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Feb 25, 2011

OIL PRICES * USA - Truckers Call on Obama to Tap Offshore Oil

Rising oil, fuel prices seen hurting trucking and the general economy

Washington,DC,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -Feb 25, 2011: -- The American Trucking Associations urged the White House to tap domestic energy sources, such as offshore oil deposits, as rising oil prices increased fuel costs... The price of crude oil soared to a two-year high during the week of Feb. 21, rising to nearly $100 a barrel, pushing up the price of diesel, gasoline and aviation fuel... At the start of the week, the average retail price of diesel in the U.S. rose to $3.57, according to the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration... That's a 26 percent increase from a year ago, and a 7 percent increase from Jan. 3. By Feb. 25, diesel hit $4 a gallon in Connecticut... The price spikes were tied to the waves of protests and outright revolution roiling the Middle East, particularly the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya... Rising fuel prices sting truckers twice, ATA Vice President and Regulatory Affairs Counsel Rich Moskowitz said, first at the pump and then in shipping volume as consumers spend more on energy and less on goods...

Labels: oil prices

Aug 11, 2010

STUDY * UK - Rocketing petrol prices fuel drive for vehicle efficiency

British businesses are squandering millions of litres of petrol because employees don’t drive company vehicles efficiently

London,EN,UK -Fleet News -11 Aug 2010: ... According to a recent study by Trimble MRM, poor driving technique, inaccurate fuel gauges and bad record keeping are all contributing to companies being unaware of the real consequences of their fuel usage... The research found recent hikes in petrol and diesel prices is the biggest challenge facing fleet managers today. The drive to make business more fuel efficient is forcing fleet managers to take a long hard look at their vehicles and driver behaviour... Andrew Yeoman, MD of Trimble MRM, says the right driver feedback technology can make an average commercial vehicle up to 15 per cent more efficient... The emergence of new diagnostic solutions allows businesses to draw information directly from each vehicle and report on faults, performance, and exactly where fuel is being wasted... With exceptional accuracy, companies can also receive information on individual driver behaviour patterns, such as speed, style, braking or acceleration, giving fleet managers a real insight into which employees need additional training or to regulate their behaviour... (Picture from thedailydust.co.uk: A lorry driver)

Labels: oil prices, studies

Mar 7, 2010

Pump pressure * USA - Rising oil cost forcing diesel prices up

Washington,DC,USA -Fleet Owner, by Sean Kilcarr -Mar 4, 2010: -- The cost of diesel fuel is continuing a nearly month-long climb thanks to rising crude oil prices spurred on by increased global economic activity. The price of diesel in the U.S. moved up three cents to settle at $2.86 per gallon this week. That’s 77 cents above the same period a year ago – capping an 11-cent spike over the last three weeks, according to data compiled by the Energy Information Administration (EIA)... Diesel prices in the West Coast region jumped the most this week, climbing four cents to $2.96 per gallon, with the cost of diesel in California also moving up four cents, to $3.02 per gallon, the EIA said. In the East Coast, Midwest, and Gulf Coast regions, diesel prices went up about three cents to $2.90 per gallon, $2.83 per gallon, and $2.82 per gallon, respectively... The smallest increase took place in the Rocky Mountain region, the agency added, where the average cost for diesel went up about two cents to $2.85 per gallon...

Labels: oil prices

Aug 20, 2009

OIL PRICES * USA - Tops $70 Following DOE Inventory Report

New York,NY,USA -Transport Topics -19 Aug 2009: -- Oil pushed past $70 a barrel Wednesday for the first time this week following a Department of Energy report that showed crude inventories plunged last week... DOE’s weekly report on crude stockpiles showed a drawdown of 8.4 million barrels last week, contrary to analysts’ predictions of a build, Bloomberg reported... Gasoline inventories fell 2.2 million barrels, while distillates, which include diesel, fell by 650,000 barrels for the week ended Saturday, DOE said... After sliding early, prices rose more than $1 to top $70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, CNBC reported... Crude futures closed at $69.19 a barrel on the Nymex Tuesday, up more than $2 from Monday’s closing price... (Photo from thetrucker: Oil falls below after Asian stock sell off)

Labels: oil prices

Jul 14, 2009

OIL PRICES * USA - Economic news helps support oil at $60

Sioux Falls,SD,USA -The Associated Press/The Trucker News, by DIRK LAMMERS -14 July 2009: -- Oil prices stayed around $60 a barrel Tuesday, as better-than-expected U.S. retail and wholesale price news out helped support early gains... Benchmark crude for August delivery rose 31 cents to $60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Monday, the contract fell 20 cents to settle at $59.69... Doubts about the strength of the economy have left crude prices hovering around $60 a barrel for the last few days — pausing after a drop from an eight-month intraday high of $73.38 on June 30...

