Oil Slick Stuff

James said: You know what really bugs me though-

is when the price of a quart of oil, which HAD been about $1.59, jumped up to $3.89 back when gasoline hit $4.25 a gallon.


You know James, that bugs me too. Along with the fact that practically every consumer good known to man went up almost overnight -- food, retail items, etc. because of the "shipping cost" and everything being tied to the price of gasoline/diesel. Yet, here we are .... moved down from over $4.00/gal to less than $2.00 and every @#$%@@ thing in the store is the same price as it was when gas/diesel was over $4.00 --- that should be criminal! Where are the consumer groups that allegedly protect "our" interests?
 
$$$I think price trickles UP much faster than it trickles DOWN, which is directly in disagreement with the laws of physics.$$$ :confused:
 
Oil falls for third session on economic concerns

By Moming Zhou & Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
Last update: 3:07 p.m. EST Jan. 8, 2009

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Oil futures fell Thursday for a third straight session as newly released U.S. jobs data highlighted concerns that deepening economic troubles in the world's biggest oil-consuming country will further cut into energy demand.

Meanwhile, natural-gas futures extended losses after government data showed U.S. inventories fell less than expected.
Phil Flynn, vice president at Alaron Trading, tells MarketWatch's Steve Gelsi that the possible resolution of the Gazprom natural-gas dispute could continue to push crude prices lower. (Jan. 8)

The number of people collecting benefits in the week ended Dec. 27 rose to the highest level in more than 26 years, the Labor Department reported. Separately, the nation's major retailers cut their profit outlooks as job losses rose and consumer confidence weakened. [more]
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...x?guid={3694C46D-5C59-4BB5-8112-B8C6E010BE10}
 
Oil below $40 after jobs report

Crude futures retreat after government says 525,000 jobs were lost last month, reviving concern about weaker demand.

by CNNMoney.com staff
January 9, 2009: 10:13 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices fell Friday as a government report showing significant job losses added to concerns about weaker demand in an ailing economy.
U.S. crude for February delivery fell $1.89 to $39.81 a barrel.
The government said Friday that 524,000 jobs were lost in December, bringing the total for 2008 to just below 2.6 million. That makes 2008 the worst year for job losses since 1945, with 2.75 million jobs were lost as the nation's industrial production geared down from World War II. The unemployment rate surged to 7.2%.
The dismal jobs number overshadowed indications of production cuts among OPEC members aimed at driving up oil prices, which are down more than $100 a barrel from the record $147.27 set six months ago.
Over the past week, OPEC members Venezuela, Iran and Kuwait all showed signs that they were complying with the group's pledge to bolster oil prices by removing 2.2 million barrels a day from the market.
It's possible OPEC may have been able to cut back enough to keep oil bouncing around between $40 and $50 a barrel, according to James Williams, energy economist with WTRG Economics in London, Ark.
Industry cutbacks: [more]
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/09/markets/oil/index.htm?postversion=2009010910
 
This thread is open to anything, not a formal thread. You can think of it this way, if this thread is limited to discussing subjects dealing with energy. Then you can write about Natural Gas, Crude Oil, Fuel Oil, Gasoline, Diesel, Electricity, Wind Power the list goes on and on. How about Barbque, oh yes it can be discussed, you may use charcoal, Bottled Gas, electricity to BBQ, and consider that BBQ may at times create its own GAS!!:sick: Feel free!:cool:

That's my kind of Cheerleader!!! That gives me energy!:D
Subject: DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY :suspicious:

Does anybody remember the reason for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY during the Carter Administration? - Anybody?

Bottom line, we've spent hundreds of billions of dollars in support of an agency, for a reason which most of us cannot remember. It was very simple, and at the time everybody thought it very appropriate.

The Department of Energy was activated October 1, 1977 (signed by Pres. Jimmy Carter) to organize and strengthen our energy efficiency, promote conservation and to LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL. That sounds pretty good, does it not?

So, as we just cheered in the year 2009 (31+ years since the DOE was created), the budget for this necessary department is $32.1 BILLION a year, with over 15,000 federal employees and another approx.100,000? contract employees!

So, how has that been working out for us, so far? THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOURSELF ON THE FOREHEAD and say, 'WHAT were we THINKING?' Ah yes, good ole bureaucracy. And now we are going to turn the Auto Industry over to the government? GOD HELP US!

http://www.energy.gov/about/origins.htm
 
The oil and coal industries took it over. :toung:
Well, actually, jokes aside, the Energy Department does have excellent R&D labs for alternative fuel and energy work. The only problem is, the infrastructure is not here to take advantage of that work. So it's just solar panels on a Walmart, if you know what I mean - or it's an infrastructure project in of the States that is active in alternatives.
 
I'm at a loss for words, what have they been doing all of those years, growing peanuts?:D I think I could have done better than that and I'm a DUMMY!!!!!!:cool: laughdog.gif
 
Sure they could..but I remember we used to joke post-Carter all DOE did was publish reports on coal and oil supplies, and they were the rah rahs for fossil fuels. But it at least is looking somewhat better. Website acutally has sections on renewables and other alternatives at this point. Whether there's a will to follow up on this, remains to be seen.
 
