Not happy with Saudi Arabia?

“A friend of mine just sent me this.....

Instead of putting a flag sticker on your car, read and follow the
following if you REALLY want to fight terrorism. Every time you
fill up your car with gas, you can avoid putting more money into the
coffers of Saudi Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that don't import
their oil from the Saudis. Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling
that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who
are

trying to kill me, my family, and my friends.

I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies
are the worst and which are the best to buy gas from.
Major companies that imported Middle Eastern oil for the period 9/1/00
----8/31/01.

Shell....................... 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco.............. 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil................ 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon.................... 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco....................... 62,231,000 barrels

If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over
$18 BILLION of our money going to the Middle East! Here are some
large companies that do NOT import Middle Eastern oil:

Citgo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 barrels
Sunoco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 barrels
Conoco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 barrels
Sinclair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 barrels
BP/Phillips . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 barrels
Hess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 barrels

All of this information is available from the Department of
Energy and can be easily documented. Refineries located in the U.S. are
required to state where they get their oil and how much they are
importing.

They report on a monthly basis.


Keep this list in your car; share it with friends. Stop paying
for terrorism.............But to have an impact, we need to reach
literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do!!
Now, don't wimp out at this point...keep reading and I'll explain
how simple it is to reach millions of people!!. I'm sending this
note to about thirty people. If !each of you send it to at least
10 more (30 X 10 = 300)... and those 300 send it to at least
ten more (30 X 10 = 3,000).. and so on, by the time the message
reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached
over THREE MILLION consumers! If those three million get
excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30
million people will have been contacted! If it goes one
level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION”

“Sorry that came out so disjointed, not sure what I did wrong.”

“...those stinkin' towel heads can kiss my rear end....”

“That's interesting mtnsteve, thanks for posting that. I always get my gas from a local Citgo, glad I've been doing the right thing all along.”

“What's not to love about Sodomy Arabia?”

“Didn't this all get posted before somehwere?

BP and Amoco are one company now (and have been for a couple years). Do they import all their oil, or none of it?

Better check all this info out if you plan to make a statement with your gasoline purchases.”

“Where do those companies that don't import their oil get it? Are these companies the ones that are trying to drill in Alaska? Off the coast of Florida? In pristine forests? Get a H2 car when they come out and say SCREW 'EM ALL!!!”

“Where is this magic supply of oil going to come from? Lets say we decide to Vote with our gas thanks and we only buy gas from the places listed above. Do they have and endless supply of non-Saudi crude oil. No, so when their business spikes they have two choices to import Middle East oil or run out. What do you think they will do ? A better plan is to buy your cars bases solely on gas mileage and make it known to the auto manufactures that this it the most important factor to you and that you are willing to pay for it.”

“If it weren't for all the gross statistical errors and the naïve grasp of oil industry economics exhibited here, this piece might actually have some validity.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/nogas.htm

Complex problems rarely lend themselves to simple, painless answers. Simply shifting where we buy gasoline isn't nearly as good a solution as the much tougher choice of sharply curtailing the amount of gasoline we buy.”

“But we're always looking for the easy answer, Violin!

I think both you and Bug hit the nail on the head.”

“ha! i just love Snopes.”

“Truth is, the majority of oil imported into the United States comes from Canada, Mexico, and South America.”

“Hmmm I was just recently thinking to myself that the girl was not only smiley, but quietly very smart (and there she goes again).

The Viol man and the Lyrical one have got good kopfs, too - but I would think to use the word "quietly" to describe them ('cept for play).”

“quit lookin' at my kopfs, ped!! you little perv. :-)”

“Must be a slow day I have a few things to say on the threads today...

About the oil....

Being raised in Oklahoma/Texas in my youth I know a little about AMERICAN oil production....

Think...why does the US have so many capped wells in american oil fields? We don't HAVE to import oil, we CHOOSE to...

Why? (Supply and demand).

World Supplies are limited. I will buy yours until you run out, and save my own for later. I've read documents on US Strategic Oil Reserves, and the American oil business is not operating at capacity in the US for a reason. I will not see the day we uncap the US Wells, but my children and theirs will. And then the Saudis will go back to being sheep and camel herders.”

“I agree???w/ Super Troll...I studied that theory in a Mineral economics class once; the "Drain the Middle East First" theory vs. "Domestic Production".”

