The skyrocketing price of U.S. heating oil– at an average of $3.11 per gallon– has caught many Americans unprepared for the winter. It’s the first time ever that U.S. consumers are paying more than $3 per gallon for both heating oil and gasoline.
“We’ve never seen a year like this…people are scared,” said Susan Kooperstien of the Action for Boston Community Development, a nonprofit that helps low-income families get fuel assistance. So far, ABCD estimates 16,000 families have inquired about the assistance.
Although the federal and state governments do provide assistance to low-income families, those funds cover only a portion of heating costs, and many who need it don’t meet the income qualifications, experts say.
Free heating oil, courtesy of Citgo (the Venezuelan national oil company of Hugo Chavez), has been a popular alternative. For example, last year, low-income cooperatives in New York City received about $800,000 in heating oil from the program, according to the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board.
Are you worried about keeping your home warm for the winter? How do you plan to cover costs?
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Exxon, Mobil, Shell and other oil companies have their own oil from concessions, and deliver it to their own refineries. They are not buying oil in the spot market. Their cost to produce a barrel of oil doesn’t fluctuate with the price of oil in the market.
So, why is the gasoline price is tagged to the price of oil in the market?
Could it be because those oil companies price the gallon of gasoline based on the price of oil in the market and not what it cost them?
Could this be the reason why they made more money when the oil in the market goes up?
The only gasoline price that fluctuates with the price of oil in the market are those produce by independent refiners who don’t own any oil.
Isn’t it time to expose those oil compannies that are ripping off the consumers?
Will appreciate your comments.
- Posted by Rafael Panza