Recent Gas News/GasBuddy Blog

Bradenton Herald -- The oil industry is primed for resurgence in Southwest Florida.

Fueled by lofty oil prices, more efficient drilling techniques and the promise of untapped but also largely unproven reservoirs, at least a half-dozen companies plan to expand exploration across the region.

They've quietly spent between $10 million and $20 million over the last few years, by the estimate of one industry executive, to buy mineral rights covering massive swaths of Collier, Lee and Hendry counties.

Now, drilling is picking up, with companies reviving long-abandoned fields and low-producing wells in and bordering the Big Cypress National Preserve, the historic heart of oil operations that go back 70 years. They also aim to poke prospecting "wildcat" wells into new areas like a tomato farm in Immokalee and...  (go to article)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -- As a paid engineering intern the last two summers at Exxon Mobil's Joliet Refinery in Channahon, Ill., Megan DeGraaf worked on projects that her full-time colleagues considered low priority. But the results she produced on equipment and pipe designs were solid enough that the oil giant offered her a permanent position.

In August, the recent graduate of the University of Pittsburgh will join Exxon Mobil as a mechanical contact engineer at the Joliet downstream refinery where oil is processed for retail consumption.

Though she didn't set her sights on a career in energy when she enrolled at Pitt, Ms. DeGraaf joins a steadily growing number of women landing jobs in the burgeoning oil and gas industry.

Of 3,900 positions added in oil and gas nationwide in the first quarter of 2013, almost..  (go to article)

The Telegraph -- Up to 380,000 barrels of crude oil were previously produced by wells around the city of Raqqa and in the desert region to its east that are now in rebel hands - in particular Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda off-shoot which is the strongest faction in this part of the country.

Now the violently anti-Western jihadist group, which has been steadily extending its control in the region, is selling the crude oil to local entrepreneurs, who use home-made refineries to produce low-grade petrol and other fuels for Syrians facing acute shortages.

The ability of Jabhat al-Nusra to profit from the oil locally, despite international sanctions which have hindered its sale abroad, will be particularly worrying to the European Union, which has voted to ease the embargo but at the same time wants to...  (go to article)

National Post -- Last Friday, a bizarre object fell from the skies above Vernon, B.C., and lodged itself in the trees on the edge of an elementary school field. When the dust settled, curious students found themselves gazing at the smashed remains of a Maverick, an experimental flying car resembling a miniature vintage roadster. Even stranger than its appearance, however, are the Maverick’s origins: Developed by Steve Saint, the son of an famed American Evangelical missionary who was killed by Ecuadorian tribesmen, the car was conceived in part as a high-tech way to conduct missionary work in some of the most remote corners of the world.

It’s a road-worthy, street-legal vehicle styled after a PT Cruiser or a Dodge Prowler; they were going for a 1950s look. And when we want to fly, we basically need to f  (go to article)

NewsOK HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) -- A Hastings ethanol plant that announced in February that it would temporarily shut down will not reopen.
The Ag Processing Inc. cooperative said Friday that it is permanently shutting down the 55-million-gallon-a-year plant, citing the plant's age and high utility costs associated with running it.

Officials had cited a slowdown in the economy, high corn prices and low oil prices for the temporary shutdown.
Matt Caswell, vice president of corporate relations with AGP in Omaha, said the company didn't see "any turn-around in the industry anytime soon."
Most of the plant's 43 employees found jobs within AGP's other operations in Hastings. AGP also operates a soybean processing plant, vegetable oil refinery and an AminoPlus production facility in the city.
APG says none of those facilities...  (go to article)

USA Today -- Making 1 million of anything is quite an achievement. But 1 million Jeeps is truly special.

It happened Friday at Chrysler Group's Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio. As soon as the 2013 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 10th Anniversary Edition rolled off the line, there was a big celebration.

Symbolizing the cooperation that made it happen, the black Jeep was driven by a Chrysler Group vice president, Mauro Pino, and the United Auto Worker's Jeep Unit chairman, Local 12, Dan Henneman.