Improvement doesn't come easily for the Government, they have been changing things every year sense I've been there, most of the time it's just to track what's happening instead of improving the system, Quality, output or excellence, just window dressing!:blink:
 
DOE to Resume Filling Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Oil Acquisition Slated for 2009

WASHINGTON, DC
-- The U.S. Department of Energy today announced that it plans to take advantage of the recent large decline in crude oil prices, and has issued a solicitation to purchase approximately 12 million barrels of crude oil for the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to replenish SPR supplies sold following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
In addition, DOE is also moving forward with three other SPR acquisition and/or fill activities in order to fill the SPR as Congress directed in the 2005 Energy Policy Act (EPAct): refiner repayments of SPR emergency oil releases following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike; the delivery of deferred royalty-in-kind (RIK) oil; and the solicitation of new RIK deliveries in the spring of 2009.

From May 2008 through the end of December 2008, DOE was prohibited by law from acquiring petroleum for the SPR. Now that the statutory moratorium on SPR oil acquisitions has expired, and in light of substantially lower crude oil market prices, DOE believes it is economically prudent and in the Nation’s national security interest to move forward with filling the SPR.
Acquisitions in 2009 will fill the SPR to its current storage capacity of 727 million barrels and provide the U.S. with approximately 70 days of net import protection.

Approximate 12 Million Barrel Purchase:
DOE plans to take advantage of the recent sharp decline in crude oil prices to enter the market and, if it receives acceptable offers, purchase approximately 12 million barrels of crude oil. The approximately $600 million received from DOE in 2005 from the emergency sale of crude oil following hurricanes Katrina and Rita will be used for the purchase. Current crude oil prices provide an opportunity to replace the oil sold in 2005 and to acquire additional oil, adding to the energy security provided by the SPR. DOE is seeking offers for crude oil deliveries in February, March, and April 2009.

Refiner Repayments of 2009 Hurricane Oil Releases:
From January through May 2009, the SPR will receive 5,395,000 barrels of oil that were released from the SPR to refiners in the fall of 2008 due to localized interruptions caused by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, along with 120,000 additional “premium” barrels of oil that the refiners are required to pay to DOE in return for releasing this oil to the refiners.

Deferred RIK Deliveries to Resume and New Solicitation Planned:
The SPR will also receive 2,178,000 barrels of RIK oil, originally scheduled for delivery in 2008 and deferred until the spring of 2009.
In addition to these deferred deliveries, DOE plans to resume a modest RIK oil fill program with the Department of the Interior at a rate of about 25,000 barrels per day. DOE has issued a solicitation seeking contracts to exchange 25,000 barrels per day of Government-owned oil from Federal oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico for crude oil deliveries that meet the specifications of the SPR. The RIK deliveries to the SPR would begin in May 2009.
The SPR has been filling using the royalty-in-kind exchange program since 1999. Under this program, the Department of the Interior contracts for the delivery of Federal royalty oil to market centers along the Gulf Coast, where ownership of the oil is then transferred from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Energy. DOE awards contracts for the exchange of the Federal royalty oil at the market centers for physical oil deliveries to the SPR. Actual volumes delivered to the SPR take into account adjustments for quality differentials and transportation.

About the SPR:
Currently, the SPR has a storage capacity of 727 million barrels and an inventory of 702 million barrels (97%) stored in the SPR's underground salt caverns located along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas.
Activities to resume SPR fill are taken in accordance with the provisions of the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005, which directs that DOE fill the SPR to its authorized capacity of one billion barrels, and advances the President’s agenda to increase the Nation’s energy security.
 
Did ya see this...what a good greaser for the start of a day...

www.howobamagotelected.com

Checkit out. Palin and co has come out swinging.

Politics are politics and dirty deeds are part of our system. It seems that this is par for the course and nothing new, wrong, unfair and the fault should be put directly on the American People for letting it continue.:nuts:
 
Don't expect $4 gas anytime soon:D

Gasoline prices have been on the rise of late but demand remains sluggish. Industry sources don't anticipate a return to record highs.

By Catherine Clifford, CNNMoney.com staff writer
January 9, 2009: 4:17 PM ET

gas_chart_new.03.jpg


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Gasoline prices have surged some 10% over the past week but don't expect the $4-a-gallon record highs of last summer anytime soon.

