Are the government misleading us all about oil prices.....You MUST read this...

[tomtubby]

I know that this is not quite the right place to post this but it is relevant to debt problems etc.

 

 

Is the wool being pulled over our eyes ????

 

We are being told that the high price of oil is becuase of US prices etc and then we see the following press release today that states that:

 

A Major oil pipeline providing 30% of the Uk's daily output is to close tonight.

 

BP's Forties oilfield brings in 700,000 barrels a day from the North Sea.

 

In other words we are providing nearly a third of our entire oil supply from our own reserves in the North Sea........so why are we all paying so much ???????

 

Answers on a postcard please....

[Helford]

I totally agree with you that we are being fleeced (Sorry! )

 

However, the quote refers to "30% of the Uk's daily output ", that's not the same as our consumption. Does anyone know what the UK's estimated use of oil is?

 

I have to say that with the scaremongering 'Don't panic buy!' messages etc. We cannot be that dependant on imports if there is going to be shortages in such a short period of time.

 

H

[Bookworm]

I think only 1 thread about this will do, Tomtubby, and it really should be under General Consumer issues, not the Debt forum, so I'll move it there. ;-)

[robin9342]

 

Hmm, according to this, 80% of our crude is sent for export and the remaining 20% is refined for UK use which provides 10% of overall UK demand. If this is true, I would like to know why the hell we don't keep the other 80%, meaning that North Sea oil could provide 50% of overall UK demand??

 

I just don't get it. Why are we exporting any oil at all:confused:

[Theo Ccupier]

Unfortunately, we produce the wrong sort of oil for all our different processes. Hence the need to import the "right" sort of oil for some uses.

 

Anyhow, its a world market, and we do export our product too. And if it was as simple as telling the US, South America and the middle east to shove it cos we have our own, ta very much, don't you think we'd have done that a long time ago?

[gyzmo]

Any Saudi Arabians out there? I have some good quality sand to flog off. any reasonable offer accepted. Also available - ice for Eskimos. subject to availability.

[robin9342]

Unfortunately, we produce the wrong sort of oil for all our different processes. Hence the need to import the "right" sort of oil for some uses. Don't believe that for a second. If we can refine 20% of Brent crude, then we can refine 100% of Brent crude

 

Anyhow, its a world market, and we do export our product too. And if it was as simple as telling the US, South America and the middle east to shove it cos we have our own, ta very much, don't you think we'd have done that a long time ago? Of course its not that simple. Apparently, North Sea oil could supply 50% of our needs and we would have to import the rest (aside from Wytch Farm), so the question remains: why do we export at all?

..

[Theo Ccupier]

We export because it's bloomin profitable!!! Brent is a light oil, well suitable for petroleum and other light distillates. As you can imagine, this makes it a premium oil, hence Brent pretty much being the benchmark for other oil prices.

 

Or are you suggesting that the government should block exports of Brent? Do you honestly think anyone would bother to invest in the north sea if the only market for that oil was the UK? The price would plummet in such a confined scenario, so profits would be minimal, so nobody would bother getting it out of the sea in the first place. America and the rest of the world would ban our companies from working in their seas, technical breakthroughs (in which British companies lead the way) would never come to fruition, and we'd be held to ransom in so many other spheres, we'd end up a 3rd world country.

 

It's a helluva lot more complicated than you are suggesting. But remember this: the US is the world's single biggest consumer of oil in the world. Do we really need to be making an enemy of the US? Despite all their faults?

[robin9342]

Well, I'm obviously over-simplifying things. Its just that selling our own oil then having to buy and import other oil does not seem to make much sense.

[GiveUsAClue]

Well, I'm obviously over-simplifying things. Its just that selling our own oil then having to buy and import other oil does not seem to make much sense.

 

It does if the price we get for a barrel of Brent crude is more than it costs us to buy a barrel of "other" crude.