After all, the Jeep Wrangler is a symbol of America. Its forerunner having played a crucial role in winning World War II, today's Wrangler stands for blazing new trails and rugged American know-how. It's a product of the heartland.

"Every Jeep Wrangler sold to customers around the world is born in Toledo, Ohio," ...  (go to article)

Quad-City Times -- Lea Kaskadden of Davenport pulled up to the pump at the Sara Mini Mart at River Drive and Myrtle Street in Davenport in one of two SUVs she and her husband drive. Attached to this SUV was the couple’s boat.

The cheap gasoline was $3.89 a gallon.

“We’re filling up the SUV before gas goes any higher,” Kaskadden said, adding that she could not believe how fast fuel has risen in the past couple of weeks.

But it was the boat they wanted filled, she said, “before we put it in the water. On the river, gasoline is 50 to 60 cents a gallon higher.”

Sara Mini Mart store manager Aban Baral said the price of gasoline at his store has gone up about 60 cents in 10 days.

“We’re having trouble keeping stocks of gasoline because people are trying to buy it before it goes up even more,” Baral said....  (go to article)

Motley Fool -- First up are exploration and production companies, or E&Ps, which are tasked with actually finding the shale oil and getting it out of the ground. While they're in the riskiest part of the business, they can offer considerable upside, provided commodity prices don't collapse.

Over the past few years, many E&Ps have seen continuous efficiency improvements through pad drilling and other techniques, which has helped them lower costs while maintaining strong rates of production growth. In North Dakota's Bakken shale, for instance, Continental Resources, the leading producer in the play, reported a $1 million decline in its average well costs and 58% growth in production last year, while Kodiak Oil & Gas, an oil and gas junior that also has a major presence in the Bakken, said its well ...  (go to article)

CS Monitor -- The US Department of Energy approved Friday the country's first liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminal since 2011.

It's a shift in policy that opens up America's newfound – and vast – natural gas resources to world markets. Advocates say they will improve the US trade balance and provide a boost for the natural gas industry, creating more jobs. The announcement is also a boost to key US allies, especially Japan, which has been lobbying the Obama administration to allow LNG exports as it transitions away from nuclear power.

But US consumers and manufacturers have benefited from the oversupply in the form of lower energy costs. Natural gas prices, which in March 2012 reached a 13-year low, will soar with the increase in foreign demand, critics warn. There are environmental concerns, a  (go to article)

Orlando Sentinel -- Motorists soon may find it harder — and more expensive — to fight tickets issued when red-light cameras snap their photos.

The red-light-camera changes would take effect in July if Gov. Rick Scott signs a massive transportation bill that includes the new regulations. A spokesman said Scott is reviewing the measure (HB 7125) but would not comment further.

Proponents of the changes are primarily state, city and county officials who have set up at least 400 cameras operating statewide so far. They say the revisions would streamline the process and do away with some of what they believe are unfair objections used to rescind tickets.

"Courts were doing all kinds of different things with this," said Jodi Litchford, Orlando's deputy city attorney.

But John Bowman of the National Motorists Ass  (go to article)

CNBC -- The shale is booming. Citigroup has already dubbed the U.S. "The new Middle East," as the country enters the era of energy independence. Shale will serve as a boon to the broader economy: Citi projects that shale oil and gas finds will add millions of jobs over the next decade and provide as much as a 3% boost to GDP.