Labels: oil prices

Jun 2, 2009

OIL PRICES * USA - Culprits in last year's energy spike reappear

Prices at the pump rose above $2.50 nationally over the weekend for the first time since October

Columbus,OH,USA -The Associated Press/The Trucker, by MARK WILLIAMS -1 June 2009: -- Oil prices pushed to new highs for the year Monday on a weak dollar and new data suggesting manufacturing in China has strengthened. Both of those factors helped send energy prices to record highs last summer... Benchmark crude for July delivery rose $1.34 to $67.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest level since early November. It had traded above $68 earlier in the day... When crude prices were heading toward $150 per barrel last year, many energy analysts believed the booming economies of China and India would support energy prices globally... But right now, there is evidence that more speculative money is flooding into the market, buoying prices... The net number of large speculative positions taken on stronger oil prices rose more than 14 percent last week, according to a report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission... A lot of that money is being driven by inflation fears as the dollar falls against other major currencies... (Photo from straightshooter: tar sands)

Labels: oil prices

Feb 11, 2009

OIL PRICES * USA - Tumble after U.S. rescue plan unveiled

Sioux Falls,SD,USA -The Associated Press/The Trucker, by DIRK LAMMERS -10 Feb 2009: -- Oil prices fell alongside the broader markets Tuesday with few details released about a Treasury Department program to raise more than $1 trillion in public and private funds to free up credit markets... The Dow Jones industrials lost 400 points after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced the rescue plan, and light, sweet crude for March delivery tumbled $2.01 to settle at $37.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange... In its short-term outlook released Tuesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said the worsening global economy and a weak consumption means there is plenty of oil on the market, despite recent OPEC cuts. The EIA said it expects global oil consumption to decline by 1.2 million barrels a day this year but rebound by the same number in 2010...

Labels: oil prices

Oct 28, 2008

FUEL PRICES * USA - Oil Hits 17-Month Low Near $60 a Barrel

New York,NY,USA -Bloomberg/Transport Topics -27 Oct 2008: -- With world financial markets in turmoil, the price of crude oil continued to tumble, reaching a 17-month low below $62 a barrel... Crude futures reached as low as $61.30 in pre-market trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest price since May 9, 2007... Oil peaked at a record closing-price of $145.18 a barrel on the Nymex July 14 and has fallen more than 50% since then... OPEC ministers said Friday they may trim production in light of falling prices, but the price declines are largely because of falling demand because of the economic uncertainty worldwide, Bloomberg said...

* Gasoline Plunges 53¢ in Two Weeks, to $2.78 a Gallon

New York,NY,USA -Transport Topics -27 Oct 2008: -- The national average price of regular gasoline plunged 53 in the two weeks ended Friday to $2.78 a gallon, according to the latest Lundberg Survey of filling stations released Sunday... Mid-grade averaged $2.93, and premium averaged $3.05, analyst Trilby Lundberg in her filling-station survey, which is released twice a month... The downturn coincided with plunging oil prices, which have fallen more than 50% to near $60 a barrel since topping out at $145.18 in mid-July... Gasoline was cheapest in Wichita, Kan., at $2.26 a gallon, and most expensive in Anchorage, Alaska, at $3.50, Lundberg said...

* Sunoco cuts back on refining as oil prices drop

New York,NY,USA -The Wall Street Journal/Transport Topics -October 27, 2008: -- ... Sunoco is shutting down a unit used in gasoline production at one of its refineries... Gasoline prices have dropped even faster than oil prices, and refiners are currently losing money with each barrel of crude oil they process into gasoline...

Labels: oil prices

Oct 11, 2008

OIL PRICES * USA - Oil settles at $77.99 a barrel

Oil prices briefly plunged below $79 a barrel Friday, dropping to the lowest level in nearly 13 months...

