Shell Oil, Price Manipulation, and the Fleecing of Americans
In an on-going scam to loot we the people out of even more money, Shell Oil has been doing a job on Californians. It's just one more scam by the oil industry to bleed us of all they can while insisting they are good corporate citizens.
Backstory: Originally, Shell floated the news that they planned to slow refinery output in Bakersfield during July and August as a prelude to closing it altogether at the end of September. Even though it's been making massive profits for quite a while and the nation really needs the gasoline, they insisted they needed to cut production at the time of peak demand.This involved shuttering a refinery that is profitable, yet at the time they had no intention to find another buyer. Hmmm. That has changed since then.
They were forced by the state of California to come clean, and now the sale of this "not profitable enough" refinery has become a bidding war. However, Shell keeps changing the terms of exactly what parts of this refinery they'll sell. I'll report on that in an upcoming story.
The Bakersfield refinery has been operating at a profit about 57 times larger than projected, and as of June made more than double the profit for what it earned in all of 2003. This refinery is surrounded by prolific oil fields. Shell states that it wants to divert the oil from Bakersfield to its refinery in Martinez, which it says is more efficient but not busy enough. Oh yes. The "struggling" Martinez refinery showed a profit in May 2004 equal to its entire 2004 profit projection. But the head of Shell refineries said he has no idea why the company planned to reduce its output during peak seasonal demand at both refineries. Talk about a shell game! The oil and power manipulation game has corrupted politics, and is shamelessly looting we the people!
Then, in a surprisingly quick response to increased public heat, Shell Oil reversed course, stating it planned to run its Bakersfield refinery at normal levels through the summer, revising its own internal forecast released just a few days before. This is a blatant attempt at price manipulation.
Up to just a few weeks ago, Shell still planned to close this extremely profitable refinery at a time when we need as much fuel as possible available in the marketplace. Shell insists it's financially necessary to close the plant. Too bad that free market capitalism doesn't allow for it being impounded and run by the Feds, since apparently the poor overworked oil companies just can't seem to make an insanely profitable refinery economically feasable during this time of national emergency.
Finally, in a nod to California and the US, the feds finally launched an antitrust investigation into Shell Oil's plans to cut summer production and shut down the extremely profitable refinery in Bakersfield this October. And of course, despite earlier Shell assurances just three weeks before that it would reverse course and continue at full production throughout the summer, they then cut production to about 20% below capacity, according to internal documents. They continued to insist that they needed to close the refinery "based on economic factors and crude oil supply problems."
The obscenity here is that as I stated earlier in the article, Bakersfield has been operating at a profit about 57 times larger than projected, and as of July had made more than double the profit for what it earned in all of 2003. As for the assertion that there are "crude oil supply problems," the Bakersfield refinery is surrounded by prolific oil fields. Shell states that it wants to divert the oil from Bakersfield to its refinery in Martinez, which it says is more efficient but not busy enough, despite massive profits.
There are no problems with the equipment. State demand for gas and diesel is far greater than is being refined, and this one plant produces a fair amount for California. As I said before, I find it strange that Shell just can't make it work despite massive profits. Thank heaven they agreed to sell the plant to someone else who wants to make a go of it, but now they've put up some innovative roadblocks to insure a convoluted bidding war. I can't help but think it's another example of the gaming of Americans by the oil interests. Oil is obsolete!
It's what got Martin Luther King shot
He started openly talking the point that it wasn't race that kept people apart, in fear and enslaved, but a society that requires an underclass to work for almost nothing (what we now call "the working poor") so that a few privileged, connected manipulators enjoy the fruits of the labor of the many. Bush policy is creating so much human despair that it is obviously unsustainable, but unfortunately, he and his cronies are getting theirs, and we'll be left with a system that's bankrupt, polluted, and too expensive for our children to believe in any "American Dream." The way to break these monopolists is by finding a way to run our machines that doesn't involve oil, which they control.
As I noted in a post from last year: Why is it that when we speak of taking money from the poor and giving it to the rich, it's called "an economic policy," but when we speak of taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor it's called "class warfare?" And you may want to read this post from Molly Ivins from awhile ago. The numbers are old, but probably worse. This can't go on indefinitely, as the people will eventually rise up and smash their chains. All we can do is prepare for that moment.
"If not here, where? If not now, when?"
