Save On Your Gas Bills

I know of friends who cannot live without a car, and who do not bat an eyelid about the cost of gas - even when oil prices were sky high.

So for those of you out there who are gas guzzlers, I would like to share a wonderful resource with you.

It is GasBuddy.com.

What I find so fantastic about this site is that you can find the lowest gasoline prices in almost the whole of US.

Do check it out and save on gas.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

You may observe that certain events have changed since this clip was made in July 2008.

US employers have slashed 240,000 job in October. The American government revised September job losses to 240,000 - the highest since November 2001 just after 911 terrorist attacks. You may be one of the statistics behind the 651,0000 jobs which have been slashed from payrolls from August to October.

Meanwhile, falling oil prices provide relief to distraught Western governments and central bankers. One reason oil has fallen lately is the recent rally of the US dollar, driven by a “rush from risk” in which US-based and other dollar-denominated asset managers have turned away from emerging markets.

However, OPEC president has just delivered a not-at-all-reassuring statement that OPEC nations could further reduce oil output if oil prices continue to plummet.

For you as a consumer, falling gas prices help you to save on your gas bills. Let’s hope it stays this way. But am I a bit hopeful? Only time will tell.

Today, we congratulate Barack Obama as our President. Today is indeed a momentous day. For the first time in American history, an African American has rode on the wings of ascendency to the ultimate price - to be the President of the United States.

Obama’s presidential campaign centred around the themes of change and hope. One thing is going to happen. Change is going to happen - for better or worse.

Americans are anticipating better times ahead. The world is expecting a stronger US economy. Buoyant sentiments have boosted the dollar, and that has shaved off a massive 3 percent of the price of oil to $68 a barrel.

With the dollar expected to get stronger, oil prices are likely to continue its downward slide, unless and until the OPEC imposes further oil production cuts, which look rather likely.

Just yesterday, Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations made cuts in oil exports. That caused oil to surge by $6.62 per barrel.

Let us view our future with hope; that this new era in American politics will usher in a new age of growth and lower oil prices.

Oil companies must be laughing merrily to their banks…

If I were the CEO at these record-breaking, profit-making oil companies, I would be rubbing my hands in glee, anticipating a fat year-end performance bonus.

Just read about their obscene profits:

ExxonMobil reports $US1800 per second profit for 3Q

Shell profit surges 71 percent

Occidental Petroleum profit rises 71 percent on higher prices, greater production

BP profits soar 148%

ConocoPhillips profit jumps 41%

With the slide in oil prices, these oil companies are apprehensive on the price decline on their bottomline. I think it is highly likely that these oil companies will lower their investments in production and exploration if oil prices keep declining due to reduced global economic growth.

You have a choice:

(1) continue to use gas wastefully and contribute to these oil companies’ handsome profits
(2) drive less and save gas
(3) use alternative less-expensive energy sources and save gas

Make your choice wisely.

How do oligopolies react when the prices of the goods they produce fall?

They cut supplies.

Your economics textbooks would have taught you that when the supply curve is adjusted inwards, you are making available less goods for the same price.

That is exactly what OPEC has done. Starting in November, OPEC will cut its oil output by 1.5 million barrels a day. And they will continue to cut oil supplies to try to prop up oil prices.

Self-interest is at play, as their economies have been substantially driven by oil revenue, even as they have been diversifying into other non-oil related industries in the past few years. These alternative industries have also been hit by the spillover effects from the financial tsunami which have engulfed global economies.

OPEC’s president, Algerian oil minister Chakib Khelil has blamed the low oil prices on a drop in demand and on the current financial crisis.

That’s true to a certain extent. However, it is no thanks to their GREED and their iron-clad grip on oil supplies that led to astronomically high oil prices in July this year. At its historical high of $145 per barrel, it doesn’t take much to figure that this price is unsustainable, and that sky-high oil prices would drive up global inflation, lead to higher costs of doing business, higher costs of living, and eventually throttling global economie growth.

And we have ourselves to blame - for becoming so overdependent on oil for our energy needs, industrial production and our household consumable goods.

Stop complaining, Mr Chakib Khelil, I would like to say to him. OPEC is still making money even in recessionary times like this. So stop being greedy!

