[Mackenna]

Hello Guys,
Here's a copy of an email I recd. Your reactions/ views solicited.

Dear Friends !

Petrol in Pakistan Rs17 per litr
Malaysia Rs 18 per litr
In India it's 50+ per litr

Why this difference in Asia itself ? World Market CRUDE Oil is not
the reason for this. It's all Gain for private owners? As we are the
general public, or Common Man as R.K.Laxman wud hv said, we have to
raise our voice, let's raise thru Emails.

Forward this to all Indians who care.
IT HAS BEEN CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYONE DID NOT PURCHASE A DROP OF
PETROL FOR ONE DAY AND ALL AT THE SAME TIME, THE OIL COMPANIES WOULD
CHOKE ON THEIR STOCKPILES.

AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD HIT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WITH A NET LOSS
OVER 4.6 BILLION DOLLARS WHICH AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINES OF THE OIL
COMPANIES.
THEREFORE "THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 22nd " HAS BEEN FORMALLY DECLARED
"STICK IT UP THEIR BEHIND " DAY AND THE PEOPLE OF THIS NATION SHOULD
NOT BUY A SINGLE DROP OF PETROL THAT DAY.


THE ONLY WAY THIS CAN BE DONE IS IF YOU FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO AS
MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN AND AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TO GET THE WORD
OUT. WAITING ON THE GOVERNMENT TO STEP IN AND CONTROL THE PRICES IS
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REDUCTION AND CONTROL
IN PRICES THAT THE ARAB NATIONS PROMISED TWO WEEKS AGO?

REMEMBER ONE THING, NOT ONLY IS THE PRICE OF PETROL GOING UP BUT
AT THE SAME TIME AIRLINES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES,
TRUCKING COMPANIES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES WHICH AFFECTS
PRICES ON EVERYTHING THAT IS SHIPPED. THINGS LIKE FOOD, CLOTHING,
BUILDING SUPPLIES MEDICAL SUPPLIES ETC. WHO PAYS IN THE END? WE
DO!


WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.IF THEY DON'T GET THE MESSAGE AFTER ONE
DAY, WE WILL DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN. SO DO YOUR PART AND SPREAD THE
WORD. FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. MARK YOUR
CALENDARS AND MAKE SEPTEMBER 22nd A DAY THAT THE CITIZENS SAY
"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH"

We forward so many junk email to many of our friends, now let us do
it for some useful cause to cut down the price of the petrol .. ...

REMEMBER : SEPTEMBER 22nd 2006

Pls "Think Of It ...............

[gaurav200x]

Even though the rising oil prices pinch all of us very badly, lemme tell u something.. My dad is working for Bharat Petroleum and the inside story is that the oil companies are losing thousands of crores every year, because the govt. doesn't allow them to increase their prices. Hence the loss has to be borne by the govt and these oil companies.

The cost is regulated by the OPEC countries and if the cost of oil goes to as high as $70/barrel, there is very little the govt or the oil companies can do. This cost is a result of the demand/supply chain from the gulf. Till now, the govt has been able to keep the cost under control but it has been under constant pressure from the oil companies, who are suffering very heavy losses due to it.

Hence, we need to seek for optimum fuel conservation like pooling when going to offices, using of public transport, ensuring the vehicle is tuned up so that the fuel efficiency is maximum, etc.

[sahilgoyal]

I would prefer to run my car on Rs 100/- per liter petrol. We are a royal nation so why one should pay subsidy for it. More to add we can afford it.

The main issue is not petrol but subsidy of the diesel.

Also FYI .. petrol prices are cross subsiding diesel ... which is the backbone of the industrial and rural sector. Hence cant take things from one angle. There are n no of things that cause these high prices.

Also who will pay Rs.50 for one litre in pakistan, nepal, bangladesh??

Its high time we reduce our dependence on personal transport and make public transport the no1 choice for people. Instead of stop buying petrol .. stop using your cars and travel by bus/train ... i know its tough ... but atleast the young can!!

[LIFE HEDGER]

well......helo friends...
congrats...mackenna..for the cause..initiative.....

will contribute...the way i know best!


first of all .....before..seeing the conseq.lets understand.. why OIL is wat OIL is..........GLOBAL MOST IMP COMMODITY



It had seemed like the worst was over. After peaking at around US$75/bbl in September, crude oil prices had quietly drifted back into the fifties, and suddenly it seemed as if it were all just a bad dream.

Mind you, a couple of years ago US$50/bbl would have seemed outlandish, but since China’s long term emergence and Katrina’s short term destruction the world has found comfort in believing US$50bbl to be almost cheap. But just when we thought it was safe to go back to the pump…

The longer term rally in the oil price to date has been driven from the demand side and not the supply side. The supply side has played its part in that capacity has been caught short, hence as demand outstripped supply the only way for the price to go was up. Economists are less concerned about demand-side rallies in the shorter term than they are about supply-side rallies, as demand will always find a level at which the price is simply too high.

