We burn a lot of gas in real estate. Open houses, client tours, property inspectins, meetings, meetings and meetings. Every once in a while, someting interesting comes along that is not quite real estate, but life.

I found this email interesting and thought I ljwould share it even though it is not specifically about real estate in San Ramon or Danville. In part, it is about Chevron – not the amount of oil Chevron imports from the Middle East.

 TIPS ON PUMPING GAS
 
I don’t know what you guys are paying for gasoline…. but here in California  we are paying up to $3.50 per gallon. But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of  your money’s worth for every gallon..  
 
Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose , CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground  the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening….your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.
 
A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.
  
When you’re filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigg er has three (3)stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are  pumping on the fast rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting less worth for your money.  
 
One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your  tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that  every gallon is
actually the exact amount.  
 
Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up–most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.  Hope this will help you get the most value for your money. 
 
WHERE TO BUY USA GAS 
 
Gas rationing in the 80′s worked even though we grumbled about it. It might even be good for us! The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor. An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS.
 
Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia.  Just buy from gas companies that don’t import their oil from the Saudis. 
 
I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil.
 
These companies import Middle Eastern oil:
 
Shell.. ……………………. 205,742,000 barrels
 
Chevron/Texaco.……….. 144,332,000 barrels
 
Exxon /Mobil……………… 130,082,000 barrels
 
Marathon/Speedway……. 117,740,000 barrels
 
Amoco………………………..62,231,000 barrels
 
Citgo gas is from South America, from a Dictator who hates Americans. If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION! (oil is now $90 – $100 a barrel 
 
Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:
 
Sunoco………………0 barrels
 
Conoco……………….0 barrels
 
Sinclair……………..0 barrels
 
B P/Phillips…………0 barrels
 
Hess…………………..0 barrels
 
ARC0…………………0 barrels

Interesting reading, even for a real estate agent at 6 in the morning.