Rita may be 'national disaster': oil CEO

[ECH1969]

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Valero Energy Corp. (VLO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Greehey said Hurricane Rita's impact on U.S. crude oil production and refining could be a "national disaster."

"If it hits the refineries, and we're short refining capacity, you're going to see gasoline prices well over $3.00 a gallon at the pump," Greehey said in a Tuesday night interview.

Valero became the largest U.S. refiner earlier this year when it completed the purchase of Premcor Inc. Valero operates refineries in Port Arthur, Houston, Texas City and Corpus Christi, Texas -- all potentially in the path of Hurricane Rita.

"It's going to be coming across the (U.S.) Gulf (of Mexico)," Greehey said. "There's a lot of oil platforms, oil rigs, (natural) gas platforms, gas rigs. It could have a significant impact on supply and prices, and then, depending on what it does to the refineries, there are still four refineries that are shut down. So this really is a national disaster." Refineries in Houston and Texas City process 2.3 million barrels of crude oil or 13.5 percent of daily U.S. refining capacity. The Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas, refineries account for another 1.1 million barrels in refining capacity.

http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-09-21T155238Z_01_MOR155505_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENERGY-VALERO-CEO.xml

[ewagner]

1. Innoculation

getting ready to jack up gasoline prices and need to prepare the public for it with a doomsday justification.

[spooked911]

2. My thinking too. And it is all the fault of nature, can't help it!

Not the Bush administration's fault, no sirree.

[katty]

31. the Positioning begins

[Bob3]

3. notice he says nothing about dead people just oil

There was an article that ran a few days ago that said tests made by psychologists indicated that psychopaths made the best stock traders. You have to wonder if the system is not selecting out psychopaths to occupy the top spots in corporations.

[derby378]

4. Ever see that movie THE CORPORATION??

If not, you really should check it out. The DSM-IV profile of a typical corporation is the profile of a psychopath.

[DS1]

16. Excellent movie - saw an advance version of it in my communications

class :hi:

Recommend it to everyone.

[cascadiance]

17. And a sociopath, just like many that run our government now...

I highly recommend the movie too. Another more uplifting film you can get that is hard to get here in the U.S. (might have to go to a Canadian website like amazon.ca to get it), is "The Take", a film on "retaking" Argentinian companies which gives one hope on what many can do to start taking on the criminals on running our corporations.

[spooked911]

5. good point.

[krkaufman]

13. Who's wondering? I thought it had been made obvious by now. n/t

[northzax]

34. his expertise is oil refining

so that's what he was asked about, and responded to. Why is that incorrect?

[deutsey]

6. Oil CEOs are the national disaster

:evilfrown:

[hogwyld]

43. I thought

Bush was!

[one_true_leroy]

7. a disaster for us = profits for them!!

[merwin]

38. Not me. Once diesel gets over $3.50/gallon, I'm switching to vegetable

oil. Pure vegetable oil mixed with 20-30% unleaded gasoline makes an incredible diesel fuel, and after about $3.50/gallon, it will become cheaper too.

[Dissenting_Prole]

50. Yeah, you and everybody else.

Good luck finding cheap french fry grease.

[ECH1969]

8. 5.00$ per gallon here we come

[graywarrior]

9. Why aren't they making any donations?

Free oil til we get through all this.

[underpants]

10. Hey CEO-Didn't you make plans for something like this?

Sorry but when Katrina hit I saw a American Petroleum Institue mouthpiece saying that it might take a while to figure this puzzle out....what have you been doing (other than buying politicians)? What do they pay your CEO salary for anyway?

[0007]

Then another CEO comes after that CEO and sez the devil

is in the details!

[Deja Q]

11. Let's see it happen first. This FUD to prematurely inflate price

has only served for greed before and will continue to do so.

[PurityOfEssence]

12. The new dustbowl

Much as many like to think we've conquered nature, we are at its mercy.

The Great Depression was amplified by the dustbowl and crop failures; we may well see something akin to that.

[YapiYapo]

56. When the great depression occured

30% of US population where still farmer, which mean most of those that were ruined could get back to the parent farm, work there for a few years,help grown food etc.

Now,less than 2% of US population are farmer.If a big depression occur many people will die from lack of food.

[barenakedbiker]

14. $10 gas....BRING IT ON BABY!!

http://www.cars-suck.org/
http://www.worldcarfree.net/

[lutefisk]

18. ...try $10/lb. fresh fruit. It's not that simple.

Maybe your post was meant to be ironic?

[barenakedbiker]

26. It's not rocket science

supply and demand. Price people out of cars. They'll use bikes, buses, and walk. Uncle Sam has subsidized wasteful car driving for too long.

[NickB79]

30. Unfortunately, that means a major reshaping of our cities

And death to most suburbs. Our entire way of life the past 50 yrs has revolved around people fleeing the inner cities for suburban life, while still commuting to work in those inner cities. With cheap gas, that was feasible. Now that the oil is beginning to run low, millions of people are slowly being stranded as that 20-mile commute each morning and evening becomes more and more expensive. Walking or biking to work is no longer an option for many families today. Pricing them out of a vehicle would flood our society with the now-poor and homeless who once were middle-class.

What is required is a gradual transition, where the inner cities are redeveloped into new apartment complexes and businesses, the suburbs slowly shrink or redevelop themselves into sustainable communities, and affordable public transportation through buses and rail connect communities. Unfortunately, this would take a decade or more, even if we didn't have Katrina repairs and the Iraq war sucking away money.

In our current situation, pricing people out of cars means putting them out of work. They can't use alternate means even if they wanted to now. That leads to a domino effect on the economy, spiralling down into a second Great Depression.

