ordered deluxe kit 7/08. southern Indiana

[eliminator]

First of all you don't have to have a Cobra to post on this site....look at the member list.
Everyone has opinions, and intentions, not everone is going to agree on all statements. Some folks have agenda's on this forum, like it or not it's always been that way.
So it's been my take and my history if you get under my skin I will let you know about it in no uncertain terms. And I for one won't sit back and be politically correct, not my nature, and for those that have a problem with that, tough.
Besides you have to know the past history of events that have occured in order to understand what is presently happening OK. So I can see where Brent is coming from and I understand that part, some of you don't.
Like the old saying "you cant see the forrest for the trees".

Now for Ralphs concerns with fuel prices, In KY the state is getting ready to drop the hammer on the fuel distributors, the state claims they are overpricing it and gouging the retailers who in turn have to sell it higher than it should be to you the consumer. Especially true in the Louisville area. The State Attorney Generals is involved.

[ralphscott]

Hey Rick Ditto TN, prices are coming down $0.50 in one move today from 4.99 to 4.59.

We had to go to NC this weekend got gasoline for 4.49 on Sat.

If the Colonial pipeline is not pumping and 25% of US refinery capacity down for 9 days then the fuel is in inventory, not new production or shifts from other US markets. It sure does lend one to think this is a little over the top. We do have lots of fuel availability but the high price is indeed slowing demand.

Eddie -- This is like one big family, and a great one at that. My best friends are part of this family and you will soon be part of this family. The experience of the build is something you will cherish, talk and think about for years. A wiser person told me that I will enjoy the build more than the driving of the car. I thought he was more than a little off. I guess I 'm a little off as well, as now that I did my build and all the things I have changed and reworked Lil Cobra is part of our family and the build experience is huge. My dad taught me a lot about tools and how to use them, I learned more during the build process, but the best part was that I could take my Dad out in Lil Cobra before he died. It made me feel great and him as well as it is was the culmination of my skills that he was a large part in developing in me.
Ralph

[gasman]

Eddie, I’m sorry for the hijack on your thread, maybe you can start a new one and I promise not to post a word other than to wish you luck.

Rick and Ralph, I’ve been in gasoline distribution for 23 years and it is hard for me to ignore the ignorance displayed by most of the people thinking everyone in the industry is evil. The problem we are experiencing with supply is only partially hurricane related.

The EPA requires each State’s compliance to meet the seasonal RVP changes in gasoline formulation. To do this, the terminals must work their inventories to the lowest possible levels so that when the pipeline re-supplies the storage terminal, the gasoline dispensed is meeting the RVP requirement for that season. When hurricane Ike hit Houston, most of the entire Southeast was on tank bottoms awaiting supply of gasoline meeting fall requirements, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Colonial Pipeline cannot pump product through the line without product to push it forward. When the power went out in Houston, it affected every delivery point between there and New York Harbor. It had nothing to do with existing supply that was already in the line. Without power, the pumping stations cannot push the product forward.

My cost today on gasoline was $5.26/gallon; I sold it for two cents/gallon profit. My normal unlimited supply was limited to two loads for the entire day. The grocery store chain I sold it to sold it for 3.99/gallon so that they would not be accused of price gouging. They took a loss of 1.27/gallon, so tell me, who is price gouging?

[ralphscott]

Steve I don't think the industry is evil, or that you are evil or unethical, but not all players in the indutry are ethical. I have been in the energy business since 1975 with two decades of association with EIA. I am certainly not ignorant as to the energy market. EPA did suspend the RVP due to the hurricane concerns. I was not aware that the inventory was at the level you indicated in the Southeast. The key question is why did you have to pay $5.26 a gallon if it was existing inventory. That raises questions regarding up-stream suppliers. Yes I am a capitalist, but in case of a national crisis price gouging will be examined.

Ralph

[gasman]

Steve I don't think the industry is evil, or that you are evil or unethical, but not all players in the indutry are ethical. I have been in the energy business since 1975 with two decades of association with EIA. I am certainly not ignorant as to the energy market. EPA did suspend the RVP due to the hurricane concerns. I was not aware that the inventory was at the level you indicated in the Southeast. The key question is why did you have to pay $5.26 a gallon if it was existing inventory. That raises questions regarding up-stream suppliers. Yes I am a capitalist, but in case of a national crisis price gouging will be examined.

Ralph

Suspending RVP requirements did little to nothing to help supply when the product we needed was in the non functioning pipeline. The only product we had available to us was priced on a Platts contract. Platts is priced off the Nymex values which are manipulated by hedge traders. The method of placing value on products in times of crisis should certainly be examined. That examination should start in NYC, little place called Wall Street.

[ralphscott]

Steve, that is why the speculators moved their operations to the UK so they could continue to manipulate the spot price of crude without US oversight to the detriment of our national security, our economy is now being held hostage by our enemies.

On RVP:

US EPA Waives Fuel Standards In Ohio, Virginia
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 12 Sep 2008 9:31 p.m.:
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency waived fuel standards Friday for Ohio and Virginia, citing the disruption of fuel supplies related to Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Gustav.
The action will allow certain areas in Virginia to use conventional gasoline instead of reformulated gasoline, and will allow parts of Ohio to sell fuel that exceeds summer requirements for volatility.
The Virginia waiver expires Sept. 26. The Ohio waiver expires Sept. 15.
---------

Fuel Waiver Response 2008
Fuel Waivers have been issued for the following States:
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas
On September 11, EPA issued an emergency waiver through September 15 of the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) and ethanol requirements for gasoline in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, and of the RVP, ethanol and reformulated gasoline requirements for Texas through September 30.

Ohio: On September 12, EPA issued an emergency waiver of the 7.8 psi Reid Vapor Pressure requirements in Ohio.

Virginia: On September 12, EPA issued an emergency waiver through September 26, of the Reformulated Gasoline requirements in Virginia.
-------
The only way to reduce speculators impact on the maket is to increase their risk so we need to Drill Here Drill Now!!

Ralph

[gasman]

Ralph, If there hadn't been RVP requirements in place BEFORE the hurricane, the tanks throughout the Southeast would have been full. The hurricane would have been an minor agriviation because supply would not have been an issue after the storm. Lifting RVP AFTER the hurricane only creates more serious supply problems related to price gouging. Each State needs every drop of product it has to avoid outages. Trucking product several hundred miles to another state drives the cost up even more.

This could easily be fixed if the EPA would allow transitional phases to meet RVP requirements over a month instead of a target date. Unfortunately, they take a very hard line on this and do not allow storage terminals this flexability. We had the same problem with Katrina and will continue to have these problems as long as we have government telling us how to run our business.

[ralphscott]

Steve, I think that will change if McCain gets elected, he is certainly not Bush. It can be done by Executive Order in the form of a suspension/modification for a defined period of time couched in National Security.

I'm off of this thread. I you want to communicate further on this topic send me a private message.

Ralph