Petroleum

October Is Just the Beginning

The Major League Baseball playoffs are now well underway. While fans may hold differing opinions on the fundamental strengths of the remaining teams, all recognize that how hot or cold each team is over the coming weeks will play a critical role in determining the identity of the World Series winner. The New York Yankees and some other teams that hit a cold spell are already home, hoping the winter will be over quickly as they look forward to spring training.    » read more »

Preparing for the Future

The Major League Baseball division series start today. Some teams, like the Boston Red Sox, who clinched a berth several days ago, have been preparing for some time now, while others, such as the Colorado Rockies, who needed to win a playoff game to qualify, have had little time to prepare. In oil markets, the degree of preparation is often measured by the amount of inventory of a particular product heading into its peak seasonal demand period.    » read more »

October 2, 2007, Anchorage, Alaska - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin yesterday released to members of the Legislature the draft bill that would replace the current Petroleum Profits Tax with a new production tax – Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share, or ACES. This release, 17 days before the beginning of the legislative special session, will allow additional time for the public and members of the Legislature to review the bill prior to the start of the special session. The final bill will be introduced in the state House and Senate on October 18, the first day of the special session.    » read more »

Retractable Roofs

Many new sports stadiums, especially those located in less than ideal climates, have retractable roofs that are opened or closed depending on weather conditions. An analogous mechanism may be at work in oil markets. Since early 2002, oil prices have shown a strong upward trend (see chart below). Although one or more factors have put a temporary ceiling on oil prices during some periods, oil prices then continued their upward trend, as if a retractable roof had opened.

WTI Crude Oil Prices Have Been Generally Rising Since 2002    » read more »

September 25, 2007, Anchorage, Alaska - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin issued this statement following today’s guilty verdicts in the federal corruption trial of former state Representative Pete Kott.

“The process was fair and the jurors should be commended for their careful consideration of the compelling evidence that was before them. I was shocked by some of the revelations that came out in the trial and I can understand why many Alaskans feel betrayed. But I am confident that this conviction is also a step forward to restoring the public’s trust.    » read more »

At The Crossroads

As refiners were preparing for the summer gasoline season during spring of this year, retail gasoline and diesel prices stood at virtual parity, with only a penny separating their respective average monthly prices at the pump during April 2007.    » read more »

September 20, 2007 -- Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Steven E. Chester announced that on September 18, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling against the Bulk Petroleum Corporation that requires the company to pay penalties totaling roughly $2.4 million for failing to properly clean up leaking underground tanks at a gas station in Hartland. The tanks leaked petroleum product during a period from 1986 through 1999 despite repeated efforts by the DEQ to compel the company to properly resolve the problem.    » read more »

Vermont Attorney General issues report on petroleum markets in New England and upstate New York

September 17, 2007 - In September 2007, Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell, along with the Attorneys General of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York, issued a report on petroleum markets in New England and upstate New York. The report, authored by Economic Research Group catelogues petroleum product distribution, industry participants and assets, and other market participants in the region.    » read more »

September 18, 2007 -- Today, Maine Attorney General Steve Rowe announced the release of a comprehensive Report on Petroleum Markets in the Northeast.

Commissioned by the attorneys general of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York to examine gasoline and heating oil markets within those states, the report provides an overview of market conditions that may affect the prices of petroleum products sold in New England and New York.    » read more »

September 17, 2007 -- New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte announced today the release of a Report on Petroleum Markets in New Hampshire and other states in the northeastern United States.    » read more »

Good News, Bad News

As the Labor Day weekend approaches, there is both good news and bad news for drivers. The good news is that retail prices have been falling over the last several weeks and, nationally, are the lowest they have been since early April. The bad news, however, is that inventories are very low, especially in terms of days of supply (calculated by taking total gasoline inventories and dividing by the latest four-week average of product supplied). The low inventory level could limit the normal seasonal drop in retail prices after Labor Day.    » read more »

One-Stop Shop

August 22, 2007 -- As Hurricane Dean moved west earlier this week, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami were busy trying to project the path of the powerful storm. For Gulf Coast residents and energy markets, the anxieties of 2005 were rekindled as Dean became the first major hurricane in nearly 2 years to enter the region. Both energy analysts and consumers wondered about what damage Dean might inflict on U.S. oil and gas operations if the storm were to suddenly veer north towards the Texas coast.    » read more »

Be Careful When Making Assumptions

August 15, 2007 -- Reporters have contacted EIA recently wondering why retail gasoline prices are falling in August. They assume that August is a month in which prices generally increase, and in past editions of This Week In Petroleum, we have mentioned the possibility that retail prices could rise this month, especially if weather disrupts refinery operations. So, how often do retail prices rise during the month of August?    » read more »

August 10, 2007 -- Pierre, SD – South Dakota is extending its waiver of some federal regulations for the transportation of petroleum.

Under federal regulations, truckers transporting petroleum products are restricted in the number of hours they can drive. Earlier this summer, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds waived that constraint with an executive order. Gov. Rounds is now extending the exemption through Sept. 9, 2007.    » read more »

09 August 2007 -- Every day, American consumers are offered a simple choice when they are by a store's cashier: "paper or plastic?" But some communities are starting to take away that option.

San Francisco, California, has ordered big grocery and drugstore chains to stop passing out the strong, sheer plastic bags, made from petrochemicals.

And the city council in Maryland's quaint capital plans to vote on an even stronger measure come October.    » read more »