Why are we paying so much for our oil?

That’s a question we ask every day.

The usual suspects for high prices—increased demand and limited supply—don’t tell the whole story in the world oil market. We are also affected by strife in many countries of the Middle East and in other oil-producing nations, as well as a weakened dollar.

But these factors alone don’t appear to support today’s high prices. For that, we have to look to speculators, individuals and financial institutions who make money betting on rising and falling prices in the oil markets. This may account for a large percentage of the price of a barrel of crude oil.


Why are oil prices so high?

Continuing growth in world demand. Unusual weather. Instability in major oil-producing countries. Unrestrained speculation in the oil market. All these factors contribute to the uncertainty in the oil market, and it’s anybody’s guess where prices will go next.

Amid all this uncertainty, it seems that one thing is predictable—all the reports about the huge profits the major oil companies are making. And whenever those reports appear in the news, some people mistakenly believe local heating oil dealers like us are getting a big share of these profits. This is simply not true.

We don’t own the oil fields, the drilling rigs or the refineries, so any profits from these operations have nothing to do with us. We are boxed in by the prices our suppliers charge us for oil. In reality, most of the price we charge customers covers the cost of the heating fuel alone. The rest goes toward our delivery fleet, service vehicles, employee wages and, hopefully, a reasonable profit.

We would really like to see things calm down in the energy markets. But no matter what happens, and in spite of whatever conditions come our way, we want you to remember that we’re here for you. You can count on us to keep your winters free from worry.