New York,NY,USA -The Associated Press/The Trucker -10 Oct 2008: -- ... Investors grow more pessimistic about the prospects for resolving a mushrooming global economic crisis... Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell $8.63 to settle at $77.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the lowest settlement price for a front-month crude contract since Sept. 10, 2007... Crude has now lost about 45 percent since hitting a record $147.27 on July 11. Tumbling as a deepening credit crisis caused by the subprime mortgage fiasco wreaks havoc around the globe and drives down energy demand... Underscoring Americans' waning appetite for fuel, a gallon of regular gasoline dropped 5.3 cents overnight to a new national average of $3.35 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express... ("Oil is mirroring the stock market right now. There's a total lack of confidence. It's fear driving more fear," said Phil Flynn, energy analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago)

Labels: oil prices

Oct 9, 2008

Oil prices fall * USA - As OPEC calls emergency meeting

Oil prices extended their losses Thursday even as OPEC hinted it might cut output to halt the market's dramatic slide at an emergency meeting next month

New York,NY,USA -The Truckder/The AP, by STEVENSON JACOBS & George Jahn (Vienna,Austria) & Alex Kennedy (Singapore) -9 Oct 2008: -- ... At the pump, crude's decline pushed prices even lower. A gallon of regular shed 4.4 cents overnight to a new national average of $3.403, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Prices peaked at $4.114 on July 17... Fearful that oil prices could fall too far and harm their petroleum-dependent economies, OPEC said it would hold an extraordinary meeting Nov. 18 in Vienna, Austria to discuss the widening economic crisis and how it's affecting the oil market... The 13-member cartel didn't mention a production cut but hinted that such a move may be coming, saying it would work "to ensure that oil market fundamentals are kept in balance and market stability is maintained."... (Fearful that oil prices could fall too far and harm their petroleum-dependent economies, OPEC said it would hold an extraordinary meeting Nov. 18 in Vienna, Austria to discuss the widening economic crisis and how it's affecting the oil market)

Labels: oil prices

Jul 12, 2008

OIL PRICES * USA - Pelosi calls on Bush to draw down U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Speaker of the House says this measure would expand supplies, reduce prices

Washington,DC,USA -Logistics Management, by Jeff Berman -9 July 2008: -- In an effort to quell continually rising oil prices, United States Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called on President George W. Bush to draw down a small portion of oil held in the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)... Pelosi wrote in a letter to Bush that this measure needs to be taken “in order to expand available supplies and reduce the record prices that are helping push the economy toward recession.”... The SPR is currently 97 percent full with 702 million barrels compared to 2006 when it held 688 million barrels, noted Pelosi. She also said that releasing oil from the SPR is a tool to manage the country’s national and economic security and when judiciously used will not jeopardize national security... American Trucking Associations (ATA)'s President Bill Graves, said that any policies the White House can implement to slowdown the spike in oil prices are needed. And he added that releasing oil from the SPR can be viewed as a major policy action. Crude oil inventories are not the problem, said Graves. But, he noted, “the oil market is no longer functioning on supply-and-demand fundamentals as many hedge funds drive up the price of crude based on based on speculation. We need something to break that chain, and a SPR release could do it.”... Even through it appears that politicians have good intentions to lower fuel costs, some industry experts contend that halting SPR petroleum acquisitions may not deliver what it promises... James Haughey, chief economist for Reed Construction Data, added that politicians understand that stopping the small amount of crude oil put in reserve will have a negligible impact on fuel prices but he explained that they hope it will have a big impact on their vote counts later this year... “This is politics not economics,” said Haughey...

* Oil spikes above $147 before ending day at $145.29

New York,NY,USA -The Associated Press/The Trucker, by MADLEN READ 11 July 2008: -- It's only July, but it might be time to start loading up on blankets and sweaters. Oil spiked to a new trading record as hostilities rise between the West and Iran — raising the likelihood that this winter's heating bills will be the priciest yet... Crude oil's brief jump past $147 a barrel Friday arrived not only as the United States and Israel view Iran as a growing threat, but also as the U.S. dollar fell and worries erupted over possible supply disruptions in two other major oil-producing nations: Nigeria and Brazil... (This year's winter heating bills will likely be priciest yet)

* Break In The Clouds?

San Francisco,CAL,USA -Logistics Management, by Patrick Burnson -1 July 2008: -- ... In searching for a silver lining in the current state of logistics, Rosalyn Wilson, an independent consultant and author of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' (CSCMP) 19th Annual State of Logistics Report, points to the fact that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is outlining steps that will increase the transparency of the energy futures market and help to ensure that petroleum prices are once again driven by supply and demand... The CFTC says it will improve oversight of the energy futures market by expanding the amount and quality of information received from energy traders. Steps include expanding international surveillance information for crude oil trading; increasing the transparency of trading in U.S. energy markets; and continuing the CFTC's ongoing nationwide crude oil investigation... According to Wilson, another positive move has been for U.S. manufacturers to do less outsourcing overseas, and to concentrate more on hemispheric trade. “Mexico is going to become increasingly important to shippers in the coming years,” she says. “It's not just about making auto parts and apparel any more. Mexico has a booming electronics sector, and will become a major player on the R&D stage soon.”... One might assume, then, that building business relationships with cross-border partners would be key. But Wilson contends “that was so last century... Pricing power has shifted from carriers to shippers,” Wilson adds. “It's true that shippers will pay for extra fuel charges, but they are not willing to take a rate hike. And forget about relationships. That tag line is dead. Business is more provisional now, and it's all about cutting cost out of the system.”...