“It's BP/Amoco and ConocoPhillips. BP and Phillips are not connected.”

“I don't buy into that theory. Besdies, doesn't it go against the thoughts that ALL Oil companies are just greedy, polluting, scoundrels?

To the oil company, it's all about profits, you don't pump a well if you don't make money doing it. Maybe you shut it in until prices make it profitable, but you don't 'cap' it and wait for the Saudis to run out, that's not happening.

Here's some Real US Import numbers for 2001, in Million barrels per day:

Canada 1.78
Saudi 1.66
Venezuela 1.54
Mexico 1.42
Nigeria 0.86
* Iraq 0.78
Norway 0.33
Angola 0.32
UK 0.31

* This number has been drastically reduced for 2002, for obvious reasons.”

“hmmm....

So keeping oil prices too low to make it profitable for US oil production, keeps the oil in the ground till we need it. Then oil prices will be allowed to rise to a more realistic level, become more profitable and the US oil will flow.”

“Wow, Pedxing! I feel so special! LOL!”

“Cost effectiveness and US Stratigic planning do not of necessity have to be at odds...the oil companies say it's the profit margins that dictate the capping of wells, but it's US Government policy and regulations that MAKE the US wells unprofitable...for now. (There is a strategic plan/method to the madness).

Ever wonder why when GWB adds to the US Strategic Oil reserve he does it from imported oil instead of our own wells?

As an added item to think about, Can you share information concerning the cost, passed on to buyers, of the transportation costs to ship oil around the world rather than truck it from National Oil Fields within our own country?

No arguement here, I just question how something can be shipped (In ships) around the world cheaper than trucking it....Labor costs in foreign Vs. American venues are only part of it....again, supply and demand...OPEC raises rates for more than reasons of COST, there are socio/political forces involved here too.”

“i think the all this terrorism is an attempt to take over the world because they know they are totally screwed when the oil runs out. can you imagine how horrible these country's will be after they have no money coming in?”

“Cannot share info on costs to ship via tankers, as I don't have a clue about that.

I assume since most foreign oil companies are government owned that the tax issue may come into play. i.e. In Wyoming, we pay ~10% in ad valorem and severance taxes on produced hydrocarbons. If it's on Federal land, it goes over 15%.

Another factor is the environmental issues. It is becoming harder and harder to produce on Federal lands. We have to do EIS's, archeological surveys, air emission studies from storage tanks, or even impacts of water discharge. All this raises the cost of producing. Right now prices are pretty good (~$27/bbl), this makes the upstream end pretty profitable. However, with higher prices the refining margins are lower, which reduces the downstream profits.

We currently average $25/bbl for 2002. Costs should run less than $10/bbl (but they are not), which should leave a pretty good profit...today. Not too long ago we were getting ~$10/bbl. You do the math.”

“Good point stratdewd.. the fuel cell could be their worst enemy.”

“I think one of the answers is to reduce our dependence on oil. Research into other energy sources should be of tantamount importance. Hydrogen cars I spoke of will possibly be available to the consumer 2010, if not earlier. There are electric hybrid cars available now. Solar energy is now available for homes with incentive low interest loans from the gov't to put them in. These are a few of the many things we can do now.”

“So why is it that no one is doing any of those things to reduce our dependency on oil, yet b!tch up a storm about the middle east?”

“Alternative Energy. Yes, a possiblility. Right now these are all very expensive and not very efficient. We have also heard people talk here that they want to use wind energy...as long as it is NOT in their backyard.

Kind of like the wolves. Many people in the east and west insisted that they be reintroduced...in Yellowstone. How many would want them in their state? I recently read where one was trapped in Utah and transplanted back to Yellowstone. How much did that cost? Now, the cow to calf elk ratios are falling drastically, the coyote (not Coyote13) population is pretty much devistated, and the moose have prety much become non-existant, all because of wolves.

Yup, all good and fine, as long as...”

“when he wants oil, he will pump it from a well in Texas, and the rules regs and environmental issues will be resolved or eliminated for the greater common good. When the need outweighs the other concerns, the US Government will use "National Defense" or some other justification to remove the barriers...like when the only oil left is OURS.”

“What gets me is that the oil from the Alaskan Pipeline isn't used in the US, we sell it to other countries. That makes a lot of sense, why not use it ourselves.
Nah, that would be to easy.”