Shale finds have already caused an unprecedented drop in natural gas prices, buoying its use as a source in power generation. But renewable energy growth hasn't slowed. 2012 was a record year for U.S. solar installations, the nation's fastest-growing energy source. Solar now produces enough electricity to power 1.2 million homes, and with the price of solar panels going through its own unprecedented slide in the past few years, the economic case for solar has improved as we  (go to article)

The Detroit Bureau -- The “driving boom is over,” or so says a new study of American attitudes towards the automobile.
After decades of adding more cars to their household fleet while moving further and further out into the suburbs, Americans are waiting longer to get licensed, driving less and increasingly turning to alternatives such as mass transit or car-sharing programs, according to a new study by the U.S. Public Research Interest Group, or PIRG.  (go to article)

Miami Herald -- RACCOON POINT -- Winding into Big Cypress National Preserve, 11 Mile Road isn’t much wider than an old swamp buggy trail and can handle only one-way traffic. Safety rules on the private road limit the speed of Ricky Stechmann’s pickup and require him to radio his location every half mile. “Marker 7, incoming.’’ Two minutes later. “Marker 8, incoming.” And so on. It’s a long, slow, invitation-only drive to the largest oil drilling operation in South Florida. For decades, isolation has helped keep the small oil industry largely out of sight and mind. Neighbors are typically surprised when Stechmann, who manages several drilling fields in the sprawling preserve for BreitBurn Energy Partners, tells them what he does for a living. “They usually say, ‘You do what where?’ ” he says in the soft  (go to article)

Christian Science Monitor -- A decade ago I would have said that ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) was the best-managed oil company among the international oil companies. Today, I believe that distinction goes to Chevron (NYSE: CVX). Qhile ExxonMobil may be considered the pace-setter in the integrated oil and gas business, Chevron has outperformed its larger rival over the past five years. Chevron pays a slightly higher dividend than XOM (3.3 percent versus 2.8 percent), and its share price has appreciated 22 percent over the past five years, versus 2 percent for ExxonMobil. (Keep in mind that this includes the oil price crash of 2008). Over the last 10 years, Chevron is up an impressive 265 percent, versus 156% for ExxonMobil. During the oil price plunge in the second half of 2008, Chevron's share price only fell 10 percent  (go to article)

Bismarck Tribune -- BISMARCK, N.D. _ North Dakota’s top oil regulator says his office does enough to regulate fracking in the state.

The U.S. Department of the Interior is proposing a rule to require oil companies drilling on federal lands to publish chemicals used in fracking fluids and meet other permitting requirements that Department of Mineral Resources director Lynn Helms said are already required by the state.

“This rule is not needed and should be withdrawn completely,” he said.

In North Dakota, every well drilled requires a state permit and already must publish chemicals used during fracking on the website the federal rule would require, FracFocus.org.  (go to article)

oilprice.com -- When thinking about where the next big oil discoveries will be made, Ireland is probably not up there on the list, however it may be time to add it.

Oil exploration in Irish waters tends to focus around the North Celtic Basin, a shallow stretch of water just off the coast of county Cork, where Providence Resources last year discovered 1.6 billion barrels of oil.

Providence has now begun to drill the Dunquin exploratory well with its partner ExxonMobil, in the deepwater Porcupine basin, some 200km off Ireland’s west coast. Hopes are high for the potential of Porcupine because it bears geological similarities to huge oil bearing fields off West Africa and French Guiana, where huge discoveries, such as the Jubilee field off Ghana, have been made in recent years.

 (go to article)

Downstream Today -- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will allow Tesoro Inc. to go through with its plans to buy a BP Plc. owned refinery in southern California, bringing the two companies one step closer to sealing the deal sometime this quarter.

The FTC determined that Tesoro's purchase of the 266,000 bpd plant was unlikely to result in a meaningful reduction in competition or higher gasoline prices for California consumers.

Tesoro will spend about $2.38 billion to buy BP's southern California assets, including the Carson refinery in Los Angeles county...The deal will more than double Tesoro's refining capacity in California.

