Gas prices to soar once again...

[Martin]

How much more of this can we take...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060807/...ld_shutdown_20

BP shuts down largest U.S. oil field
By MARY PEMBERTON, Associated Press Writer

Oil company BP scrambled Monday to assess suspected pipeline corrosion that will shut shipments from the nation's biggest oilfield, removing about 8 percent of daily U.S. crude production and driving oil prices sharply higher.

BP, which is already facing a criminal investigation over a large spill in March at the same Prudhoe Bay oilfield, said it did not know how long the field would be offline. "I don't even know how long it's going to take to shut it down," said Tom Williams, BP's senior tax and royalty counsel.
While BP suspects corrosion in both damaged lines, it can't say for sure until further tests are complete. Workers also found a small spill of about 4 to 5 barrels, which has been contained and is being cleaned up, BP said.
The news sent the price of light, sweet crude oil up $1.53 to $74.57 a barrel in electronic trading Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Steve Marshall, president of BP Exploration Alaska Inc., said Sunday night that the eastern side of the Prudhoe Bay oilfield would be shut down first, an operation anticipated to take 24 to 36 hours. The company will then move to shut down the west side, a move that could close more than 1,000 Prudhoe Bay wells.

Once the field is shut down, BP said oil production will be reduced by 400,000 barrels a day. That's close to 8 percent of U.S. oil production or about 2.6 percent of U.S. supply including imports, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The shutdown comes at an already worrisome time for the oil industry, with supply concerns stemming both from the hurricane season and instability in the Middle East.

A 400,000-barrel per day reduction in output would have a major impact on oil prices, said Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo. A barrel contains 42 gallons of crude oil.
"Oil prices could increase by as much as $10 per barrel given the current environment," Emori said. "But we can't really say for sure how big an effect this is going to have until we have more exact figures about how much production is going to be reduced."
But Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore, said he expected the impact to be minimal since crude inventories are high.
"So while this won't have any immediate impact on U.S. supplies, the market is in very high anxiety. So any significant disruption, traders will take that into account, even though there is no threat of a supply shortage."

Marshall said tests Friday indicated that there were 16 anomalies in 12 areas in an oil transit line on the eastern side of Prudhoe Bay. Tests found losses in wall thickness of between 70 and 81 percent. Repair or replacement is required if there is more than an 80 percent loss.
"The results were absolutely unexpected," Marshall said.
BP America Chairman and President Bob Malone said Prudhoe Bay will not resume operating until the company and government regulators are satisfied it can run safely without threatening the environment.
"We regret that it is necessary to take this action and we apologize to the nation and the State of Alaska for the adverse impacts it will cause," Malone said in a statement.
The troubles at the Alaskan oilfield add to other problems for BP in the United States, where the company is the largest oil producer, following an explosion at its Texas City refinery that killed 15 workers in March 2005 and a trading scandal.

The shutdown comes six months after the North Slope's biggest ever oil spill was discovered on a Prudhoe Bay transit line. Some 267,000 gallons of oil spilled. BP installed a bypass on that line in April with plans to replace the pipe. Only one of BP's three transit lines is now operating.

BP puts millions of gallons of corrosion inhibitor into the Prudhoe Bay lines each year. It also examines pipes by taking X-rays and ultrasound images.
BP has a 26 percent stake in the Prudhoe Bay field, meaning its own production would be cut by 100,000 barrels a day, or around 2.5 percent of the company's worldwide production, said spokesman David Nicholas. He declined to provide any forecast on the impact of the shutdown on earnings.
BP shares dropped 2 percent to 623 pence ($11.89) on the London Stock Exchange.

A prolonged Prudhoe Bay shutdown would be a major blow to domestic oil production, but even a short one could be crippling to Alaska's economy.
Alaska House Speaker John Harris said it was admirable that BP took immediate action, although it's sure to hurt state coffers. "This state cannot afford to have another Exxon Valdez," said Harris, R-Valdez. The Exxon Valdez tanker emptied 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound in 1989, killing hundreds of thousands of birds and marine animals and soiling more than 1,200 miles of rocky beach in nation's largest oil spill.

[Martin]

I hate to double post here but its for a good reason..

At first when I heard about this pipeline corrosion, I thought : Ok this has to be a small section like only about 4 feet long...

Its not... Its a 16 MILE REPLACEMENT project.. How could these morons be so STUPID to overlook 16 MILES of PIPE? Well, they werent stupid.. This had to be planned. What does this do for BP and all the other oil & gas companies? It makes their profits SOAR even more with no cost to them.. What gives them these huge profits these days? The fear and speculation of shortages..THATS IT !! These guys are playing us like cards and we cant do anything about it. Arghhhh... These oil companies are getting away with murder.. And Bush doesnt care because he and his family have all that stock in oil investments... So what does he do? He goes on TV to say "America needs to conserve fuel".