The national average for a gallon of gasoline has jumped nearly 16 cents this week to $1.782 a gallon, according to motorist group AAA's daily survey. But current prices are still more than 56% cheaper than last summer, when they topped out at $4.114 a gallon.
The economic slowdown pushed drivers to close their wallets during the summer driving season and find other modes of transport. That shift hasn't changed much as the country remains mired in a recession.
"Demand is still lousy and I think it is going to be lousy for the next four, five or six weeks and that is traditional for this time of year and that will be exacerbated by the job losses," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.
On Friday, the Labor Department announced job losses of 524,000 for December. While that was roughly in line with estimates, the annual loss of 2.6 million is the highest level in more than six decades.
"Every aspect of the demand is macroeconomic and if the economy is losing jobs and consumer confidence is very, very low, it does not bode well for the price of oil or the price of refined products, including gasoline," said Kloza
Drivers ought to expect retail gas prices continue to move a bit higher in the very near term but not make any major movements through the next couple months, he added.
The oil factor. Gas prices typically follow the trajectory of oil, the main ingredient in gasoline. Crude prices surged some 43% from their low on Dec. 19 through Jan. 6, when they began their retreat.[more]
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/09/news/economy/gas_prices/index.htm?postversion=2009010916
 
Oil back below $40

Due to continuing concerns that the recession is cutting into demand, crude prices head lower, despite news that Saudi Arabia plans to cut output below its target levels.

January 12, 2009: 6:18 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) -- Oil fell more than $2 to below $39 a barrel on Monday, dragged down by widespread evidence that deepening recession was reducing global energy consumption.
The decline came despite news that Saudi Arabia planned to cut output to below its agreed target, as well as gas supply disruptions in Europe as a result of the Russia-Ukraine dispute and tensions in the Middle East.
U.S. light crude for February delivery fell $2.20 to a low of $38.63 at 6:10 a.m. ET.
U.S. jobless data on Friday set the tone for the market.
A U.S. government report showed employers slashed jobs by 524,000 in December, driving the national unemployment rate to its highest level in almost 16 years.
"The U.S. unemployment numbers on Friday started the latest leg downwards. We have had a string of bad news, with companies and economies all reporting negative data. It is almost relentlessly bad," said Rob Laughlin, senior oil analyst at MF Global in London.
Oil prices fell 54% last year and have shed more than $100 from a record peak of above $147 a barrel last July as the global economic downturn hits demand for fuel.
Supply Cuts
The world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, plans to cut output by up to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) below its agreed OPEC target, a proactive step to prop up a collapsing market, industry sources said on Sunday.[more]
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/12/markets/oil.reut/index.htm?postversion=2009011206
 
Must have made them an offer "That They Couldn't Refuse"?

Russia to turn gas back on

After a dispute between Russia and Ukraine left much of Europe with reduced gas supplies, a deal appears to have been brokered between the countries.

January 12, 2009: 6:49 AM ET

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Russia said Monday it would restore gas supplies to Europe after Ukraine, which has been engaged in a dispute with Russia, dropped conditions that had angered Moscow.
Russia and Ukraine had earlier agreed to a deal brokered [more]
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/12/news/international/russia_ukraine/index.htm?postversion=2009011206
 
Oil slumps 7% on demand woes

Crude prices dip below $38 a barrel as economic weakness continues to sap demand.

By Ben Rooney, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: January 12, 2009: 12:50 PM ET

chart_oil_1_year.03.gif


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The price of oil fell Monday as investors remained focused on last week's bad economic news and bet that demand for petroleum products will continue to decline.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery fell $2.92, or 7%, to $37.91 a barrel. Last week, oil fell nearly $8 a barrel as signs of economic weakness and waning demand weighed on the market.
A report from the Labor Department on Friday showed the nation's economy lost a total of 2.6 million jobs last year, the highest level in more than six decades. The report also showed that the unemployment rate jumped to 7.2% in December from 6.7% in November.
"The overall trend in the market, given the weak economy, is still to the down side," said Stephen Schork, an energy market analyst and publisher of the industry newsletter The Schork Report.
The price of oil lost more than half its value in 2008, and suffered a staggering decline of more than $100 a barrel from its peak last summer as the global economic slowdown undermined demand.
Oil prices had rebounded slightly during the first few trading days of the year, prompting some analysts to speculate that crude could drift higher this week. But that advance was due to year-end portfolio adjustments and "we're back into a bearish track," Schork said.
OPEC: Monday's decline comes despite reports Sunday that Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, plans to cut output by up to 300,000 barrels per daybelow its previously announced target reduction.
The Kingdom has already lowered supply this month to 8 million barrels per day as part of OPEC's agreement to reduce overall supplies by a record amount from Jan. 1.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have been drastically scaling back supply in an attempt to stop the rapidly falling price of oil.
But the strategy has had limited success as supply levels remain high and demand continues to deteriorate.
Last week, the Department of Energy said the nation's stockpiles of crude rose by a whopping 6.7 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 2. That far surpassed experts' forecast of a 1.5 million barrel rise, according to a poll by research firm Platts.
"We know there's plenty of supply in the near term," Schork said. "OPEC is taking the appropriate steps, but this is a demand side problem, and there's very little OPEC can do."
Geopolitics: The oil market is also focusing on Israel's military [more]
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/12/markets/oil/index.htm?postversion=2009011212
 
Back
Top