“well, there goes my shell mastercard. No need to use it anymore. I am definatelly not going to stick any $$ up their a$$, so up i go to search for a new gas station.

what about those smaller gas stations? like hess, kangeroo, etc?? oh, what about murphy? the gas is really cheap there...”

“okay, hess is listed! cool!”

“I get my gas from BP!

8)”

“I used to work for a sub-contractor of Amoco. Their refineries sell gas to some of the smaller companies. Check the sources.

Like what was said above, many times over, change your use of oil, not where you buy it.”

“Not to mention that we've been supplying N. Korea with oil since before GWB declared them part of the Axis of Evil... friggin' hypocrit”

“9/29/01 I bought a Subaru so I could stop driving a F-150 pickup to work.”

“tango - do you have any info about the low interest lows for solar that you speak of? I am very interested and have been for a while. Have not been able to locate any info on this program. Thanks!”

“That Subaru for F-150 is my next step.Forester probably.I live in the Mojave desert where the sun rules,so solar is another step to be soon taken.Now, if the feds would admit what this potential war is about and pay for it with an oil tax-both use and the economy would both tank,thus,causing concern with all the oil producers.”

“Many oil co's have both active and passive holdings in many producers of alternative energy co's.Seems they may be there to hold profits high,thus,lower interest in these systems.Nah!oil co's wouldn't do that.Sorry I thought that White House.”

“"quit lookin' at my kopfs, ped!! you little perv. :-)"
Lyra

Who you callin little!?”

“oh, pardon me! my mistake. i meant to say "you biggest perv i've ever come across."
:-D

aaaaand...Dan Savage on the subject (from this week's column):

'Confidential To George W. Bush: Ann Landers advised presidents, and now that I own her desk, I'm gonna start. So Saudi money may have financed the Sept. 11 attacks. Can we go ahead and invade Saudi Arabia now and get it over with, please? If we're serious about halting the spread of Islamo-fascism, I think we should fight the problem at its source—or sources. America's dependence on oil enriches the Saudis, who turn around and spend the money (our money!) promoting fanatical hatred of the U.S. all over the world. Here's a thought, Mr. President: Let's #&%!$-can the tax cuts for the super-wealthy and invest the money in alternative fuels, wind and solar power, and the development of affordable electric cars.

'This won't stop Islamo-fascism, of course. We're still going to have to fight these bastards; unlike some of my lefty pals, I'm all for fighting the bastards. But I don't think it makes much sense to fight Islamo-fascism and finance it at the same time.'”

“Here is a site with many links. I will look up another link I downloaded a pamphlet from. If you are interested in that I can email it to you.

Solar”

“So, when are we supposed to stop buying shoes and clothes made in China or Indonesia....they seem to have different political agendas than the U.S.

Lots of houses in the U.S are made with Canadian softwood. There was a bitter dispute over the lumber tariff, should Americans avoid homes built with Canadian wood?

France was one of the last countries to join the fight against terrorism....maybe we should all refrain from buying their wines.”

“okay! Y'all quit drinking that French wine! More for meeeeee!

"What's Up, Médoc?"”

“I'm not sure that boycotting oil from Saudi Arabia is useful, but decreasing our dependence on foreign oil in general is good for our national security.

What if we had to depend on France for wine? Think what they would charge for a Nouveau Beaujolais!!!”

“Come to California, drink our wine, go to our amusement parks, hike our mountains and deserts, visit our beaches, buy our produce, go home”

“That could be summed up in the old bumper sticker: Welcome to California, Now Go Home.”

“"I'm not sure that boycotting oil from Saudi Arabia is useful"

It would be incredibly useful. Once we gain control of Iraq's oil reserves, we can boycott SA oil. Their economy will quickly go down the crapper, the House of Saud will fall, the U.S. will invade during the chaos to prevent the formation of an Islamofascist government, and we'll install a U.S. friendly gov't. Simple.”

“Then the U.S. will have control over a sizable amount of the world's oil reserves. We can flood the world market with cheap oil, watch Russia collapse, then drastically cut exports to Europe and China and watch them become U.S. lackeys. Pax Americana! Gotta love it.”

“Once we gain control of Iraq's oil reserves, we can boycott SA oil.

I guess I was speaking of the current situation, not after we take control of Iraq.

For some reason, your scenario reminds me of the British Empire.”