Canada Gas Price jump 8 -13 cents - Oil companies gouging consumers

by travel_photography | September 13, 2008 at 10:00 am | 827 views | 14 comments | 24 recommendations

My Opinion (further down are the facts):

This is making me sick. The Oil Companies gouging consumers and it is not funny anymore. The Oil is down to $100 a barrel and gas prices are now up again very close to the point we paid when the barrel was up to $147.

Every time Oil goes down they say that it takes time to bring the effect of lower prices to the gas pumps - but "if may possibly probably not" a hurricane gets close to oil fields the prices at the pump are going up on speculations! That is soooooo wrong and to me a CLEAR sign of that the oil companies do with us consumers what they want. I'm sure not a big fan of governments regulating a market, but it is time to step in and stop this nonsense.

There is not too much we can do (as Individuals), but that little bit we can do WE WILL DO... we are not using our car if we somehow can avoided. If more people would do that it may have an effect. We will continue to do our part till we get FAIR PRICES again.

We ALL have to start doing something against that abuse (to me it is like abuse) - Do you have any ideas what a single consumer can do to show the oil companies that this has to come to an end? Please let us know, we ALL can make a difference.

I think the picture attached to this here shows what we get back for paying those prices!

Give us your opinion on this matter!

Update: The hurricane is over, the damage was by far not as bad as thought and gas prices are still up! No wonder people get bitter when they get ripped off all the time.

Follow up - Oct. 1st, 2008

Gas prices dropped as predicted (but waaay later) after the hurricane to the same level we had pre hurricane, but we still not seeing prices which are related to the real oil price today. I keep my position on this - big rip off.

Gasoline prices spike in Canada on expectation of storm damage
SHAWN MCCARTHY

GLOBAL ENERGY REPORTER

September 13, 2008

OTTAWA -- Gasoline prices rocketed in many cities across Canada yesterday as hurricane Ike bore down on the Texas Gulf Coast, and pump prices could surge to record highs if the storm causes major damage to the region's vast refinery complex.

Depending on its severity and length, the price spike could become a major issue in the federal election campaign, as party leaders yesterday accused Canadian oil companies of gouging consumers. Higher pump prices would also do further damage to an already weakened North American economy by hammering fragile consumer confidence.

Ike was due to make landfall this weekend on a stretch of the Gulf Coast that is home to a quarter of U.S. refining capacity. Such major refiners as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. began shutting down their operations midweek in anticipation of potential flooding and power outages.

"If there is significant damage, we're going to see further increases in wholesale and spot prices, definitely," said Michael Ervin, whose Calgary-based company tracks petroleum markets. However, pump prices could also retreat quickly, as they did in the wake of hurricane Katrina three years ago.

Canadian gas retailers shocked motorists yesterday by responding immediately and in lockstep to increases in North American wholesale prices caused by the shutdown of refineries on the Gulf Coast.

Overnight across Southern Ontario, companies raised pump prices by nearly 13 cents to $1.35.7 a litre, flirting with the record high of $1.37.3 set in early July when crude prices climbed above $147 (U.S.) a barrel.

In Ottawa, prices rose 12 cents to $1.30, and they also saw double-digit increases in Calgary, Montreal and Halifax.

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Fairbanks

at 12:29 on September 13th, 2008

It's kind of interesting. Gasoline didn't rise as fast as oil in the recent runup and isn't falling as fast now. Gasoline is nearly as expensive in Alaska as it was at the peak and there is an explanation. There are two commercial refiners in Alaska. One of them is operating at a loss now even with the high price of gasoline and the other is not making much profit. Their problem is that they have to buy oil from the producers rather than having their own oil wells. How the price of gasoline can be reduced in Alaska is not known.

amyjudd

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 14:02 on September 13th, 2008

travel_photography, I like this story. It's good stuff.

I can barely afford to drive anymore!

blacktryst

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 16:09 on September 14th, 2008

travel_photography, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Its true that oil prices have gone down.. but there is a difference in price for refined gas because there is additional costs involved in the transport and refining of oil. Its just like water.

Having said that, i think that gas prices going up is a good thing. It means that more people will be driven off using gas and more people will be encouraged to use public transport or buy vehicles that uses alternative sources of fuel. That also in turn pressure governments around the world to invest more on public transit systems. Can you imagine the ton of pollution we can save from the environment if even 5% of gas guzzling vehicles get put off the roads and highways from around the world?

travel_photography

at 16:17 on September 14th, 2008

Hello Blacktryst,

I agree that there is a positive side too but fact is that a year ago when the prices for gas really got up they always said it is because of the oil price - which makes sense because it is still the base for gas. The costs for refining gas stays pretty much the same so the final gas price really depends on the price of oil.

It now sure helps that people drive less, but some people don't really have a choice. All Oil companies had record income in the last few quarters as you can see at the stock market, just showing me that there is no real need to get gas prices up that far.

On the other side I think it would be nice if a Government would charge the big Oil companies a x amount which has to be spent in research for new renewable energies. But as much as I understand is this where the problem is - the Oil companies hardly invested in new technology for many years....

Don Jackson (not verified)

at 11:55 on September 15th, 2008

I agree 100%. Prices go up on speculation then (eventually) drop by maybe half of what they went up and they think no one will notice. This last hike proves 100% that we are being gouged. Prices went up under speculation of storm damage, and now that very little to no damage happened the prices are yet to fall.

This would be like going to your boss and saying you want $12/hr instead of $8/hr because yuo might get laid off tomorrow. Where are the regulatory controls? People are getting to the point of having to make a choice, feed their families or feed the car.

travel_photography

at 12:03 on September 15th, 2008

Good point!

Tina Kells

at 15:34 on September 16th, 2008

I couldn't agree more! Gas prices = super scam!

Murielle (not verified)

at 13:16 on September 17th, 2008

Canada should not be putting all their oil on the world market. Look after the Canadian people first. End of story!!!!

travel_photography

at 14:51 on September 17th, 2008

totally agree - but that would take some guts to do that!

nikkidoogiirrrr (not verified)

at 06:57 on September 28th, 2008

canadian ppl should

nikkidoogiirrrr (not verified)

at 06:55 on September 28th, 2008

hi i am doing a project on this and think u r soo ture

bill hicks

at 15:46 on October 2nd, 2008

Dang George Bush raised the price of gas in Canada again. Three more months and the price os gas will be 80 cents a gallon.

Richard Lee (not verified)

at 15:55 on October 2nd, 2008

You guys think you have it bad... Come to the glorious UK where we are paying approximately US$10.00 per gallon. Now that is being gouged!

Fraser Sullivan (not verified)

at 14:37 on October 26th, 2008

Gas in Toronto is at $96.4 cents/litre today but with the drop in the Canadian Dollar below $0.80 cents/USD it should level off since we buy oil in USD from New York. If we were still at par, gas would fall to around $0.70/litre, too bad.

Then again, this huge runup has sent sudden shockwaves for a recession and prompted action on the green technology front. Once electric vehicles start to takeover, pollution will go down and the gas service stations as we know them now will be reduced to rubble.

So, all in all, higher pump prices are much better for us all in the long run!