[progressive_realist]

37. Unfortunately?

I'm looking forward to it. These changes need to be made sooner or later. Sooner is better, so perhaps these event-driven spikes will inspire changes in the right direction before gasoline/oil shortages become a persistent, global phenomenon.

[NYC]

55. Only 5% of American workforce uses public transportation.

So said 1010 WINS radio about a week ago. I don't know if that is accurate.

Sounds astonishing to me, but I live in midtown. Most people here take public transportation.

[Tesha]

28. You know, not everything *NEEDS* to move by truck/air.

Maybe the fruit would arrive a little riper and a bit more damaged,
but we used to have rail transport in this country.

And we could have it again if the government subsidies (direct
*AND* indirect) of the trucking industry were to end.

Tesha

[Blue_In_AK]

36. That means Alaska can kiss fruit good-by...

...except for our rhubarb in the spring -- and that's not even real fruit. Damn.

[NuttyFluffers]

39. O_o no rail through canada? canada our enemy?

never knew...

or perhaps you weren't thinking about rail through yukon and BC. i doubt canada would be that hostile to us to transport food.

besides, ships can also run off of something besides gasoline. hell, at worst they can run off of coal and sails, ha ha ha! :D

[Blue_In_AK]

49. Actually, I think the Alaska Railroad

is contained within the state and doesn't connect up anywhere with Canada. I guess it's time to bring back the clipper ships. :)

[kestrel91316]

53. You got brambleberries there, don't you? Like blackberries?

[hogwyld]

44. I for one

am willing to pay that to get rid of all cars. This will lead to the suburbs being returned to farmland. People can work the farms for a FAIR wage. Turn off the spigot now! Time to wean off the black juice.

[kestrel91316]

52. You mean "facetious"? Misuse of the word "ironic" is epidemic.

Pardon the grammar policeman in me.

[GOPAgainstGW]

15. GW Bush Being Born Was the Real National Disaster - eom

[AuntieM1957]

42. If only he were the root of the problem, I'd laugh at that

Hillary was right - there is a VAST RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY.

And they are very, very good at brain-washing and obfuscation.

When they screw the planet, and people praise them a Godly, it's very effective propaganda.

Knock down Bush, they'll put another one in his place.

[reprobate]

51. Agreed. He's the perfect arguement for abortion-retroactively!

[Demeter]

19. Any Excuse of a Storm

bending proverbs as I go with hurricane force.

Gas prices dropped too fast, in the face of evaporating demand.

[Mari333]

20. Oil companies licking their chops

price gouging anyone?

[LeftHander]

21. Bill Greehey - Plans giant hurricane proof resort home in Houston.

HOUSTON - Bill Greehey, Plans to build giant hurricane proof 20,000 sq foot resort home on gulf coast complete with a private harbor for his 210 foot power yacht "Katrina" he's recently commissioned.

With a hearty laugh Greedey tips back in the leather chair in his sprawling windowed office, crossing his feet on the edge of the desk Greedey say "Global warming is damn bitch ain't it..." as he spews a cloud of smoke into the air. "Rita should clean out the riff raff here on the Texas coast and give us an opportunity to spruce the beach up some."

"Yes sir hurricanes are bad. We've had to have new numbers made for our gas stations. We need 5, 6 and 7s with decimals. You realize how much that costs? We're doing it all for you little people you know?"

[AzDar]

22. I STILL am not understanding how diminished refinery capacity=

HIGHER gas prices...shortages, maybe..but more $$??

[Francine Frensky]

23. Uh, supply and demand is the reason

gasoline is a commodity and commodity pricing is based on the laws of supply and demand. Less supply raises prices.

[fshrink]

24. Everything is expendable, except

the rate of profit.

[barb162]

29. Lower supply when demand remains high leads to higher prices

[bee]

25. "well over $3.00" ?

well... regardless of what that means... gas is still "just under" $3.00 here. Already disastrous IMO. :eyes:

[gulfcoastliberal]

27. Maybe congress will pass a "gas write-off" for all those poor SUV drivers

You know, so they can deduct gas expenses on their taxes. I mean, they got one deduction for buying a Hummer, why not just allow them to write off the operating costs too? :sarcasm:

[barb162]

32. It's time congress and the prez come out with a joint statement

that everyone should limit ALL unnecessary travel. This is gonna get bad very fast.

[hogwyld]

45. Rationing

Is the only thing that's going to save us. They should allot 50 gallons per houshold per month. If you were smart enough to buy a fuel efficient vehicle, you can sell your surplus to that idiot neighbor driving their SUV.

[Danieljay]

33. couldn't be worse than the disaster we have in the White House. n/t

[Buns_of_Fire]

35. ANOTHER national disaster? *yawn*

As if the U.S. hasn't already endured the selection of Tinkles, 9-11, Iraqnam, and New Orleans.

Go scare someone else, Bill. We're past "stoic," and well into pissed. :grr:

[BiggJawn]

40. did he have a huge BULGE in his pants while he was saying this?

Bet he looked like he was wearing Ian's old Codpiece...

[stickdog]

41. Unless you own a lot of oil stocks, in which case it's a WINDFALL.

[applegrove]

46. And the Captains of Industry run into the leadership Vacuume.

[applegrove]

47. Hey Buddy - keep running towards that low pressure - go on - a little more

[buzz93]

48. $3.00 a gallon

AS IF GAS ISNT ALREADY TOO DAMN EXPENSIVE.

[ladylibertee]

54. Gas prices are going up to at least 4.50 realistically.It's sad.