Tesoro plans to combine the Carson plant with its other Los Angeles area refinery in a move that it says will help bring manufacturing costs down by about $250 million.  (go to article)

CNN Money -- Some of the world's biggest oil companies may have a new mess on their hands.
The European Commission raided the offices of Shell, BP and Norway's Statoil this week as part of an investigation into suspected attempts to manipulate global oil prices spanning more than a decade.
None of the companies have been accused of wrongdoing, but the controversy has brought back memories of the Libor rate-rigging scandal that rocked the financial world last year.
UBS (UBS), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Barclays (BCS) have already reached settlements with regulators in the U.S. and U.K. over Libor-rigging, paying over $2.5 billion in fines after admitting to attempts to manipulate interest rates to appear more credit-worthy and to benefit trading positions.  (go to article)

Financial Post -- Albertans hurt by deep budget cuts due to shrinking provincial revenue from discounted bitumen prices may question the province’s bold buildup of its international presence.

To the extent that the new strategy, announced Friday in Calgary, helps AB deal with concerns about whether it’s a responsible oil producer, it is a necessity.

Without new export pipelines and new oil customers, the future of AB’s economy, and as a consequence the government’s ability to support its programs, is grim. The energy sector has dialed down growth plans while waiting for pipeline decisions to be made.

As oil sands critics continue to aggressively campaign in the U.S., Europe, across Canada and elsewhere against the use of AB’s oil, AB Premier Redford is deploying more Albertans abroad to ensure those making important decisions get a full view of the province’s major industry.

“Alberta has an export economy. We have plentiful natural resources. But the truth is  (go to article)

18 March 2013 By Jim Bentein .. -- "If it bleeds, it leads."

That's the mantra used often to describe the news media's penchant for giving violent crime, disasters and other bad news preference over good news.

So let's start with what we already know about the state of Canada's natural gas production sector—the bad news.

Gas prices are low, and they're not likely to rise much anytime soon.

The Alberta Natural Gas Reference Price, a monthly weighted average field price of all Alberta gas sales—as determined by the Alberta Department of Energy—shows that prices were under $2 per gigajoule for much of last year, plummeting to a low of $1.58 per gigajoule last May and never rising above $3 in any month in 2012.

And it won't get any better anytime soon, according to Bill Gwozd, senior vice-president of gas service  (go to article)

The Dally Record (A Gannet Company) -- The chief impetus for the changing world oil picture is the increase in production in the U.S. The U.S. created the world oil market more than a century ago and is the world’s biggest consumer, but domestic production was thought to be in permanent decline. Then drillers, inspired by high prices and armed with improving technology, learned how to produce oil from previously inaccessible rock under several U.S. states.

U.S. production reached 7.4 million barrels per day early this month, 48 percent higher than the average production in 2008 and the highest it’s been since February of 1992. The IEA expects U.S. production to reach 9.1 million barrels per day by 2018. The U.S. last produced that much oil in 1972.  (go to article)

The Motley Fool -- Americans spent more money on gasoline in 2012 than in any other year... ever. Meanwhile, here in 2013, retail gasoline prices spiked to $3.60 a gallon on average -- $3.94 on the West Coast -- the sharpest rise in prices seen in the past three months. And Iran is happy to hear it.

In fact, if the Islamic Republic has anything to say about it, Americans could wind up paying even more for gas than we already do. Right now, a barrel of benchmark crude costs about $95. But over the weekend, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi was quoted arguing that "the price of crude oil [should] remain at about $100." Ghasemi thinks that price "is fair, and Iran supports it."
 (go to article)

May 14, 2013 8:30 AM | By Ian Dickson for MSN Autos -- From the Jetsons to Blade Runner, the idea of the flying car has captivated commuters dreaming of congestion-free journeys and complete travel freedom.

Last week, aircar builder Terrafugia announced the TF-X, a new model that can take off vertically. The company is also planning a car called the Transition that will go on sale in 2015.