This was actually happening. Post Katrina, the demand for oil, particularly in the US, began to subside. Basic economics was at work. To assist in reducing the price of oil the US released crude oil reserves while refineries went into overtime to make up for lost production. Regular maintenance was postponed. It was also very fortuitous that the US experienced a balmy fall which, to date, has given way to a balmy winter.

But now the real spectre looms. Comparisons are often made in oil price terms to the oil shocks of the seventies. Those shocks were supply-side shocks, brought about by OPEC oil embargoes instigated to hurt the evil West. Increased demand in the new millennium has meant that we’ve had to get used to generally higher oil prices. But as suggested, demand will always begin to drop off when the price is just too high.

If supply is affected, however, real panic can set in. Supply disruptions mean actual shortages that have immediate effect on everything from workers getting to work to factories being able to operate. Naturally, the price responds, but whereas increased demand forces a general consideration of alternative fuels or lifestyle choices, loss of supply causes fear.

Iran was the centre of attention in the seventies and Iran is back in a big way. No one trusts Iran’s exhortations that its defiance of nuclear restrictions is based on energy considerations, and not death and destruction considerations. If the US, UN and anyone else with an interest starts really giving Iran a hard time, the expectation is that the next step is oil embargoes.

Iran is the second-largest producer of the OPEC countries, after Saudi Arabia. It produces 3.9mmbpd (million barrels per day). Were Iran to stop selling its oil to the West, a big hole would appear in an already stretched supply side. The result would be a new high in oil prices, and that’s exactly what the market has been quietly anticipating most recently.




It would seem the world has taken higher oil prices in its stride. Merrills expects world GDP growth to be 3.9% in 2006 and 3.5% in 2007, suggesting the global economy has simply weathered the higher oil price environment. At the household level, indications are that the retail sector has taken the hit, such that the demand for petrol has not noticeably fallen. It has been significant that inflation has not become a problem, and thus interest rates have remained low. The irony is that China – held largely responsible for the demand surge – has also provided cheap exports that have counteracted higher oil prices in the inflation balance.

...


some next posts....will talk..things in INDIAN context......
bye
hedger

[sahilgoyal]

all said and done .. why blame the oil companies for the hike. what will a day of boycott do ... companies are themselves finding it difficult to live up to high international prices?

Instead of boycotting ... reduce the dependence on petrol.

@LIFE.. i am waiting for the indian context of yours.. ur above post was ver informative... though a bit long

[The Rock]

Snopes kills this one too - http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/gasout.asp

End of discussion

[Mackenna]

Nice to see you all evincing interest in the topic, and thanks for the posts. The copy of the email I have posted talks of a one day boycott. Firstly, whether we resort to car pool / using public transport or boycott, the end result is the same - lowering the Demand. Secondly, as the email claims, I find it hard to believe that a one day drop in demand can create that much of an havoc so as to reduce the prices.As for 'choking the stock piles', I guess the Govt, as it is, is sitting on an enormous reserve stock pile to cater for emergencies / war etc. How exactly the supply-chain logistics link will be affected by a one day boycott needs deliberation. Some gyaan from experts needed.

[Mackenna]

ANY SIGNIFICANCE OF THE Sep 22 date quoted in the email for the boycott??

[gabriel666]

as mentioned though the price rise is pinching everyone, the government doesnt seem to be in a position to do anything ,simply because india hardly has any control over this issue ... moreover india and china are two countries that are also contributing to this increase ... according to the finance ministry only 10% of the actual price increase in the price of oil in the global market has been passed on to the indian consumer , i dont think there is anything more the government can actually do... another price hike seems inevitable..... in india conservation of fuel seems to be a alien concept ... at every signal in pune i have hardly noticed anyone putting their engine off for the 2 minutes that they are supposed to wait, rather everone seems to be in a hurry to speed off ....even more outrageous is that local municipal transport buses can be seen runing their engine for half an hour while the driver goes to have his cuppa .... i am guessing the situation isnt different in the rest of the country.... in an interview with a news channel the chief economist of IMF dr. raghuram rajan ( i hope i have got his name right) suggested that one of the ideal ways of forcing people into conservation of fuel was passing on the real price of a litre of petrol..... so ideally conseravation neeeds to be the mantra (this helps in reducing the pollution too) rather than cursing the government

[goldberg23684]

CARPOOL is the way to go! Not as a protest but as something that is SENSIBLE!

If you want to understand how subsidies can really hurt a nation. Look at the case of Indonesia.
Will try to get the link and post it here!