does zilch. Speculation is a major problem right now, what makes anyone think that more drilling will end this? The oil companies are enjoying historic profits and profit margins. Why would they ever drill enough to reduce that? They already have massive areas of land leased for drilling they haven't touched. Not only do we have additional issues with refining capability, there are massive equipment and personnel shortfalls for new drilling. Simply put, all the equipment that exists or is currently being built to drill is spoken for. The people to operate that equipment are in short supply as well. Drilling will not have a measurable impact for at least 3-5 years, and then the "measurement" would be negligible. I have said it before, if the next car I buy isn't a sports car with some type of alternative fuel system (ultra efficient hybrid, electric, etc.) then our country will be in SERIOUS straits. We need to wake up, once and for all. I have been hearing about the oil issues since I was in grade school (27 years ago people!!!) and yet, nothing has been done. Its shameful, probably, somewhere along the line, criminal...and now its costing us lives and our economy....
well Scott I was speaking for off shore in particular. Half of my family all over the state of Louisiana work on off shore oil rigs that are mobile but limited. yes they need more of those pieces of equipment. Just the "Yea" to lifting the ban causes the price to drop, once we start the price would drop, it is not going to solve the problem but may help. Doing nothing does exactly that.
Kind of my point as well. Our society in particular, and humanity in general are "now" centric. Whatever is right in front of them is the thing that they deal with best. Lowering gas prices temporarily just pushes the issue off onto our older selves or possibly our children. I don't want my daughter jobless, fighting for oil in a desert somewhere or worse. I'm not aiming my comments at you, specifically, Rick, just putting my .000002 into this thread.
more drilling, and making new refineries is not the answer. don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to take anyone out of potential jobs. you're are just clearly and utterly an IDIOT to think it will solve ANYTHING. it will only permit a TEMPORARY drop in gas prices. then what???? we're fucked edit: yeah, i'm not calling anyone an idiot, just if you believe that is the SOLE solution. then you probably are super close-minded.
It has begun. The QT near me is out of 87 and 89 octane. 93 octane is all thats left and its 4.19. Thats up 30c from yesterday.
I am definitely not saying it is THE solution BUT we have not been willing to use our own resources for decades as soon as we are willing there will be a drop based on the speculation of what we will eventually have. Should drop it for a year or so maybe...Now I am speculating but we cant go to the saudi's and ask them to up production and not be willing to tap our own resources. We need all other forms of energy tho, nuclear, solar, wind, nat gas etc... yours truly the ID10T
the saudis recently walked out of an OPEC meeting and refused to cut production. the writing is on the wall, and they see it. they really pushed us hard towards alternative energy, unlike the 70s and 80s we are a LOT closer to the technology. they want to milk their cash cow as long as possible and get us complacent with oil prices. they've realized oil is priced way outside it's ideal market venezuela, russia, and some smaller governments (who are sellers this go around) are scrambling to cover the variable cost of pumping oil out of the ground. they've bet on oil sustaining a new plateau at $100/bbl, and it's going to fuck their economies when it drops, and drop it will. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122100706431117489.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy sorry for WSJ link, NEW$$$CORP and all (fuck you rupert murdoch)
I work at QT and my manager told me that they shut down the pipe lines. We were being charged 4.80 a gallon yesterday but were only selling it for 3.99. We were losing 90 cents a gallon yesterday and it was packed all day long with people filling up as much as they can. Luckily we have 3 10,000 gallon tanks of Unleaded that were near full before the tanker came to top us off. (and if you are curious, 1 premium tank, and 4 Diesel Tanks). I haven't seen gas prices yet today having just woke up but I'm expecting the price to have sky rocketed since last night.
I filled up on premium chevron near the tag office on cobb pkwy for 3.99 yesterday. Thank god the echo is also full and I live 1 mile from work. I think I'll be good till this blows over.