[Swiss Miss]

I had to fill up tonight, gas was $2.98. I heard on Lou Dobbs while I was in Mexico that BP actually isn't at fault here. According to Louey, they do own a bit of the oilfield, but Exxon is the largest shareholder in this one. Not that it's that much of a big deal, but I'm confused now that I read this report and several others that maintain that BP is the main purchaser.

16 miles is going to take forever. I am moving downtown when I start school in a week so that should help me "conserve fuel". I can tell 'The Man' is sweating already! :D and I am buying a motorcycle as soon as I can. Hybrids are still not monetarily sensible and I can do without the feel good sense of overpaying for a car while saving the environment. Not to be ignorant toward the market, I'm sure there's a lot of economics involved in the pricing of these vehicles -- but the hybrid technology would be so much more lucrative than it already is if they marketed it to the people who are actually most motivated to do something about the situation:



college students and hippies.

Now that prices are down a bit, this should help to stabilize the oil markets...

Saudi Oil Minister says no further adjustments to production necessary
Saturday 24th February, 2007: Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi has said that the world oil market is now better balanced and that if prices are maintained at approximately the current levels, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will not make any adjustments to production levels at their forthcoming meeting in March.

The opinion of the Saudi Oil Minister always carry a special weight in OPEC, as Saudi Arabia is a swing producer who can increase or decrease production immediately according to the conditions prevailing in the oil market.

In a recent interview with Wall Street Journal, Ali Naimi said that Saudi oil production stood at 8.5 million barrels a day, about one million barrels a day less than the country's output six months ago. Saudi Arabia has reduced its production, complying with OPEC's decisions taken at the oil cartel's meetings in Doha and in Abuja.

The Saudi Oil Minister said he could not say whether OPEC would make further production cuts, because in his view the market was in balance. However, he stressed that Saudi Arabia was committed to expand its production capacity to 12.5 million barrels a day by 2010.

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=230105

Get ready for the shock at the pump, Oil goin' back up...

Oil nears 9-month high above $71
June 7, 2007 - Oil above $71, nears 9-month high on Turkey Iraq raid

Oil prices extended gains above $71 a barrel on Thursday, nearing their highest in nine months after a raid by Turkish troops into northern Iraq revived Middle East geopolitical jitters. Data showing U.S. refiners were struggling to boost summer fuel production, and Cyclone Gonu's disruption of Omani oil and gas exports lent additional support to the market, keeping Brent crude within a dollar of late May's $71.80 high.

London Brent crude rose for a sixth day, climbing 25 cents to $71.27 a barrel by 0522 GMT after rising 57 cents on Wednesday. U.S. crude rose 31 cents to $66.27. Turkey denied a report on Wednesday it had launched a major incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels, but a military source said troops had conducted a limited raid across the mountainous border, rattling markets.

"It's easy to think it can turn into a longer and nastier [conflict]," said Tobin Gorey, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Anger is mounting in Turkey over the activity of Turkish Kurdish rebels using the mountains of northern Iraq as a refuge. Northern Iraq is rich in oil, although exports via a pipeline through Turkey have been effectively halted for three years.

U.S. stocks

[waltky]

Toyota on the front lines of high gas prices...

New type Toyota hybrid being tested
Sunday 29th July, 2007 - Toyota has announced a partnership with the University of California to road test two plug-in hybrid cars before getting the vehicles onto the market.

The study, in two parts, will analyze the behavior of the drivers, and study air quality and energy use.

By plugging into 110-volt household current, the prototype Prius can cover seven miles per charge in all-electric mode at up to 62 miles per hour.

The new Prius will weigh 220 pounds more than its hybrid forbear to accommodate an additional nickel battery, but other specifications will remain the same.

New type Toyota hybrid being tested

[waltky]

Hybrids hazardous to the blind...

Blind People: Hybrid Cars Pose Hazard
Oct 3, 2007 - Blind People Say Hybrid Cars, Nearly Silent at Slower Speeds, Pose Safety Risk

Gas-electric hybrid vehicles, the status symbol for the environmentally conscientious, are coming under attack from a constituency that doesn't drive: the blind. Because hybrids make virtually no noise at slower speeds when they run solely on electric power, blind people say they pose a hazard to those who rely on their ears to determine whether it's safe to cross the street or walk through a parking lot.

"I'm used to being able to get sound cues from my environment and negotiate accordingly. I hadn't imagined there was anything I really wouldn't be able to hear," said Deborah Kent Stein, chairwoman of the National Federation of the Blind's Committee on Automotive and Pedestrian Safety. "We did a test, and I discovered, to my great dismay, that I couldn't hear it."