Is the reality of aircar travel finally here? We look back over nearly 100 years of man’s attempt to create a flying car and ponder if the idea of a car-plane will ever leave the ground?
.  (go to article)

Fuelfix.com -- Texas on Friday joined other Gulf Coast states suing BP for environmental damage caused by the 2010 oil spill.  (go to article)

New York Times -- Detroit’s ever-growing black mountain is the unloved, unwanted and long overlooked byproduct of Canada’s oil sands boom.  (go to article)

Washington Post -- Late last year, Ford owners made headlines when they sued the automaker over inaccurate fuel economy claims for the Fusion Hybrid and C-Max Hybrid. According to the Detroit News, Ford now has another lawsuit on its hands -- this time, over its acclaimed EcoBoost engine.
The suit has been filed by three Ford owners from Ohio, who say that the company's six-cylinder EcoBoost engine is defective. The three claim that the engine has caused their vehicles to shudder and lose power during acceleration.  (go to article)

OilPrice.com -- An article by a contributing editor to The Atlantic, Charles C. Mann, is among those believing in the economic significance of fossil fuels. He claims that "Americans will be less likely to spend trillions on fancy no-oil cars if cheap petroleum is in abundant supply," which is debatable for two reasons:

First, new oil is harder to find, takes longer to develop and requires a lot more capital. We are not running out of oil. Although supply is indisputably important, the amount of oil that can be extracted at a reasonable cost should be more of a concern. Oil must be in the range of $50 per barrel to sustain economic growth, far below the current level of over $100 per barrel. Even when the price of oil in the U.S. (the WTI) dips, the price of gasoline does not decrease because it is ...  (go to article)

USA today -- U.S. public concern over a European probe into possible oil price manipulation escalated Friday as the head of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources urged the Justice Department to join the investigation.

The request from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., came after European Union investigators this week raided the offices of global energy giants BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Statoil. The anti-trust probe is examining whether the companies manipulated oil prices by making false reports to Platts, an energy industry data service owned by McGraw Hill Financial.  (go to article)

MarketWatch -- The International Energy Agency said this week that a “supply shock” will essentially change the way the oil market works — and with change come opportunities, analysts said.

The supply shock the IEA referred to in its Medium-Term Oil Market Report comes from a surge in North American oil production, which the Paris-based agency said will “be as transformative to the market over the next five years as was the rise of Chinese demand over the last 15.”

That sounds pretty impressive — and it is. It just wasn’t that much of a surprise for many.

“Is it spectacular? Yes, but not a surprise,” said James Williams, energy economist at WTRG Economics. “It’s like the 4th of July. You know the fireworks are coming but the display is still spectacular.”
 (go to article)

Journal Star -- Thanks to multiple refinery shutdowns, gasoline prices are soaring and could be headed toward a record.

As of Friday morning, AAA said the average price of regular unleaded in Nebraska was $3.89 a gallon, 11 cents more than on Thursday, 28 cents more than a week ago and 45 cents more than a month ago. The average in Lincoln also was $3.89 a gallon.

Rose White, a spokeswoman for AAA Nebraska, said prices were expected to keep climbing. Prices for regular unleaded are likely to top $4 in the next few days and could go as high as $4.18, White said.

That would break the all-time record average price for the state, which is $4.10, as well as Lincoln's all-time high of $4.16. Both records were reached in July 2008.

Minnesota already has hit a record high, and Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota an  (go to article)

NY Times -- WINDSOR, Ontario — Assumption Park gives residents of this city lovely views of the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit skyline. Lately they’ve been treated to another sight: a three-story pile of petroleum coke covering an entire city block on the other side of the Detroit River.

Detroit’s ever-growing black mountain is the unloved, unwanted and long overlooked byproduct of Canada’s oil sands boom.

And no one knows quite what to do about it, except Koch Carbon, which owns it.  (go to article)

GasBuddy Blog -- Have you gotten a ticket for running a red light? If you think the 'warning' time of your yellow light ran out a bit too fast, you may be right. And you might be able to make that case in court.

Apparently, when state DOTs reduce the yellow light time, that fraction of a second produces more money for the state. Imagine that. In Florida the state raked in an extra $50 million in 2012 just by reducing yellow light times by less than half a second.

