Houston Be Like

"PatBateman" (PatBateman) 02/07/2016 at 10:00 • Filed to: Ohl all o'er

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Still making money, but if we could get back to $4/gallon gas, that would be great.

Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] > PatBateman 02/07/2016 at 10:05

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Canada be like:

BorkBorkBjork > PatBateman 02/07/2016 at 10:06

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Saudi Arabia is producing to maintain their market share.

Iran is producing since now they can actually sell it.

Sorry, but $4 per gallon is a long way away. Unless, of course, gas and oil taxes go through the roof, but that would make your situation WAY worse.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > PatBateman 02/07/2016 at 10:11

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soon it’ll happen...and by then I won’t have a car that requires 91+ octane.

PatBateman > BorkBorkBjork 02/07/2016 at 10:15

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Yeah, we know it’ll be years off. I fully expect OPEC to cut production by EOY 2016, otherwise Venezuela and a few other countries are done for.

And no, the US Govt won't be tacking on taxes like that any time soon.

PatBateman > Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] 02/07/2016 at 10:17

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USD has been hitting the gym.

Dusty Ventures > PatBateman 02/07/2016 at 10:18

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RallyWrench > Dusty Ventures 02/07/2016 at 10:27

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Yeah, racing is a lot cheaper that way.

fhrblig > Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] 02/07/2016 at 10:28

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Dude, I really need to visit Canada this year. I could live like a king. A king, I tell you!

fhrblig > PatBateman 02/07/2016 at 10:31

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Drove by my local cigar shop/gas station (yes, seriously), and saw they’re at $1.37. It hasn’t been that low since I worked at a gas station. Delightful!

BorkBorkBjork > PatBateman 02/07/2016 at 10:32

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I’m not as certain, especially considering the dick-swinging contest between Iran and Saudi-Arabia. OPEC voting also has to be unanimous, and either one of those countries could stop a production decrease (or, at the very least, Iran could vote for a decrease and then keep increasing production anyway just to screw over the Saudis).

RX > PatBateman 02/07/2016 at 11:15

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fuck that. cheap gas means no pastor in F1 and more money for beer.

RX > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 02/07/2016 at 11:16

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The extra for premium is really pissing me off. $1.46 for reg and $2.06 for premium today. Last time gas was a buck and a half premium was only $0.20 more.

yamahog > PatBateman 02/07/2016 at 11:21

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Meanwhile, in Michigan:

thx for enabling my 12mpg V8 Blazer and 17mpg Camaro SS habits!

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > PatBateman 02/07/2016 at 11:32

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I’m indifferent as to whether prices are high or low.

For the place I work at, a low Canadian dollar is a bit more beneficial. And since the Canadian Dollar moves with the price of resources like oil, cheap oil works a bit more in my favour. Also having cheap gasoline is nice too... though in reality, since I already drive a fuel efficient car, I’m not saving more than $20/month on fuel.

Though the downside is that anything that is imported into Canada has become more expensive... like many grocery items. It also is bad from a pollution perspective... there’s less incentive for people/businesses to use energy in a more efficient way.

And it makes vacations outside of Canada more expensive too.

On the whole, I’d say that a low price of oil is a *slight* benefit to me. It’s also beneficial for most of Canada, except for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland.

But what I want the most is a *stable* price of oil. That’s actually what’s best for businesses... makes it easier to make and stick to business plans. And that means stable prices, whether they’re high or low, are what’s best for prosperity.

But with the way the idiot Saudis have been fucking around, I don’t see that happening any time soon.

Remember a few years ago how the Saudis were saying they wanted to keep oil at around US$70-$80/bbl? I remember:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ope…

And what happened to that?

Well in my view, the Saudis are religious nuts who are insanely wealthy, corrupt and dumb... and are mostly motivated by their desire to stay in power... and attack any threat to that power.

Thus, we have an economic war to go along with the military war going on in the Middle East.

As long as the Saudis feel threatened, don’t expect the price of oil to go up by much.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > BorkBorkBjork 02/07/2016 at 11:34

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Saudi Arabia is overproducing because they are waging an economic war against some of their neighbours and ISIS... who they view as a threat to their power.

Staying in power is the only thing the Saudis care more about than money and spreading the idiotic Wahhabi brand of Islam.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] 02/07/2016 at 11:37

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Low dollar is good for British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and PEI... and probably good for the Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories too.

Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 02/07/2016 at 11:47

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Not when my new video games cost $80, and a Club Miata starts at $37k+tax. My salary certainly hasn’t gone up 30%.

Personally having trouble seeing the upsides.

PatBateman > fhrblig 02/07/2016 at 11:52

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You should hear the oil guys down here. They keep saying “If oil stays this low, the economy will be hurtin’! Unemployment is already on thuh rise!” They get a “deer in the headlights” look when I try to explain to them how low oil prices is usually a NET POSITIVE for the economy, that farmers are happy that they aren’t paying an arm and a leg for fuel, and unemployment is LOWER at 4.9%.

They think that if oil is hurting, everyone is hurting.

