The Next President is...

[ecugringo]

13 hours ago, busdriver said:

Ironically, US refiners used to specialize in shit oil. Not so much after shale and Venezuela collapsing.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 

Yeah not true.  If a refinery has a coker plant they can process sour crude.  Sour crude is a fraction of hte price as Sweet crude therefore yields a much higher crack spread.  I know every refinery that purchases sour.  The Keystone PL supplies Cushing OK (Worlds largest storage center) with millions of Sour from the tar sands in Canada.  Keystone is not to be confused with the yet to be built Keystone XL.

 

What is your experience in O&G btw?

[busdriver]

4 minutes ago, ecugringo said:

What is your experience in O&G btw?

Zilch.  I just remember reading some stuff years ago about how Venezuelan oil was so gross that they were essentially reliant on US refiners to buy it, since no one else was willing to re-tool to deal with it.  Not saying the Texas refineries can't deal with it (they obviously refine Canadian tar sands oil), just that my understanding of the business model shifted a bit after the US went from net oil importer to exporter.

[ecugringo]

22 minutes ago, busdriver said:

Zilch.  I just remember reading some stuff years ago about how Venezuelan oil was so gross that they were essentially reliant on US refiners to buy it, since no one else was willing to re-tool to deal with it.  Not saying the Texas refineries can't deal with it (they obviously refine Canadian tar sands oil), just that my understanding of the business model shifted a bit after the US went from net oil importer to exporter.

Its still traded as a global commodity since they are part of OPEC but since the whole dictatorship deal ppl try to shy away.  They do have the most known reserves of anyone.

Most refineries can and will process sour.  The East and West coast shy away but keep in mind embridge is a Canadian company that has dozens of lines crossing the MN area to directly feed the mid west.  Line 5 runs under Lake Michigan and a lot of ppl cry about it.

The Crude from the Bakken in ND is mostly shipped by Rail to the coasts because thats safer for some reason.

[busdriver]

8 minutes ago, ecugringo said:

Most refineries can and will process sour. 

Question for you then:  Peter Zeihan has made a point about refineries and setup/re-tool costs and timeline when switching from one crude formulation to another.

How much of an impact is it to go from refining light/sweet from a shale field to a heavy/sour crude from where-ever?  

[ecugringo]

9 minutes ago, busdriver said:

Question for you then:  Peter Zeihan has made a point about refineries and setup/re-tool costs and timeline when switching from one crude formulation to another.

How much of an impact is it to go from refining light/sweet from a shale field to a heavy/sour crude from where-ever?  

It's a massive expense.  Depends on the volume you want to process a day as well.  If you are set up for sweet and want to undertake sour, its a decision that the C level with very high level long term plans consider.  Its not just a flip of a switch.

Sour you need a coker plant which is a mini refinery inside the refinery itself.  A coker is what makes your diesel, gasoline, Jet.  If you dont have a coker you can make those products from a reformer.  If you have a coker you also are heavily dependent on hydrogen as well.  Refining is similar to distallation.  Making Vodka is 1 thing, being able to make whiskey from corn mash and tequilla from agave is something else altogether.

For perspective on costs:  P66 Bell Chase in New Orleans flooded last year in a hurricane.  They shut it down for repairs.  The startup est was over $1bl.  Its now just a storage facility.

[busdriver]

1 hour ago, ecugringo said:

It's a massive expense.

Thanks.

[GrndPndr]

Wut?

 

[Sim]

 

"Smartest person I know" JB. 

 

[ClearedHot]

6 hours ago, Prozac said:

You do make some fair points but I have a question: can the government force refineries to take crude they don’t want? Despite constant cries from some that we’ve become a socialist country, afik refineries are still not nationalized in the United States. If our refiners don’t want it, why not sell to those who do? Remember, oil is a global commodity and price pressures in Europe and Asia affect prices here.

100% you can't force U.S. refineries to take it but it never should have been released because it is for emergencies, not correcting poll numbers.  Also, 100% oil is a global commodity, but releasing that small amount had no impact on the market, it was simply a gift to China because it was sold at a discount.  Regardless, the bigger point is the moronic policy that says taking oil from other countries somehow helps global warming? 

[ClearedHot]

On 7/10/2022 at 4:55 AM, dream big said:

Careful for what you wish for 

Which is the lesser of two evils?

 

[brabus]

Does it really matter? Neither of them are the actual decision makers, so really it’ll just be a symbolic gesture to kick him out. It also won’t hurt the optics helping the GOP - Kamala is just as much a train wreck in public as Biden, and that’s the curveball they never saw coming when they hatched this plan to get a woman in the WH. 

Edited July 11, 2022 by brabus

[dream big]

1 hour ago, brabus said:

Does it really matter? Neither of them are the actual decision makers, so really it’ll just be a symbolic gesture to kick him out. It also won’t hurt the optics helping the GOP - Kamala is just as much a train wreck in public as Biden, and that’s the curveball they never saw coming when they hatched this plan to get a woman in the WH. 

No it doesn’t, people get upset when you point out the obvious that the handlers behind the scenes are really running the country.