How did they do it? According to WTSP-TV's Noah Pransky, the FDOT quietly changed the state's policy on yellow intervals in 2011, reducing the minimum below federal recommendations. The rule change was followed by engineers, both from FDOT and local municipalities, collaborating...  (go to article)

usnews.com -- Reports have debunked claims that fracking contaminates drinking water, but a new study says a lack of monitoring equipment may mask problems

Is hydraulic fracturing..bad for the environment?

..we don't really know what the impact of hydraulic fracturing has on the environment, according to a new paper, published in Science magazine Thursday that examines the potential effects..of the massive ramp up in production..

..density of monitoring sites in Pennsylvania is much lower than the density of wells, which raises the question of our ability to actually pick up [evidence of contamination] with our current monitoring network.

If somebody spills millions of gallons [of fracking wastewater], by the time you get down to where you have a gauge, you may not have picked it up at all  (go to article)

WKYT -- PIKEVILLE - Officials say around 250 coal jobs are coming to eastern KY.

High Ridge Mining plans to develop seven deep mines in Pike County which will employ 36 miners each.

"We are probably still a month off from doing our major majority of our hiring," said Kyle Smith.

He says the prep plant has been idled for about 10 years, and they are working to get it ready. Right now, the seven mines are also idled.

“Every time our coal industry hits rock bottom, it’s not the big national companies that bring it back, it’s the local companies,” Carlton said.(Smith) is taking advantage of the need for coal in foreign markets. This won’t be the last we hear about our coal being exported to Asia and Europe because the market for our coal is no longer domestic. Washington has killed our domestic  (go to article)

Reuters -- LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A European probe into possible oil price manipulation expanded with the investigation of a small niche trading house in the Netherlands, while a key U.S. senator on Friday called for the Justice Department to join the investigation.

Dutch trading house Argos Energies, a mid-sized trading company that deals in physical oil products and owns storage facilities, was visited by inspectors from the European Commission on Tuesday, a source familiar with the investigation said on Friday.

The visit occurred on the same day that authorities raided the London bureau of pricing agency Platts, and the offices of Statoil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP in the biggest cross-border action since the probe into rigging of Libor benchmark interest rates.
 (go to article)

Forbes -- Chevron CVX +0.54% may be making a pact with the devil. On Thursday, Argentine energy producer YPF announced it had reached a “final agreement” with the global oil giant to develop the Vaca Muerta basin, considered by Chevron the second largest reservoir of unconventional oil in the world. The second largest U.S. oil and gas producer has pledged to invest $1.5 billion in the first phase of the project, which the Argentine government desperately needs after being forced to import energy for the first time in 17 years in 2012.

Facing runaway inflation and pressure on its precious foreign reserves, the administration of Cristina Kirchner forcibly nationalized YPF last year, throwing out Spain’s Repsol without compensation, which is an indication of the types of risks Chevron is willing to  (go to article)

stateimpact.npr.org -- In a broadcast story last week, StateImpact talked about how Oklahoma relies heavily on six major coal-fired power plants and the Wyoming coal that’s needed to run them — despite sitting on one of the largest supplies of natural gas in the country.

We wanted to find out what explains this paradox. So we did some research and called some power companies.

The short answer: It seems the federal government is to blame. The same federal government that is currently forcing some coal plants to shut down in favor of other energy sources, including, ironically, natural gas.

It’s a long story, one about the logistics of transporting natural gas, botched government attempts at price-setting, and miscalculations about how much the U.S. has in gas reserves.

It all started at the beginning  (go to article)

Downstream Today -- The construction of a natural gas pipeline from southern Texas to central Mexico for state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, will allow gas imports from the U.S. to triple, to around 3 billion cubic feet per day by 2015 to meet increasing demand by industry for the relatively cheap fuel, a Pemex official said Wednesday.

"The lack of gas means that our industries are having to burn fuel oil," which is currently about three times as expensive as natural gas, Mr. Martinez said.

The gas supply problem is expected to be alleviated with the Los Ramones project, a pipeline that will carry gas from southern Texas to the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, which is a hub for the Mexican auto industry.  (go to article)

Reuters -- Marathon Petroleum Corp said on Thursday that the 223,000 barrel-per-day crude oil pipeline from Wood River to Patoka, Illinois, remained shut after it leaked water and oil during testing over the weekend as part of routine maintenance.