Dusty Ventures > RallyWrench 02/07/2016 at 11:54

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You’ve figured me out, sir

Dusty Ventures > yamahog 02/07/2016 at 11:57

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Them gas prices on the tow out to Sno*Drift were purty

Iheartmy365kHonda - Car enthusiasts do like FWD > PatBateman 02/07/2016 at 11:59

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“High gas prices are the best!" - no one ever.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] 02/07/2016 at 12:02

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Yeah... if you’re buying imported stuff, or want to travel outside of Canada, it’s gonna hurt.

But from a job creation perspective, it’s good for most sectors outside of oil/energy.

Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 02/07/2016 at 12:10

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You’re absolutely right. I know it deep down. I’m just bitter because I want shiny imported things (cars, parts, computers, games, etc), and I’m less influenced by the job market.

PatBateman > Iheartmy365kHonda - Car enthusiasts do like FWD 02/07/2016 at 12:24

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Incorrect. I used to hear that all the time in Houston during the days of $4 gasoline. Unironically, I might add.

Iheartmy365kHonda - Car enthusiasts do like FWD > PatBateman 02/07/2016 at 13:09

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Because Houston is full of oil field owners. No wonder you heard it!

PatBateman > Iheartmy365kHonda - Car enthusiasts do like FWD 02/07/2016 at 13:13

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Not necessarily oil field owners, more like well-paid energy company engineers. They seriously make bonkers money.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Dusty Ventures 02/07/2016 at 13:13

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Kind of a catch-22 for me. I barely drive my personal vehicle so I have enjoyed no savings on that end -_-

Dusty Ventures > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 02/07/2016 at 13:19

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On weeks without rallies I usually do less than 100 miles in a week. On those weeks I’m only saving about $5/week in gas, but I’ll take five bucks any day.

Rally weeks when I’m doing two fill-ups in a day though...

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Dusty Ventures 02/07/2016 at 13:23

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I respect that. I don’t lead an exciting automobile lifestyle that others do. I now have to invent reasons to drive my pickup at all. That would be either going to the bar, visiting family, hauling more stuff to the dump, or picking up a pallet of whatever for some project at the house.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > PatBateman 02/07/2016 at 14:07

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I’m getting tired of putting 89 and up in the car.

PatBateman > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 02/08/2016 at 10:37

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Saudi has about 2.5 more years until they themselves are out of money (with oil prices at this level). They need it to go up eventually, and what better time than when they’ve captured a few markets away from Russia!

PatBateman > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 02/08/2016 at 10:39

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I need to put more 89 in my car. We have Kroger points that'll get me that shit for like $0.89/gallon.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > PatBateman 02/08/2016 at 10:49

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I’m lucky my model year has 89 as the recommended. It runs fine on 89, but there’s a sunoco that has 91 at the same price for 89 octane.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > PatBateman 02/08/2016 at 10:58

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Living in Alberta I 100% agree. Luckily for me I was a bit more financially responsible than most around here.

Maybe avoid being like this guy on my local buy and sell page.

Says the payments are $454 bi-weekly which means he financed the thing for 8 fucking years.

I’m sitting here in my $20,000 35 mpg Ford Fusion laughing all all these folks.

That’s the part I never been able to wrap my head around. If you make $150,000+ in the oilfield and you have a $300,000 house why the fuck do you not pay off your house???

Instead they finance every single thing they own so they can have every toy they ever wanted and have over a million in debt and when they get laid off they lose everything?

I on the other hand have as little debt as possible I have a mortgage payment and a small car payment that’s it! If I lost my job today I could go work somewhere else tomorrow for half of what I make and still survive.

Also I definitely agree that gas should have a set “bottom price” where essentially no matter what the price per barrel is gas could be no lower than let’s say $3.00/gal. It would weed out all the folks who buy a fuel inefficient vehicle because “gas is cheap” only to cry they can’t afford to live when gas goes up again.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > PatBateman 02/08/2016 at 11:52

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They only have 2.5 years IF they don’t make any spending cuts. But given that they are cutting subsidies and spending now, they probably have more than 2.5 years:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi…

PatBateman > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 02/08/2016 at 12:29

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Correct. With spending cuts, I’ll give them 3.5 years. With some bond/selling of Saudi Aramco shares help, 4. It probably won’t come down to that, but if the scenario persists...

This will also pretty much dissolve OPEC, destroy the governments in Venezuela and Iraq (and others), increase global warming, and kill off many of the smaller energy companies.

Angola, Algeria, and Nigeria are probably screwed too.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > PatBateman 02/08/2016 at 14:40

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I recall reading something recently that the Saudis can carry on like this for up to 5 years. They just have to reduce subsidies more.

They can also save a lot of money by cutting back the funds used for spreading Wahhabism to other countries.

And I don’t see them selling any shares in Saudi Aramco.

Also, I think OPEC has been largely irrelevant for at least the past 10 years. They couldn’t bring oil prices down when it was well over $100. They could keep oil in the $70-$80 range like they said they would 5 years ago. And the “market share” grab is just more idiocy.

I agree that Venezuela is in the process of having a Great Reckoning... I think they’re probably screwed worse than anyone else.

MonkeePuzzle > PatBateman 02/10/2016 at 17:15

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I too work in oil. Someone in the office the other day suggested that voting for Trump was a good move, because he is super likely to invade an oil nation and start a war that will raise the price.