Pump prices in the US have been falling. We may see gas prices dropping below $3 a gallon. A massive 51% drop in oil prices has happened since oil topped $147.27 per barrel for light, sweet crude on July 11 this year.

With growing gloom in the economy in the economy, Americans are saving gas by driving less, airlines are grounding their planes, and businesses are slowing down rapidly and going out of business, all these have contributed to a massive contraction in oil demand.

What Do Oil-Producing Nations Do When Oil Prices Go Down?

You have probably guessed correctly. They cut supplies. Or at least that’s their intention.

OPEC, which controls 40% of the world’s oil supply, has brought forward to discuss how to stop the fall in the price of crude. Bringing forward the meeting by almost a month is significant, and it shows how desperate OPEC is in maintaining current oil prices or spiking oil prices upwards.

Some analysts said OPEC could decide to trim output by as much as one million barrels a day in order to halt the slide in oil prices, in addition to a 500,000 barrel per day cut last month.

I share the same sentiments as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

“I think it is absolutely scandalous that OPEC is thinking of meeting in the next few days to cut oil production so they can push up the price of oil again…”

Talk about greed of these oil producing nations. Even in depressing times like that, they still have not forgot their profit motive, and continue to plunder the masses and profit at their expense.

One can only hope OPEC will discover their conscience and start thinking not only about amassing their wealth, but to also do their part to stimulate the global economies by keeping oil prices affordable.

In a nutshell, the oxyhydrogen technology works this way:

First, install a quart-sized water container under the hood

Fill it with water and a little bit of banking soda

Oxyhydrogen gas (also known as HHO) is supplied to your car engine’s car manifold or carburetor

Mixture of HHO and Fuel will combust in your car combustion engine

Through the use of these hydrogen generators, you will be able to increase your gas mileage by up to 80% to 100%.

Among the claims made by promoters of supplemental hydrogen generators, they include:

Save up to 60% on your gas bills

Increase your gas mileage by up to 80% to 100%

Reduced carbon build-up in your car engine, leading to increased horsepower, higher fuel efficiency, lower maintenance costs, longer car engine life

Reduced carbon emissions into the environment, creating a better, safer and cleaner world

Before commenting on the validity of these claims, we will briefly explore how the oxyhydrogen technology works in water-fueled cars my next blog post.

If you have been reading my posts, you would have seen this coming.

With falling oil prices, the oil-producing nations would have seen their profit margins shrink. So it just makes simple economic sense for them to want to curtail oil supply in order to fetch higher oil prices.

Today, Libya’s top oil official called for a production cut, and Qatar’s oil minister oil minister said the country is reducing output in line with quotas.

To quote OPEC President Chakib Khelil, all these “appropriate measures” are required in order to stabilise markets. If you read between the lines, I think the message roughly translates into using oil production cuts to keep oil prices consistently high.

The saying ‘make hay while the sun shines’ certainly rings true in the case of oil traders, who have taken advantage of the cheapest oil prices in eight months to buy oil.

If only you can also stock up on gas at home in order to save on gas bills. Though I don’t think that can be feasible for a normal person to do so due to fire hazards concerns.

Today, oil prices fell to an eight-month low below $90 a barrel on speculation that the spreading financial crisis will exacerbate a global economic slowdown and further cut demand for crude oil. Light, sweet crude tumbled $3.82 to $90.06 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In the midst of the deepening global financial crisis, global markets sold off.

While lower oil prices provide some reason for cheer, however there is a widespread gloom surrounding the American and world economies. Lay offs, job insecurity, slow-down in new job creations, high food and oil prices, higher transportation and energy prices, rising costs of operating businesses, and reduced consumption have all combined to create an uncertain future.

Cutbacks seem to be the order of the day. Not just for the lower-income group, but across the board for the middle- and high-income groups.

Here are some ways which people have used to save on gas and other expenses:

• Eating simpler, home-cooked meals
• Driving earlier to work to avoid morning rush-hour traffic jam
• Taking public buses or trains and avoiding driving the car
• Commuting by bicycle or by walking, if the destination is nearby
• Shopping for groceries fortnightly, insteadly of weekly
• Cutting down on vacations
• Flying by economy class

In view of the dimmed prospects for the economy in the coming 1 to 2 years, saving on gas and other expenses will become even more important to ordinary folks.