It's Probably Nothing

Western loses are offset buy eastern increases

http://205.254.135.7/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=5130

It wasn't a bad winter, we likely used a lot less heating oil than '98...and there aren't as many goods to ship with the moonbats killing off all the jobs

The economy has been at stall speed for six months now, Canada will be affected soon enough. But if Europe implodes and Obama loses, it will be worth it to see socialism fail. All coming in the next 200 days to a town near you.

I'd like to comment jokingly that this is another indication of how all those electric cars are helping us reduce dependence on foreign oil, but really I'm just too angry about B. Hussien to make any sense.

High gov't debts world wide hamper economic activity.

Green taxes and mandates(ethanol) cause gasoline and food prices to escalate.

Climate alarmists' demands worry business and consumers so they curtail spending, especially on expensive energy.

Ridiculous environmental regulations cause energy production costs to sky rocket, resulting in high prices.

Lower economic activity reduces gov't total tax take thereby increasing deficit/debt.

Sounds like a loose loose loose situation.

So if gasoline demand is falling why are pump prices so high? This you can! blame on Bush.

http://blog.gasbuddy.com/posts/More-refineries-could-close-in-years-ahead/1715-493389-977.aspx

ron in kelowna ∴ at May 10, 2012 3:58 PM

1) Prices began to spike up when Iran threatened to blockade the exits to the Gulf late last year. That's because there were fears of a supply disruption.

2) In the U.S., the Obama administration is doing all it can to decrease supply by refusing to issue drilling permits. That's because of their stated purpose to drive up the price of oil, so that green alternatives would be more ‘affordable.'

3) All the oil/nat gas being drilled for in the U.S. right now is a result of permits issues during the Bush years. Right now, there's an inventory buildup in the U.S. that is well beyond the average. That's why the price of oil has dropped about $7 a barrel in the last two weeks.

4) Recently, investment money has fled Europe and has moved into U.S. instruments. That bumped up the value of the U.S. dollar and as a result, the Canadian dollar has lost some of its value, meaning Canadians are unable to enjoy the full effects of oil's cheaper price.

Any other questions ... or was that one just rhetorical?

BTW loose = opposite of tight
lose = opposite of win

Point taken, HOWEVER, the graph is somewhat misleading. The scale on the right is double that on the left so the changes are accented for one of the two. You also need to see the bottom portion of each graph to put the changes in perspective otherwise the changes are again accented. "massaging" the graph in this manner has a negative effect on the writers credibility (ie. slight case of "Micheal Mann Syndrome")

dwo: The min/max of the right scale is less than half of the left, so it could be argued (just as validly, I should point out) that the changes on that line on a percentage basis are subdued compared to the other.

Corn futures are showing the reduction in gasoline/ethanol demand.

(sigh)

Let's see now:

Reduction in US GASOLINE DEMAND has nothing at all to do with reductions in petroleum supply. In fact, since 2004, world oil production has bounced around between 72 and 74 mbpd, which is a range of about +/- 1.5%. In any other business, this would be considered fairly stable supply. So regardless of what Bambam's done with permits, it's not had the affect of restricting supply of oil.

As we've discussed here before, refinery capacity is somewhat strained in North America at present, due to both aging installed plants and the difficulty in getting new plants approved (NIMBY/NIABY problems). This lack of capacity has kept retail gasoline prices higher than might otherwise be the case.

The combination of higher gas prices, massive but officially ignored under/unemployment in the US (a few days ago at Zerohedge, someone noted that adults on disability payments have zoomed from under 2 million to over 5 million on Bambam's watch - these people aren't considered unemployed or even part of the labour force, which helps the headline unemployment number look better), and the one thing universally ignored here: better gas mileage by the US fleet, have combined to reduce gas usage dramatically.

The latter point should not be glossed over. The US fleet has improved its average fuel economy from about 24 mpg in 2000 to about 28 mpg in 2010. That's about 16% improvement, which almost accounts for the entire gasoline use reduction itself. Higher pump prices and higher unemployment have offset the expected growth in miles driven from higher population.

To the engineer in me, this is a good thing. Doing more with less is a good part of what engineering is all about. If you're spending 15% less on gas, you're saving about $500/yr, which is money better spent on.. well, here in Ontario, you'll end up spending it on your hydro bill, but that's a different sad story.

Lastly on the Gas subject, the price is still way up there because they really don't give a damn and no one can make them lower it. OOOhh, why not have another Royal commission to see why the public is getting shafted? That will be the tenth one I think. The teeniest speculation will spike the price immediately but it takes months of cobweb growth before it grudgingly comes down a bit. It's whatever the traffic will bear folks.

Who stands to gain on the high price of Gas/diesel ?
The petro companies.
The shareholders.
The provincial government.
The federal government.
The stock market speculators.
The exploration market.
The related job activity.
The public transport activists.
The Electric vehicle industry.
The carbon opportunists (BC & Ontario)
The dear people at OPEC.
The Obama admin.(Steven Chu wants it @ $10.gal.)

Who stands to lose on the high price of gas/diesel ?

The consumer.
The travel industry.

Probably forgot a few on the gain side but on the lose side they simply pass it on to the consumer. Jump right in and tell me why the price of fuel seems so slow in coming down.