Labels: oil prices

Jul 11, 2008

Climate change Adviser * Australia - Garnaut rules out emissions trading petrol price link

The Federal Government's climate change adviser, Ross Garnaut, has ruled out a link between an emissions trading scheme and rising petrol prices

Brisbane,Australia -ABC Online -11 July 2008: -- A new CSIRO report predicts the cost of petrol could blow out to $8 per litre by 2018... The Fuel for Thought report also suggests an emissions trading program will have only a moderate impact on petrol prices... Professor Garnaut has told a forum in Brisbane that oil is a separate issue... "That has nothing to do with the emissions trading scheme," he said... "That's what happens, they think as a result of increases in global oil prices and if that happens it's got nothing to do with the emissions trading scheme."... Professor Garnaut also says the trucking industry should not be compensated if an emissions trading scheme is introduced... But he says the scheme will have a minimal impact on fuel prices compared to rising oil prices... (Picture by Dave Hunt/AAP: Oil is a separate issue)

Labels: oil prices

Jul 3, 2008

OIL PRICE * USA - Nears $146 in Early Trading

New York,NY,USA -AP/Transport Topics -2 July 2008: -- A day after setting a record closing price over $143 a barrel, oil reached a record near $146 before market trading began Thursday, the Associated Press reported... Crude futures jumped $2.28 to a record $145.85 on the New York Mercantile Exchange... Oil set a closing-price record of $143.57 a barrel on Wednesday, up $2.60 from Tuesday’s record close... The Department of Energy said Wednesday that oil supplies plunged by 2 million barrels last week — a drop of 800,000 barrels more than analysts had forecast... (Photo by Larry Smith/Trans Pixs)

Labels: oil prices

May 16, 2008

OIL PRICE * USA - Falls Following DOE Report

Congress Votes to Suspend SPR Shipments

New York,NY,USA -Bloomberg/Transport Topics -14 May 2008: -- Oil prices fell more than $1 a barrel Wednesday following an Energy Department report that showed inventories improved last week, and both the House and Senate voted to suspend crude shipments to the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve... Oil fell $1.56 to close at $124.24 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, following a DOE report that showed stockpiles rose by 176,000 barrels last week... Distillate supplies, which include diesel, rose 1.3 million barrels, while gasoline inventories fell 1.7 million barrels, DOE said in its weekly report... Meanwhile, both the House and Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to suspend daily shipments to the SPR, with crude prices at record levels, news services reported...
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Labels: oil prices

Mar 1, 2008

OIL TRUBLES * USA - Senators question administration’s petroleum reserve policy

With no real relief from soaring fuel prices, members of the U.S. Senate are keeping the heat on the Bush administration’s policies on managing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Jami Jones -February 29, 2008: -- The introduction of the bill by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND, in early February came hot on the heels of a Department of Energy recommendation to beef up the reserve in its 2009 budget request... If passed into law, the bill would direct the energy secretary to temporarily stop putting more than 50,000 barrels of oil a day in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when crude oil prices are at record levels... Under Dorgan’s plan, the federal government would suspend acquisition of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the rest of 2008 or until the price of petroleum falls to $50 per barrel or less...

Labels: oil prices

Feb 10, 2008

OIL's SOLUTIONS * USA - Senators swiftly counter plan to beef up Strategic Petroleum Reserve

In an attempt to counter record fuel prices, a bill introduced in the Senate seeks to limit the amount of oil diverted to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -February 7, 2008: -- ... The introduction of the bill by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND, comes hot on the heels of a Department of Energy recommendation to beef up the reserve in its 2009 budget request... If passed into law, the bill would direct the energy secretary to temporarily stop putting more than 50,000 barrels of oil a day in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when crude oil prices are at record levels... This isn’t the first time limiting contributions to the reserve has been suggested. In fact, Jim Johnston, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, encouraged doing just that in a Jan. 30 letter to President Bush... Johnston called on President Bush to stop putting oil into the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve until fuel prices ease... Johnston also called on the president to use his influence to try to stop the export of American diesel and biodiesel to other countries, noting that every drop of biodiesel is subsidized by U.S. taxpayers...

