# If you've got crude storage capacity....buy all you can get. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206 "2020-04-20T18:21:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/1 "2020-04-20T18:21:13Z")
WTI just traded for $0.01 per barrel. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/2 "2020-04-20T18:33:43Z")
Oil prices have [gone negative](https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html)now. What effect will this have on the COVID economy? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/3 "2020-04-20T18:38:42Z")
Some producers are now paying people to take their crude. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/4 "2020-04-20T19:02:40Z")
Seems like a good opportunity for airlines to stock up on fuel contracts…assuming they have any money left. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/5 "2020-04-20T19:11:48Z")
Aircraft don’t use crude oil as fuel. It has to be refined into jet fuel. Refined products prices have not been impacted by this short term anomaly. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/6 "2020-04-20T19:15:48Z")
If an environmental group had, say, a gigantic salt cavern, they could take this negative-price crude and sequester it permanently. Basically, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve except with a promise to never burn it. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/7 "2020-04-20T20:07:02Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > If an environmental group had, say, a gigantic salt cavern, they could take this negative-price crude and sequester it permanently. Basically, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve except with a promise to never burn it. If they could drink someone else’s milkshake 100 years ago, they’re bound to be able to figure out a way to get to it with modern equipment. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/8 "2020-04-20T20:17:17Z")
That would just be outright theft, and whoever did so would get their asses kicked in court. It would not be difficult to detect any milkshake-drinking down to the barrel. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/9 "2020-04-20T20:46:39Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > If an environmental group had, say, a gigantic salt cavern, they could take this negative-price crude and sequester it permanently. Basically, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve except with a promise to never burn it. Try to get a environmental impact assessment on that in that short time. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/10 "2020-04-20T21:06:11Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > If an environmental group had, say, a gigantic salt cavern, they could take this negative-price crude and sequester it permanently. The current US Strategic Oil Reserve caverns were built, not naturally occuring. They drilled down and dissolved the salt with water. So it’s not something that could be done all too quickly. If I read the reports correctly, the US currently has approximately 150 million barrels of remaining storage space available. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/11 "2020-04-20T21:12:37Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > If an environmental group had, say, a gigantic salt cavern, they could take this negative-price crude and sequester it permanently. Basically, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve except with a promise to never burn it. In theory Iran could nuke New York City using a submarine and then the Ayatollah who ordered it could step down and let himself be arrested, thus legally preventing the United States from retaliating. In theory. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/12 "2020-04-20T21:29:46Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Try to get a environmental impact assessment on that in that short time. I don’t think you’re going to even going to find a suitable salt dome/mine in that time. This is more of a “if a group had been foresighted enough to anticipate a huge price crash at some point, they could have set this up in advance and taken advantage of the situation” thought experiment. > [@Telemark](#): > > The current US Strategic Oil Reserve caverns were built, not naturally occuring. They drilled down and dissolved the salt with water. So it’s not something that could be done all too quickly. Agreed, but you could probably take some shortcuts in that there’s no need to ever extract the oil. Part of the SPR’s systems involve getting the oil back, as well as reusing the storage. > [@Asuka](#): > > In theory Iran could nuke New York City using a submarine and then the Ayatollah who ordered it could step down and let himself be arrested, thus legally preventing the United States from retaliating. I’ve only been exposed to about 5% of Tom Clancy’s work, so I’m not sure what the reference is. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/13 "2020-04-22T18:19:45Z")
I thought this was about badly constructed shed. I have one of those. And make my milk-shake Chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/14 "2020-04-22T22:15:53Z")
My Government has announced that they are going to [comply with their international agreements on oil reserves] and buy some oil. Before COVID supply chain controversy and the oil price collapse, they had been looking for a way to cheat, while being non-compliant. Anyway, in the discussion about that, brokers are saying that the wholesale price is going to drop another 40%. In the short term, my government may be able to take advantage of the futures price pinch, since they are going to be paying storage anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/15 "2020-04-23T07:34:35Z")
If the price is already negative, what would it mean if the price drops another 40% ? Does that mean it drops upward toward zero (by 40% of the current negative price)? Or does it get even 40% more negative? My neighbor and I did an inventory of all the empty gallon-size milk and water bottles we have laying around. We’re going to buy all we can store and hang onto it until we and re-sell at a good price. My neighbor suggested we could buy some vast amount and pump it into Lake Tahoe basin to store it there. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/16 "2020-04-23T10:00:09Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > If the price is already negative, what would it mean if the price drops another 40% ? Does that mean it drops upward toward zero (by 40% of the current negative price)? Or does it get even 40% more negative? > > My neighbor and I did an inventory of all the empty gallon-size milk and water bottles we have laying around. We’re going to buy all we can store and hang onto it until we and re-sell at a good price. My neighbor suggested we could buy some vast amount and pump it into Lake Tahoe basin to store it there. If the normal price is $100, and the current price is $10, and the futures pinch is -$1, the brokers are expecting it to go to $6. The negative price on Texas crude in Oklahoma Futures that people are talking about right now is not what most oil consumers pay – it may be what my government can pay if they act quickly, but that’s only because my government plans to pay storage costs anyway. Even so, it might be cheaper for them (or you) to pay $6 a month from now, rather than -$1 + $10 storage cost for the month – I don’t know what they are going to do, and probably they don’t either. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/17 "2020-04-24T06:49:38Z")
How many swimming pools are at Mar-a-Lago and other resorts closed for the duration? Can’t they be filled, cheap? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/18 "2020-04-24T07:18:13Z")
so can one of us buy a few barrels of this oil store it somewhere (garage barn, etc) and then resell it when there’s an upswing? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/19 "2020-04-24T13:04:31Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > so can one of us buy a few barrels of this oil store it somewhere (garage barn, etc) and then resell it when there’s an upswing? You would need to get to Oklahoma, and buy more than just a few barrels, then safely get it somewhere that you can store it, but you could try. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youve-got-crude-storage-capacity-buy-all-you-can-get/852206/20 "2020-04-24T15:55:54Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > My neighbor suggested we could buy some vast amount and pump it into Lake Tahoe basin to store it there. No Dice. Tahoe is pretty much at capacity, being full of Hipsters and Pabst Blue Ribbon.