Economic damage from Ike may be less than feared By DAVID KOENIG and ELLEN SIMON – 49 minutes ago A small change in Hurricane Ike's course just before it crashed into the Texas coast may have spared the state and the nation from significantly worse economic damage. The center of the storm appeared to miss the vital concentration of oil and petrochemical refineries in the Houston area, and the surge of water rolling into the nation's second-largest port was also weaker than predicted. "If the eye of that storm had been as much as 20 miles east, we would have a lot more havoc and damage than we did," said Chris Johnson, a senior vice president at commercial property insurer FM Global. Much of the region's industrial recovery will depend on how quickly power companies can restore electricity; that, in turn, will depend on how quickly the utilities can get employees back to work. "I received a call from one of my employees, who was evacuated to San Antonio. He was just informed that his house was totally destroyed," said Bill Reid, the CEO of Ohmstede, which builds and repairs refineries. Reid, who lives in Kemah, Texas, about 35 miles south of Houston, said his town was without power and water, and still had 15 feet of flooding. The port of Houston, the nation's second-largest, was without power Saturday but expects to reopen Monday morning if the Coast Guard finds no obstacles in the shipping lanes. Some empty cargo containers were blown about, but not too far. "All the terminals did very well and we had only very minor damage, like fencing being blown down," said port spokeswoman Argentina James. Refineries as far east as Louisiana were affected by the storm, however. The tourist island town of Galveston was flooded and office buildings in downtown Houston were damaged, but it could have been worse. "It appears that, at least from our facility and operations standpoint, the impact is a little less than we did anticipate," said Mike Smid, chief executive of trucking company YRC North America, which runs Yellow and Roadway lines. The company evacuated its 900 employees ahead of the storm. Preliminary estimates put the damage at $8 billion or more, but a precise accounting of the storm's wrath was far from complete. Travelers Insurance had teams of adjusters, claims agents and logistics people with laptops and ladders in San Antonio who are planning to leave for Houston Sunday, said spokesman Matthew S. Bordonaro. "It will be some time before we have any damage estimates," said Mike Siemienas, a spokesman for Allstate Corp. "Our focus right now is to get into the hardest-hit areas once it is safe to do so." Retail gasoline prices jumped Saturday based on Ike's collision with refinery rich regions of Texas and Louisiana, threatening to shut down a variety of energy complexes in the Gulf of Mexico for days. Some refineries may remain shut for days, even if there was no serious wind damage or flooding. Gas prices nationwide rose nearly 6 cents a gallon to $3.733, according to industry data. Service stations around Texas and elsewhere raised prices sharply even before the storm hit, and lines to fill up could be seen as far away as Dallas. Ike was about twice the size of Hurricane Gustav, which rammed into the Louisiana shore two weeks ago. While the storm surge was less severe than what had been predicted, National Weather Service officials said a the highest — a surge of about 13.5 feet — was seen at Sabine Pass in Texas. The Sabine Pipe Line, a crucial natural gas conduit, has been shut down, according to the CME Group, parent of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Shell Oil said Saturday morning that crews would fly over oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico Saturday or Sunday to assess damage. The U.S. subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it could take days to weeks before full production could resume at its facilities. Valero Energy Corp. spokesman Bill Day said crews would soon get in to inspect refineries in Houston and Texas City, which remained shut down. Both, plus another refinery in Port Arthur, lost power in the storm, he said. Alcoa said its alumina refinery in Point Comfort, Texas, 125 miles southwest of Houston, will begin the restart process on Sunday. The storm pushed a surge of water through the Houston shipping channel, a complex of oil and petrochemical refineries, and the nation's second-largest port. Windows were ripped out of office buildings in downtown Houston. At the 75-story JPMorganChase tower, the tallest building in Texas, curtains could be seen flapping in the breeze and glass shards littered the streets below. Power was out in much of Houston, although the lights stayed on in the city's huge medical center, a sprawling complex with about a dozen hospitals that attract patients from around the world. Flights in and out of Houston's two major airports were suspended on Friday and not likely to resume until Sunday. Southwest Airlines said it would shut down flights at Dallas Love Field, its home airport, for several hours Saturday as Dallas — 240 miles north of Houston — was expected to take a glancing blow from Ike. Officials at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the largest hub for American Airlines, warned that winds and heavy rain could cause delays or cancelations. Air service to smaller cities in Texas, including Corpus Christi and Harlingen, was also disrupted.
the part that pisses me off is the media coverage of hurricanes lately. every fucking hurricane that comes down the pipeline is "the mother of all hurricanes -geraldo", or "if you don't evacuate you are going to die" really? I'm going to die from a category 2 hurricane? get a fucking grip. after Katrina, cable news reporting on hurricane is just sensationalist, fear-mongering horseshit. they were actually telling people to write their SSNs on their arms with permanent marker so they could identify your body.
I agree with Nicad. My gas light came on and that was the only reason I went to fill up today, price of premium went up $.30 overnight and it was only so due to the "expected" shortage which will occur if enough population believes.
The gas stations in sandy springs along roswell rd are dry. I put 10 gallons in at the shell across from Stephens last night for $4.75, and filled it up today in Cumming for only $4.19. I hate how each county is different.
Amy needed gas tonight and every station around JFerry/Hwy 120 was out. Dumb @#%#ers running on the pumps again. We'll do the same thing as last time every one panicked. Wait a few days before getting gas when all the stations have restocked and prices have stabilized. Remember the last time when news crews were interviewing people in long lines topping up & filling extra gas cans? All those bastards deserve to pay $5+/gal. "Well, I have to get work everyday" from some lady driving an Expedition. Sorry, needed to vent.