Boycott the Big Four (Petron, Shell, Chevron, Total)= Cheaper Local Oil Prices?

[pitbullz]

actually bad trip nga talaga ang meralco at yun maynilad...may masamang experience ako sa maynilad...wala ako magagawa eh,sila lang talaga ang mga tagapagbigay ng tubig sa area namin...feeling ko na hostage yun karapatan ko sa clean water access...

as for mga nagrarally...mga iba dyan hindi naman nila alam yun mga pinaglalaban nila eh...tanungin mo sila isa lang isasagot nila "mahirap lang kamiiiii" magtrabaho na lang sila at wag na lang sila anak ng anak,para naman guminhawa buhay nila

[badsekktor]

mas mahirap siguro kung wala na tayo mabibiling gasolina.......

what if wala na makuhang crude oil sa buong mundo..... mas malaking gulo ito

[uls]

mas mahirap siguro kung wala na tayo mabibiling gasolina.......

what if wala na makuhang crude oil sa buong mundo..... mas malaking gulo ito

Yes talaga mas mahirap kung walang mabiling gasolina. Like i keep saying... it's better to have expensive gas to buy than no gas to buy.

As for crude oil supply, madami pa yan. Planet earth is a big place.

The super critical element between fuel for our cars and crude oil underground is the oil companies... the explorers and refiners.

it takes huge amounts of capital to get oil out of the ground and turning it into unleaded gas, diesel...

question is, will there be an incentive for those capitalists to invest?

Kung lagi nalang titirahin ang mga oil companies, ihaharass sila, papahirapan sila, kokontrolin ang kita nila, itatax sila ng malaki kasi kumita sila ng malaki (windfall tax)...

baka dumating ang panahon na hindi na sila mag bother mag invest... di na worth it e...

So even if u have 100 or 200 years of crude oil supply under the ground, if the capitalists refuse to invest in extracting it and refining it, wala tayo fuel para sa tsikot natin...

[badsekktor]

sana nga.... hehehehe! para naman di sayang kung magpapalit ng bagong oto. mahirap yata yun may oto ka pero walang mabiling gas.

[theveed]

it takes huge amounts of capital to get oil out of the ground and turning it into unleaded gas, diesel...

Amen...

Though some think crude comes out of an easily accessible faucet in an executive's bathroom... Kaya nga profiteering...

[Eismann]

Amen...

Though some think crude comes out of an easily accessible faucet in an executive's bathroom... Kaya nga profiteering...

+1....true.

[jpdm]

Philippine Star
Under recovery is nothing but profit margin for oil firms


COMMONSENSE By Marichu A. Villanueva
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Opinion

