Tess wrote:[quote="vtsnowedinYes, but if American crude was allowed to be sold abroad, that massive WTI-Brent spread would have made it financially viable to send crude cargoes of WTI over to Europe, regardless of what other crudes replaced it. But, of course it's not permitted, so moot point.
So you want me to load up a tanker in Texas and bring it to the UK and sell it to you for $95 a barrel then swing down through the Suez and fill up at some port where they blow up pipelines and people on a regular basis with Brent at $105 and ship it back to New Jersey?
Remember, crudes are different. They are not all the same grade as WTI. They are not all light sweet, nor are all refineries economics the same vs the same crudes. It's perfectly normal to ship one type of crude one way across an ocean while shipping other types of crude the other way across the ocean. Europe for example (especially UK, Norway) sells some of its crude to the US while importing vastly more from Russia, Azerbaijan, Africa, the Middle East etc.
So if it weren't for the US rules against exporting US crude it might be perfectly economic for the US to export some crude to europe while also importing crude from Asia - especially when WTI was trading $10 below Brent. But the only reason WTI was able to be so low relative to Brent was because you can't sell it out outside North America, otherwise the price differential would have been arbitraged away by people hiring tankers and moving the crude to where it would have fetched a better price.
Tess wrote:[Remember, crudes are different. They are not all the same grade as WTI. They are not all light sweet, nor are all refineries economics the same vs the same crudes. It's perfectly normal to ship one type of crude one way across an ocean while shipping other types of crude the other way across the ocean. Europe for example (especially UK, Norway) sells some of its crude to the US while importing vastly more from Russia, Azerbaijan, Africa, the Middle East etc.
So if it weren't for the US rules against exporting US crude it might be perfectly economic for the US to export some crude to europe while also importing crude from Asia - especially when WTI was trading $10 below Brent. But the only reason WTI was able to be so low relative to Brent was because you can't sell it out outside North America, otherwise the price differential would have been arbitraged away by people hiring tankers and moving the crude to where it would have fetched a better price.
Crudes are different but wti is the good stuff. And as you say remove the rule and the price differential goes away and there would be no point of tankers passing in the night. All removing the rule would do is raise the price of finished fuel here in the US. Your stuck with Brent Tess sorry.
woodburner wrote:Good thing to raise the price in the US, then they might not be so profligate in its use.
I quite agree with that. I'd prefer a steady pre announced ratcheting up of the gas tax say $.05 every six months so that people could make well reasoned decisions as they turn over old vehicles for new and not make a huge chunk of the fleet worthless before they are worn out.
But that would require leadership and competence in government and the USA is fresh out of that at present.
PS_RalphW wrote:We had that policy for about a decade. Since the recession of 2008 it keeps being delayed each budget. In real terms , tax on fuel is now falling.
Correct me if I'm wrong but were you not already paying a very high tax? Combined federal and state taxes in Vermont are 43.9cents per gallon (cpg) and for diesel 54.3cpg. US gallons of course and my local (Remote) gas station charges $3.65 per gallon of gas and $4.25/gal of diesel. Those can run .15 less closer into town. That gives my pickup truck a fuel cost of $0.18 per mile driven.
A few years ago I met a couple of Brit. workmen that were over here demonstrating a new highway product. They were amazed at the number of pickups and large SUVs being driven around by lone drivers with nothing in the cargo bed. They carpooled in a Fiat at home but how those two rugby player sized chaps sqeezed into a spider I'll never know.
A litre of petrol in the UK costs about £1.40, and I believe more than 50% of that is tax. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15462923
There are 4.5 litres in a gallon but ah don't you have a different type of Gallon in the USA?
RenewableCandy wrote:A litre of petrol in the UK costs about £1.40, and I believe more than 50% of that is tax. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15462923
There are 4.5 litres in a gallon but ah don't you have a different type of Gallon in the USA?
Yeah,they rip you off by not giving you a proper gallon
To become an extremist, hang around with people you agree with. Cass Sunstein
RenewableCandy wrote:A litre of petrol in the UK costs about £1.40, and I believe more than 50% of that is tax. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15462923
There are 4.5 litres in a gallon but ah don't you have a different type of Gallon in the USA?
Yeah,they rip you off by not giving you a proper gallon
OK doing a bit of . Google for conversions and exchange rates I find that a US (Improper gallon) equals just 3.785 liters So using RC's figure of £1.40/ l a galloon US comes to £5.30 and if half of that is tax it would be £ 2.65 which converted to dollars at today’s exchange rate of 1.63 $/£ comes to $4.32 tax per US gallon. That’s more then I'm paying in total. You guys are being taken to the cleaners. There should not be a pot hole or rusty bridge anywhere in the UK and the rest of the government budget should be looking pretty spiffy as well.
vtsnowedin wrote: You guys are being taken to the cleaners.
It's one tax that I really don't mind. UK driving doesn't involve such long distances as US driving, and by encouraging people to buy smaller cars, this tax means that I can see where I'm heading when I'm cycling
OK doing a bit of . Google for conversions and exchange rates I find that a US (Improper gallon) equals just 3.785 liters So using RC's figure of £1.40/ l a galloon US comes to £5.30 and if half of that is tax it would be £ 2.65 which converted to dollars at today’s exchange rate of 1.63 $/£ comes to $4.32 tax per US gallon. That’s more then I'm paying in total. You guys are being taken to the cleaners. There should not be a pot hole or rusty bridge anywhere in the UK and the rest of the government budget should be looking pretty spiffy as well.
