Why are oil prices so high?

Seriously. What happened? I think it is time to get these oil companies by the balls and get alternative sources of energy going. Price gouging... yes.

It hit 1.99 per gallon and then spiked up. I knew the oil companies would screw the country again.

s/country/world

How about this, every time oil prices go up on the mainland, ours spikes too even though our oil comes from Alaska. O.o Gas is $3.17 for regular, $3.37 for premium now.

I really do think that theres a different reason i mean comon theres been acusations about Iraq,Katrina, ETC. Obviously i think theres something else creeping about and they dont want to mention it.

I read that the oil companies are retooling their plants to use ethanol instead of MTBF (I think?). They did this voluntarily and of course the oil prices go up.

yeah

e-85 ethonol a 15% oil Fuel. It sounds great and i think if they pull it off it will either be EXPENSIVE or CHEAP it depends on quantity

No, they are using ethanol as an additive instead of the fuel. This isn't like using ethanol instead of oil.

Yeah but they're using Ethonol MORE instead of oil like (i dont know if this is right but its what i think)

100% OIL-Before
15% OIL/85% ETHONOL- After

Hence the name E-(85%) Ethonol, as in 85% Ethonol.

Thats what I think I dont know if its right though.

Like I said... NO. They are NOT using ethanol as the base fuel. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/17/AR2006021702109.html

It is MTBE that ethanol is being replaced with. It is an additive to increase the oxygination of the mixture.

oooh.... okay i get it...

anyways it should help us alot because the gov is struggling to either find oil or find excuses to get more of it.

Eh... A new energy source would be nice, but no one I've been around wants to put the money forth especially people my age... They say we won't run out of oil in our lifetime, so why worry? What about your children or whatever. I have no supreme alternate plan, just rambling...

People are always inventing new things, some pointless and some useful...The moral of the story: Someone will come up with something eventually, it's just a matter of time...when they do, it will take a while to get it tested for safety and all that other good stuff, so it will be even longer after it was invented until it even gets to us...most likely when it first gets to us it will be expensive, then the prices will eventually go down like everything else, and they'll improve it....blahbiddy blahbiddy blah.

The problem is that even though we can move to a cleaner, renewable, energy source, the country is entrenched in the oil business that the cartels won't allow any innovation to take place that eats into their profits. Really, the oil problem in the 1970s should have put us on the path of producing our own energy, but no.

In hawaii our refineries are already outfitted with ethanol addititives. Did nothing to the prices. 6 weeks later, prices raise on the mainland, now it's up to 3.39. Once again, we get our oil from AK, we refine it on Oahu. WTFBBQ?