As for the train wreck and lack of competence, it seems lately that more on the left are more concerned with optics (intersectionality, social justice and identity politics) than anything…so much so that competence and meritocracy be damned.  
 

How do CNN, MSNBC etc portray these two? Do they hide the gaffes and missteps (yes). That’s all that matters. 

 

[ClearedHot]

[GrndPndr]

2 hours ago, dream big said:

No it doesn’t, people get upset when you point out the obvious that the handlers behind the scenes are really running the country.

As for the train wreck and lack of competence, it seems lately that more on the left are more concerned with optics (intersectionality, social justice and identity politics) than anything…so much so that competence and meritocracy be damned.  
 

How do CNN, MSNBC etc portray these two? Do they hide the gaffes and missteps (yes). That’s all that matters. 

 

 

Top list shows what folks care about, bottom list shows what the media is focusing on.  All to create drama and views folks...

 

Edited July 11, 2022 by GrndPndr
Added words for context

[Lord Ratner]

On 7/9/2022 at 11:04 PM, Prozac said:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-23/mucho-del-crudo-liberado-por-biden-terminar-an-en-china-india
 

It’s sour crude that US refiners don’t want. But, as always, don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. #Hunter’s laptop. Standing by for “edgy” meme response in 3….2….

This is quite conveniently timed. Now that we have Hunter Biden, on tape, admitting that the Russian Mafia stole a laptop full of incriminating evidence, with the potential to blackmail him, while he makes "gajillions," I'd say the laptop story has some legs.

Edited July 13, 2022 by Lord Ratner

[ClearedHot]

Inflation just hit a 40 year high at 9.1% and is likely remain high for the foreseeable future, but thankfully no mean tweets.

 

[Lord Ratner]

50 minutes ago, ClearedHot said:

Inflation just hit a 40 year high at 9.1% and is likely remain high for the foreseeable future, but thankfully no mean tweets.

 

It's a transitory peak, don't worry 🤣😂

 

If you really want a laugh, find one of the sites that uses the 1980 inflation formula. It's more like an 80 year high.

Edited July 13, 2022 by Lord Ratner

[GrndPndr]

4 minutes ago, Lord Ratner said:

It's a transitory peak, don't worry 🤣😂

Careful, you might be putting transitory oriented people in danger. 🧔?👩‍🦰

[ClearedHot]

If someone from the GOP said this the liberal media would howl louder than Georgia when Sherman marched south. 

[M2]

Tread carefully, gents!  Apparently the First Lady is now considered an "official"...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/retired-three-star-general-suspended-from-army-contract-after-tweet-that-appeared-to-mock-jill-biden/ar-AAZnIcp

[uhhello]

17 minutes ago, M2 said:

Tread carefully, gents!  Apparently the First Lady is now considered an "official"...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/retired-three-star-general-suspended-from-army-contract-after-tweet-that-appeared-to-mock-jill-biden/ar-AAZnIcp

What's more baffling is that we have metric shit ton more general officers than is actually needed and to top it off we hire retired GO's at an hourly rate to consult the bloated ranks.

[Lord Ratner]

Just watched the Hunter Biden videos. That fact these aren't dominating the news cycle is a testament to a broken system. 

 

I know we only have 3 liberals here, but I'd love to hear a defense of the near media-blackout. If Eric Trump had 15 seconds of similar video leaked, it would have never ended.

 

The dude flat out says his laptop, stolen by Russians, could be used to blackmail him.

 

It's mind-blowing.

Edited July 14, 2022 by Lord Ratner

[skybert]

11 hours ago, Lord Ratner said:

This is quite conveniently timed. Now that we have Hunter Biden, on tape, admitting that the Russian Mafia stole a laptop full of incriminating evidence, with the potential to blackmail him, while he makes "gajillions," I'd say the laptop story has some legs.

 

[skybert]

Not a damn thing is going to happen.

 

[Prozac]

1 hour ago, Lord Ratner said:

Just watched the Hunter Biden videos. That fact these aren't dominating the news cycle is a testament to a broken system. 

 

I know we only have 3 liberals here, but I'd love to hear a defense of the near media-blackout. If Eric Trump had 15 seconds of similar video leaked, it would have never ended.

 

The dude flat out says his laptop, stolen by Russians, could be used to blackmail him.

 

It's mind-blowing.

Ok, I’ll engage. I have a couple questions. I assume the “Hunter Biden videos” you speak of are the alleged footage that was retrieved from the recent reported hack of his phone.
 

Question one: has any outlet actually gone on the record confirming that the videos are genuine? 

Question two: Let’s give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that these videos did in fact come off Hunter Biden’s personal device. What illegal and/or compromising activities do they show President Biden engaged in? 

I get the point you’re trying to make about Eric Trump & agree the liberal media would’ve had a field day with it, just as conservative outlets never seem to tire of Hunter hit pieces. At the end of the day, unless Hunter works on his father’s staff (last I checked Joe wasn’t nearly as into the whole nepotism scene as Donald was) or there is real, direct evidence tying his behavior to some wrongdoing on the president’s part, all this story is ever going to be is a partisan fluff piece to rile up the opposition.