If there is one bill that Congress should consider as priority legislation when they resume sessions next week is to declare as unlawful and illegal the so-called “under recoveries” that oil firms in our country invoke to justify the price increases of their refined oil products. But surely, passing this into law would encounter formidable objections from the so-called “Big 3” — Pilipinas Shell, Chevron and the semi-government owned Petron. How we could only wish national interest would prevail over other interests in Congress.
It is high time to revisit RA No. 8479, known as the Oil Deregulation Law that gave birth to this greedy monster called “under recovery.” This word has become synonymous to the price increases in gasoline, diesel and other refined oil products. Oil industry players tersely refer to “under recovery” to mean as “unrecovered crude or product costs.” But at the rate these oil firms raise the pump prices of gasoline and other refined oil products, “under recovery” has become an oxymoron to the “over recovery” of profits that they have mostly remitted to their mother companies abroad.
The term “under recovery” is supposed to be the technical jargon by oil firms to purportedly cushion the consumers from the price spikes in the international market for crude oil where we import our gasoline and other fuel requirements. By absorbing the initial price shocks of crude oil from the international market, the domestic oil firms chalk up under recoveries that make them appear as doing this out of kindness. So oil firms were entitled to claim “under recovery” under the Oil Deregulation Law.
The Oil Deregulation Law was enacted in 1998 by the 10th Congress. This 10-year old law definitely needs a make-over to rein in claims of under recoveries that have enabled oil firms to jack up their prices and protect any erosion of their profit margins. We now have the 14th Congress to take it upon themselves to initiate a review of this law.
Ideally, the Oil Deregulation Law was crafted to make the downstream oil industry in our country be more competitive, meaning, the oil players would try to out-sell each other. Ironically, however, the oil players have operated as if they are a cartel like the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Under this law, government does not interfere with the pricing, export and importation of oil products. [SIZE=3]From three major players — Caltex (Philippines), Inc. (now Chevron Philippines, Inc.); Pilipinas Shell; and Petron — in 1996, there are currently more than 100 oil industry players.[/SIZE] These new players, according to the Department of Energy have invested more than P32 billion as of 2007. This does not include the $200 million investment poured in last year by the Saudi-American Oil Co. (Aramco), Petron’s partner, in a refinery expansion project here.
Interestingly, though, Aramco sold its 40% stake in Petron to Ashmore for $550 million last March. State-owned Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), which holds the government share approved Ashmore’s right to buy more shares. SEA Refinery Holdings BV, a unit of UK-based Ashmore Group, purchased last week additional shares in Petron Corp. to increase its stake to 50.57%.
The Ashmore Group earlier announced its plans to acquire the remaining 60% stake in Petron after the Philippine government waived its right of first refusal to buy out its partner in the listed oil company. Unlike Aramco which has oil fields in Saudi Arabia, SEA Refinery is just a holdings company based in The Netherlands and controlled by the Ashmore Group. Under the Oil Deregulation Law that paved the way also for the privatization of Petron and its sale to Aramco, it precisely mandated that the PNOC must get a “strategic” partner to ensure no disruption of crude oil supply in the country since we are largely dependent on imported crude oil for our fuel requirements.
Obviously, the oil industry players have been reaping brisk business returns here that they have not only grown in size but also in numbers. Perhaps, a good starting point for this congressional review of the Oil Deregulation Law is the proposed audit of oil firms that Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, as chairman of the House energy committee, announced yesterday that they will start. The presidential son expressed his support to House Resolution 659 that opposition Rep. Roilo Golez of Paranaque City, filed last Monday to call upon the Commission on Audit to audit the financial books of the “Big 3” and other oil industry players.
Golez, the former national security adviser of President Arroyo who has turned opposition stalwart, cited a precedent wherein the Supreme Court ruled in December 2006 in which the power of COA to audit “semi-private and private companies” was upheld.

Consider this.....

[Jun aka Pekto]

Speaking of competition.....

The smaller companies here have the lowest gas prices ranging from $3.65-$3.72/gal while the big companies (Chevron, Shell, Texaco) have the highest prices ranging from $3.84-$3.99/gal.

I take it's the same in the Philippines.

Add: The lone gas station above $4/gal has it at $4.16/gal. It's that same gas station where the rich folks live or at least near the golf course where the rich folks go.

Also

Speaking of changing habits....... There used to be some big SUVs pickup trucks owned by neighbors nearby: Ford F-150, Ford dually pickup, GMC Suburban, Toyota Land Cruiser, Nissan Titan, Old Chevy Traiblazer, Dodge RAM pickup. Now? They're nowhere to be seen..... all gone....... Nada. It just goes to show how people here are quick to change their habits. I'm almost expecting "Buy American" to spread by word of mouth soon. It kinda puts a puzzler for us. We were set on a Nissan Quest to replace our old Ford Contour. Now..... the Dodge Grand Caravan is back in contention....

[Jun aka Pekto]

Perhaps boycotting is too strong a word. Patronizing is a better term. I mean I've always patronized the smaller/lower-priced gas stations as my regulars. But, I still fill up at one of the bigger/higher-priced gas stations if I'm caught far away from my regular stops or if I needed an emergency fill.

I mean we patronize certain shops all the time because they're our favorites for one reason or another. There's nothing wrong with that.

Also, another reason why gas prices in the US are lower is because a sizable chunk of our tax dollars are used to subsidize oil.

[Monseratto]

Teh thread is going in round circles...