The markets fell on Wednesday, led by tumbling energy and financial shares, as traders responded to signs that the economic recovery might not be as strong as anticipated.
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Gasoline Prices
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We will never sell or share your information without your consent. See our privacy policy.It’s On! EPA’s Proposed Cleaner Fuels and Cars Standards Applauded by Some, Hated by Others
By Jared Anderson
Last week the US EPA proposed regulations known as Tier 3 rulemaking that would increase fuel efficiency and tighten controls on sulfur in gasoline. The EPA described the new rules as “sensible standards for cars and gasoline that will significantly reduce harmful pollution, prevent thousands of premature deaths and illnesses, while also enabling efficiency improvements in the cars and trucks we drive.”
The environmental community, many politicians and some business associations are strongly in favor of the regulations, while the refining industry is bitterly opposed. Both sides claim the regulations will save money and have very different views on how the rules will affect gasoline prices. The following is a collection of statements EPA sent in an email from prominent environmental, political and trade group voices speaking in favor of the regulations: Keep reading →
It’s happening again.
It’s not even close to the summer driving season — in fact, it’s not even springtime — but as surely as February gives way to March, gas prices have begun their annual ascent. Keep reading →
Energy prices have been rising fast. But not enough to derail the economic recovery. Not yet anyway.
Over the last month, crude oil prices have risen over 4% and are approaching $100 a barrel. Analysts think they’ll soon trade in the triple digits. Gasoline futures are up even more, rising 8% over the last 30 days. At the pump, drivers are now paying 14 cents more a gallon than they were in mid December. Keep reading →
Your favorite Exxon station is very likely not owned or operated by Exxon and the same is true for the rest of the major oil companies. The Chevron’s and BP’s of the world largely distanced themselves from the branded retail gasoline business following the mega-mergers of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s due to financial and regulatory factors.
In fact, these businesses – that most people still refer to as gas stations – are now thought of by the industry as convenience stores that sell motor fuels. The downstream segment – refining and marketing – of the oil and gas business has been marginally profitable for decades. But the vertically integrated model first championed by John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil remains attractive to the majors because owning refineries provides a guaranteed market for their often highly-profitable upstream businesses of finding and developing oil and gas. The upstream was often thought of as subsidizing the downstream, as Steve Coll described it in his book about ExxonMobil, “Private Empire.” Keep reading →
US oil prices could sink to $50 a barrel at some point over the next two years, according to analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
But don’t expect a corresponding drop in gas prices.
Merrill analysts expect US oil prices to still average about $90 a barrel over the same time period. Global oil prices meanwhile, which more closely dictate the price of gasoline in the United States, are expected to remain high as growth in global oil supplies lags population growth and economic output.
Keep reading →
In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, it’s still unclear whether consumers will see a nationwide gas spike.
One bit of good news: The Northeast’s largest refinery is coming back online. The Philadelphia Energy Solutions plant, which processes a third of the region’s oil, said it was “without issues.” Keep reading →
Americans spend a lot of money on oil – about $632 billion a year. A lot of that money goes to paying the costs of getting the dinosaur juice out of the ground in the first place, including exploring for potential reserves, drilling test wells, drilling production wells, pumping the stuff, and transporting it.
An effort by 22 U.S. states to spur demand for natural gas vehicles has produced a strong response from auto dealers to a request to supply CNG-powered cars, vans and trucks for state fleets.
Dealerships in 28 states representing the three big U.S. manufacturers plus Honda submitted more than 100 bids in response to a joint request for proposals by the states, which are seeking to boost demand for abundant domestic natural gas, and support the price after it fell to a decade-low in spring 2011. Keep reading →
Natural gas is being taken more seriously as a transportation fuel by U.S. fleet operators and trucking companies, but its scarce availability is standing in the way of widespread adoption by the general public, industry experts said recently.
Despite the clear price advantage enjoyed by the relatively few car and truck drivers that use natural gas, it won’t become a significant source of transportation fuel until there’s a network of publicly available natural gas filling stations comparable to that for gasoline, or until home refueling is a viable option for most consumers, the experts said. Keep reading →