Biodeisel/civil war
I have read an article about how to make biodeisel, its pretty easy but dangerous and there is no waste. When you are through making it, the top part is the deisel and the bottom is hand soap ( type into your search bar " Biodeisel " and the recipe's are right there ).
your right Robert! This world won't stand like this for long. These
rich/Government/Religious people are creating a world that we can't live in. Then they won't understand why we are, what they call, at an unrest period. They are creating this " This going back to slavery era ". Where's Robin Hood when you need him?
UN as a world government
It is interesting in the article about Peak Oil that it was mentioned about the elitists wanting the UN to become a world government. It is also interesting that in the Bible an 8th world power is spoken of existing for a short period of time in what is called the last days. If what the elitist want to happen and what the Bible says will happen, then indeed the UN will be an 8th world power backed by the elite. With regards to oil as being a fossil fuel it is just another lie in the same vain as evolution, completely unprovable, whereas non-fossil fuel, namely oil is provable. The old saying of keep the masses ignorant and you will control them is a saying that never have been more true. Americans think of themselves as being fairly inteligent and aware, but I beg to differ. Americans believe in large part what they are told by politicians and the news organizations which are mouth pieces for the government. We continue to be robbed in so many ways, and yet the ignorant will continue to refuse to believe that their politicians who are in bed with power and financial giants are part of the problem. For those of us who don't walk around with rose colored glasses can clearly see from the 70's onward that oil shortage has been nothing but a lie and subterfuge for other aims and goals. It is also clear that oil and refinery manipulation has been going on at least since the 1970's. As America becomes more of a service oriented country and economy, wages and salaries will suffer putting an even harder strain on lives, livelyhoods, and purchasing abilities. There is nothing that those of us with bright eyes can do until the masses shed their ignorance and are willing to clean house. Will anarchy someday occur? Something I wish, but am doubtful.
Well put Bennie
I couldn't agree with you more. We as Americans need to, as you said, take the rose colored glasses off and pay attention. Our pants are down and we are asking for a beating.
Starve the Jerks!
It seems to me that the best to deal with a leech is to starve it out or off of you! In dealing with the leeches ( for now will refer to the big oil businesses ) is to use the publicly available information ( like: www.educate-yourself.org, for instance ) for building alternative sources of energy like Hydrogen-powered engines. This project on the aforementioned website is one I have taken keen interest in! I know there are some electronics hobbyists and mechanics out there! This is but only one of many "do-it-yourself" projects that we can build! There is also a rich field of knowledge in Tesla-technology if anyone is inclined to "do the math". If enough people in the country took a serious interest in projects like these, together, we could starve these nasty leeches out of existance! What good would a business be if no one wants nor needs their product anymore!
I know this sounds idealistic. It all sounds poofy and hokey-pokey, but it is all doable!
Information is knowledge,
Knowledge is power!
Empowerthyself with knowledge,
And become a powerful people!
-scorpion081
(http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/Empowerment_through_Knowledge/)
and...
(http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/rfidahosw/)
Hi Scorpion081
You're absolutely right, and thanks for the links and info. We're into this exact thing, whenever we can promote it. I did an article on the Water Car a while back, as well as biodiesel. I don't think it's idealistic or poofy to break the grip of the robber barons, given that oil is obsolete.
If you want to do a diary or three on this site on anything to do with alternative fuels, power, electronics or whatever, please feel free to do so. As you can see, I've done a few articles on these price-fixing manipulative weasels and their cronyism with this illegal administration. Anything we can do to spread the word and starve the jerks is just all right by me!
"If not here, where? If not now, when?"
oil and the rest
I believe slavery is still around us today, just in a different form. I believe it exists in the form of all of us middle and lower class citizens working and busting our butts for not even enough money to get by without going into some sort of debt. Being forced than to pay overley high prices right back to corporate america for the goods and services we need to survive. It is for the same corporate america and the rest that we jsut spent 40 - 60 hour work weeks if not more producing many of the same goods and services we have to scrounge the money for just to get by, while our children are being raised by teachers and babysitters because we are too busy at work making a measily 8.00/hr (while if you could see your companys profits per hour would make you sick) to try and afford to feed and cloathe them and give them some kind of life. Is it just me or is there something seriously wrong with this scenario. ...... Just another pissed off slave.... jekelman@hotmail.com