So how do oil prices work? Who controls them and how do they affect the oil sands in Alberta? The following article helps explain all that.
1) What should we care in Barrie? I mean cheap gas is great right? What are some negative consequences of cheaper gas?
2) Do you believe that the Middle Eastern countries have our best interest in their hearts? Explain why or why not? Should they or should they not?
3) What does this mean for the environment?
4) If gas is at 93.4 cents a liter right now how much is a barrel of oil? How does the price at the pumps relate to the price of crude oil? How much money does the government make off the a liter of oil? Would it be in their best interest to have expensive oil and gas?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/oil-global-opec-markets-1.3504298
Mark please:
ReplyDeleteOil prices work like with anything by supply & demand. OPEC controls prices and distribution. In Barrie, like everywhere else in the world, we should care because basically everything is made with oil. And with the increase in industrialization here in Barrie, the larger the population will be. Meaning, move supply and demand here. Cheap gas is great, but with cheap gas comes, for now, comes with a load of problems later for those companies invested in energy. This ruins the economy. Some people lose their jobs. Others have no money. Things get bad.
I don't believe the Middle-Eastern countries have our best interest at heart. I think they have their best interest in their mind because they're at the top export of oil! Why would they want to give away all their income? It's their utmost strength, as the article also stated. And as mentioned in the article, when OPEC and Saudi Arabia started losing an excessive amount of their share of the global market, they started producing as much oil at the wanted. Now, Iran wants to keep producing until they're at the historic global market again. So it's a big war between them and Saudi Arabia. and now Alberta, (a smaller producer). Basically, I agree with the article that Albert will have little say in the oil industry. The Middle-Eastern countries have much more power and I believe with along with other political issues, Canada has to reform what we do with our oil.
Oil affects the political, economy, and of course, the environment. One obvious impact is the CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Another thing is how much oil we are taking from the ground. And also, how much we use to produce other things.
If gas is at 93.4 cents a liter, a barrel of oil would be 38. The supply of oil affects the price at the pump. The cheaper the barrel the cheaper the fuel price.
From 1 liter of oil, usually around 40% goes toward tax. I think in the government's best interest, it would be best to have expensive oil and gas because they'd obviously get a lot of money.
Sources:
http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/data_graphs/333.htm
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/gas-prices-now-as-low-as-63-9-cents-will-cost-canadians-in-long-run-1.3413454
http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/09/18/opinion/canadians-get-gouged-pumps