In a filing with Illinois regulators, Marathon said the incident occurred near midnight on May 11 in the city of Greenville in Bond County, southern Illinois.

Marathon said that at the time of the leak the pipeline was shut for testing as part of routine maintenance and the company estimated the release at 2,500 barrels of hydrostatic test water and less than two gallons of crude oil.  (go to article)

Yahoo News -- Tests and scientific experts have already claimed that many health and environmental concerns tied to hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, often voiced by opponents of the process, lack scientific backing. Now, yet another study has found that wells near fracking sites did not experience water contamination.
Duke University and members of the U.S. Geological Survey examined 127 drinking water wells for evidence of pollution from methane gas or chemicals. With more than 4,000 new gas wells drilled in Arkansas' Fayetteville Shale since 2004, researchers were looking for the presence of contamination from drilling, or from naturally occurring gas or ultra-salty liquids that seep up through pre-existing faults.  (go to article)

Reuters -- The Obama administration opened the door to a new era of U.S. energy exports on Friday, approving the first liquefied natural gas project since the start of a heated debate over how best to benefit from the shale energy boom.

The Freeport project, part-owned by ConocoPhillips and Osaka Gas Co Ltd, will allow the company to export up to 1.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day for 20 years. Osaka, Chubu Electric Power Co and BP have already committed to buying gas from the project.

Some 26 applications have been filed to export natural gas, but a vocal contingent led by Dow Chemical have argued that allowing unlimited exports could raise prices and hinder a resurgence in U.S. manufacturing.  (go to article)

The Globe and Mail -- The Ontario Government states that distracted driving is cited as a causal factor in 30 to 50% of traffic collisions and pedestrian fatalities.

Researchers at the University of Alabama-Birmingham claim that seniors who drive with pets in the car are twice as likely to end up in a crash. “This is the first study to evaluate the presence of pets in a vehicle as a potential internal distraction for elderly drivers"

According to NHTSA, drivers should never take their eyes off the road for more than 2 seconds at a time. A moving pet, especially in the front seat, can cause a driver to do exactly that. If a dog or cat gets startled and moves suddenly, it stands a good chance of causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. “Adding another distracting element, especially an active, potenti  (go to article)

Reuters -- LONDON/WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - A European probe into possible oil price manipulation expanded with the investigation of a small niche trading house in the Netherlands, while a key U.S. senator on Friday called for the Justice Department to join the investigation. Dutch trading house Argos Energies, a mid-sized trading company that deals in physical oil products and owns storage facilities, was visited by inspectors from the European Commission on Tuesday, a source familiar with the investigation said on Friday. The visit occurred on the same day that authorities raided the London bureau of pricing agency Platts, and the offices of Statoil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP in the biggest cross-border action since the probe into rigging of Libor benchmark interest rates. In Washington, the  (go to article)

Financial Post -- Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations, Harper is expected to stress that Canada is halfway towards meeting its GHG emissions target. Many people in both countries, however, are wondering about the other half.

As the Obama administration ponders the TransCanada proposal, Harper’s government is trumpeting the steps it has taken to ensure pipeline safety, cut emissions and monitor oil sands pollution.

The trouble with Harper’s “halfway” claim is that it lumps together all the measures both provincial and federal governments have taken and the cumulative effect they will have on emissions by 2020.

Numerous analyses suggest that closing the rest of the gap will take a near miracle, or some kind of national carbon pricing program.

The federal Conservatives reject carbon pricing, altho  (go to article)

Yahoo Autos -- Drivers who fill up their tanks every week probably noticed a recent jump in the cost of gasoline. Indeed, the average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.58, which is six cents higher than a week ago, marking the biggest weekly increase since February. The current average is four cents higher than a month ago.  (go to article)

KMSP TV - Fox 9 News -- MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) -
Minneapolis on Friday passed Honolulu for the most expensive gas in the country, at an average of $4.28 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.com.