The tests admittedly unscientific involved people standing in parking lots or on sidewalks who were asked to signal when they heard several different hybrid models drive by. "People were making comments like, 'When are they going to start the test?' And it would turn out that the vehicle had already done two or three laps around the parking lot," Stein said.

More ABC News: Blind People: Hybrid Cars Pose Hazard

[waltky]

Yea, they prob'ly gougin' Santa too...

Gas Price Spike Called 'Early Christmas Present' for Big Oil
November 07, 2007 - The price for a gallon of gas across the nation jumped an average of 14 cents in the past week, turning the Thanksgiving season into "a lucrative early Christmas present for oil companies," a liberal-leaning consumer group charged on Tuesday.

"Oil companies are reaping profits of up to $75 a barrel on $95-a-barrel oil, and now they're taking the leash off of gasoline prices as well," said Judy Dugan, research director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR), in a news release.

"With the U.S. economy at a tipping point, a 14-cent jump in gasoline over a single week signals a spike that will empty consumers' pockets during the holiday season," she said. "It's not hard to imagine $4 a gallon early next year."

Dugan pointed to statistics from the federal Energy Information Administration, which on Monday recorded a weekly national price average of $3.013 per gallon for regular gas, up from $2.872 the previous week.

MORE

[waltky]

Ho-hum...

With gas again at $3, Congress is mum
Fri., Nov. 9, 2007 WASHINGTON - Americans accustomed to high prices, so lawmakers cool the rhetoric

When gasoline prices first hit $3 a gallon in 2005, irate lawmakers quickly assembled top oil executives for a public grilling. Pump prices are again above $3, yet the outcry from Congress is barely a whimper by comparison — even after this week’s warning from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that oil near $100 a barrel is a serious economic threat.

The change in tone since Nov. 9, 2005 — when Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., castigated oil executives for reaping multimillion-dollar bonuses while “working people struggle” — reflects an altered landscape in terms of energy economics and politics, analysts said.

* The American public is more accustomed to high prices, despite the financial pinch.
* Oil industry profits are retreating from year-ago levels as the soaring cost of crude crimps refining revenue.
* The outrage many Democrats expressed back then over high energy prices has been tempered by the fact that their party now controls Congress, making finger pointing more difficult.
* Plus, lawmakers have their hands full with a worsening housing crisis, a four and a half year old war in Iraq, and spending bills that have yet to be completed.

Geoffrey Styles, managing director of Virginia-based energy consulting firm GSW Strategy Group LLC, ascribes the relatively tame reaction in Washington these days to “price fatigue.” “If (gas) hits $3.50 a gallon, then I think you’ll see ... that hue and cry of the past,” Styles said. For the time being, only one hearing is planned on crude-oil prices, with industry and energy market experts likely to testify on recent record prices.

More With gas again at $3, Congress is mum - Oil & Energy - MSNBC.com

[waltky]

They can afford high gas prices with their salaries, why should they care?

Congress Pushes 'Band-Aid Fix' to Gas Price Woes, Analyst Says
November 08, 2007 - Even as crude oil futures reached a record high of $98.62 per barrel on Wednesday due to a sharp drop in supplies, a conservative analyst criticized Congress for working on legislation that will "make gasoline supplies even tighter, all the while shedding crocodile tears for the plight of the poorest consumers."

"Instead of taking proactive steps to increase supplies, Congress has fiddled around while consumers burned what we had," said H. Sterling Burnett, senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA), in a news release. Analysts have predicted sustained higher gas prices for years, he said. Burnett noted that there are only two ways to reduce high oil and gas prices: reduce demand or increase supply. "Since world demand is increasing, we cannot appreciably affect demand in the short- or mid-term without the technology to separate economic growth from fossil fuel energy growth - something we just don't have yet," he said.

Therefore, national policy should focus on increasing supply, the analyst said. "Tapping new oil in the U.S. would reduce prices because it would increase supply to world markets, and the location of new oil would reduce uncertainty and price instability," said Burnett. "Yet time and again, Congress has missed opportunities to utilize the billions of barrels of oil locked off-shore and in Alaska" in favor of short-term "Band-Aid solutions," he said. For example, "if Congress had opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil exploration back in 1990, when the issue was first debated, we would have that oil today," said Burnett.

He added that "if Congress had opened ANWR and allowed off-shore drilling as part of the energy legislation debated at the start of the Bush presidency, at least some new production would be coming online now." And if Congress had even acted in 2005, when supply issues were again debated, "we would be at least a few years down the road toward lessening energy dependence," Burnett said. "If Congress had taken steps 10 years ago, we wouldn't be in this dilemma now," he added.

MORE