Labels: oil prices

Feb 6, 2008

Oil Prices * USA - Drop on sharp jump in supply

New York,NY,USA -The Associated Press, by JOHN WILEN -6 Feb 2008: -- Oil futures dropped Wednesday after the government reported unexpectedly large jumps in supplies of crude oil and gasoline and a surprise increase in stocks of heating oil... Coming amid anxiety about the economy's health, and concerns that demand for oil and gasoline is falling, the inventory report reinforced a growing view that oil and petroleum product supplies are adequate... In its weekly inventory report, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said crude oil inventories jumped by 7 million barrels last week, nearly triple the 2.6 million barrel increase that analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected... (Photo: Jump in crude supplies sparks drop in oil futures)

Labels: oil prices

Aug 7, 2007

OIL NEWS

* USA - ‘Big Oil’ tax Passes The House
Washington,DC,USA -The Associated Press/Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO) -August 6, 2007: -- The U.S. House of Representatives this weekend approved a $16 billion tax on oil companies while providing billions of dollars in tax breaks for renewable energy and conservation efforts... Republican opponents of the legislation say it ignores the need to produce more domestic oil, with one lawmaker calling the measure, “pure venom against the oil industry”... But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, told The AP “we are turning to the future,” and said the measure will address global warming and make the U.S. less dependent on foreign energy...

* USA - Oil Prices Could Lead to Global Recession, Regional Conflicts
USA -Business Week -August 3, 2007: -- Oil prices up nearly 30% so far this year; much of that rise has come in past few weeks. Some technical charts predict prices could hit $110 or $118 by end of 2007... Global oil demand forecast to expand by 2.2% / year on average... Oil prices could go higher; surging demand coupled w/ concerns about tight supplies. Main driver is robust global economic growth. US economy is solid; China and India are surging; most of Europe is strong. But: High oil prices could ultimately put brakes on economic growth... Price spikes could eventually cause inflation, recession, increased geopolitical friction... Global spare oil production capacity will shrink after 2010; demand will outpace supply... "We also have to look at geopolitical tension in this scramble. We're already starting to see oil used as a political tool, and the power is likely to continue to shift away from consumers and toward producers.", said Phil Flynn, analyst, Alaron Trading, Chicago...

Labels: oil prices

Jul 28, 2007

OIL NEWS * USA - Race for resources tightens as crude prices march ever higher

Exxon Mobil Corp is the world's biggest oil company. While other companies have increasingly boosted oil and gas reserves through acquisitions, Exxon stuck to the drill bit, scouring the globe for new fields and making big, long-term investments to find, develop and produce petroleum

San Francisco,CAL,USA -MarketWatch, by Jim Jelter -Jul 26, 2007: -- This has kept Exxon at the head of its class in the reserve replacement derby so closely watched in the industry. Simply put, reserve replacement measures a company's ability to find oil as fast as it pumps it. Anything less means the company is going backward... Today Exxon announced it went backward. Its second-quarter earnings report showed a production decline of 1% from a year ago... All this means Big Oil's romping ground is shrinking. The "easy" oil is long gone, the rest is getting harder to find, and competition for it is tougher than ever... If there's any silver lining in all this for investors, it's that tight supplies and surging demand are keeping plenty of upward pressure on prices. Crude futures topped $77 a barrel Thursday in New York. And the view that energy prices can only go higher in the long run has supported a 15% increase in Exxon's share price this year... But higher crude prices cannot offset losses from a creeping production decline for long. Which is why Wall Street goes so glum on the sector when its leader stumbles -- even just a little bit...

Labels: oil prices

May 23, 2007

Surging Oil Prices * USA - House moves on

The House, eager to do something about record high gasoline prices in advance of the Memorial Day weekend, voted narrowly Wednesday to approve stiff penalties for those found guilty of gasoline price gouging

Washington,DC,USA-Associated Press, by H. JOSEF HEBERT -23 May 2007: -- ... The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department to go after oil companies, traders or retail operators if they take "unfair advantage" or charge "unconscionably excessive" prices for gasoline and other fuels... The White House called the measure a form of price controls that could result in fuel shortages. It said President Bush would be urged to veto the legislation should it pass Congress... The bill needed the approval of two-thirds of the members of the House because the leadership considered it under an expedited legislative process. Thus, the 284-141 vote was only one over the threshold for passage. A similar measure is being considered by the Senate... The bill would for the first time create a federal law making energy price gouging illegal. It would cover not only gasoline, but also other fuels such as natural gas and heating oil... (AP Photo: High gas prices posted at this Shell gas station in San Mateo, Calif., Monday, May)

Labels: oil prices