While the national average has risen just 7 cents per gallon in the past week, the Twin Cities has been hit with a massive 42-cent increase. Twin Cities gas prices are also up nearly 80 cents from last month.

Statewide, Minnesota gas prices average $4.23 per gallon, still behind Hawaii's $4.30 but higher than California's $4.04 average.

FIND THE LOWEST PRICES

Good luck finding gas prices under $4 per gallon. You can search a map or enter your cip code on the FOX 9 Gas Gauge at http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/category/233804/gas-gauge

WHY?

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for GasBuddy, says there are three factors...  (go to article)

Downstream Today -- Johnson and Jack Galloway, Canopy's president and a refining industry veteran, saw an opportunity that could provide an economic lifeline to struggling Philadelphia-area refineries: shipping light sweet crude oil produced in the Bakken Shale via unit trains to an independent Delaware River terminal facility tied into the region's well-developed rail network. The appeal of shipping domestically produced Bakken crude became evident after chatting with a former high school classmate who happens to be involved in commercializing reserves in the shale play, Johnson said.

"When the refineries shut down we realized that trains can be pointed anywhere and that these refineries can be enormously profitable with Bakken crude," said Johnson.

Philadelphia-area refineries traditionally have relied on  (go to article)

Duluth News Tribune -- U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has asked the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate the steep increase in Minnesota gas prices over the past few weeks.

Gasoline industry officials say regional gas prices have jumped 80 cents over the past month and 30 cents in the past week because of both unexpected and planned shutdowns at gasoline refineries. Klobuchar said temporary closures shouldn’t be allowed to raise the price consumers have to pay.

In a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Klobuchar called on the Department of Energy to thoroughly examine the timing of scheduled maintenance operations to prevent future supply shocks that cause gas prices to rise.

“This spike in gas prices is hurting families, businesses and farmers across Minnesota and disrupting commerce,” -Klobuchar  (go to article)

Platts -- US refiners aim to maximize distillate output to work attractive export arbitrage opportunities, but may leave high-priced hydrocracker investments to competitor Valero Energy, who wants to be the first North American refiner to produce as much distillate as gasoline.

Valero plans to implement a one-to-one gasoline-to-distillates ratio by around 2015, after more than $3 billion worth of projects go live to increase the company's distillate production, the company said.

Valero previously said that it would boost its export capacity for gasoline and diesel. The company can export 280,000 b/d of distillates, but this should rise to 425,000 b/d by the end of 2013 or early 2014."Part of the future of US refining is exporting," Klesse said. Future distillate export markets include Asia, espe  (go to article)

GasBuddy Blog -- It was coming. Some states and cities have shattered records that have stood for nearly five years and gasoline prices skyrocket in the Midwest.

Minneapolis saw another jump over night and into today to $4.39 a gallon, beating out consistently high Honolulu by a dime! There's more bad news before the light at the end of the tunnel- more hikes may hit in the day or two ahead. But relief isn't far off- prices may peak in the next week before beginning to decline. The high prices for gasoline are sure to attract replenishment from far away. Records for gas prices are listed below.

Cities and states and their pricing status:
NE: $4.00. All time high $4.09 on 7/13/08.
Lincoln: $3.96. All time high $4.14 on 7/13/08...  (go to article)

Associated Press -- If North Carolina ever puts toll booths on an existing interstate, the state House still wants to give motorists the option to drive the route for free.

The chamber voted unanimously Thursday for a measure that targets potential tolling on Interstate 95 but would apply to all current interstates.

The bill says the state can't collect tolls on these interstates unless it maintains the same number of non-toll lanes before the tolling.

Rep. Jeff Collins of Rocky Mount is an I-95 toll critic and bill sponsor. He says the bill envisions toll lanes in which users would pay to drive at a higher speed limit than in non-toll lanes.

 (go to article)