Joined: Oct 23, 2004 Posts: 5922 Location: New Jersey
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 7:36 am Post subject: Re: North American Fuel Shortage Reports
They'rrre back. Upper Midwest/Rocky Mountain area gasoline shortages, that is.
Quote:
Gas Shortage in North Dakota
Aug 27 2007 7:09PM
KXMBTV Bismarck
A study by Triple-A says Gas Prices in North Dakota are the highest of the lower 48 state'saveraging $3.03 a gallon.
The situation may get worse before it gets better.
Officials say a supply shortage in the midwest is THE reason for high prices. In fact, gas is in such short supply Governor Hoeven requested a waiver today from the EPA to get gas out of Canada.
The shortage has left area stations scrambling for fuel.
KXMB
stu found this one - also posted on front news page _________________ It's already over, now it's just a matter of adjusting.
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 10:51 am Post subject: Re: North American Fuel Shortage Reports
I don't doubt that the midwest was "chosen" for the first shortages because North Dakota is much less newsworthy than California or New York. If NYC or LA had shortages the MSM would run with it and things would snowball from there...
Bismarck, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven today announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has agreed at
his request to a 20-day waiver allowing Canadian gasoline imports to North Dakota to address tight fuel supplies and hold the line on prices. The fuel would otherwise be available in the United States after Sept. 15th due to the expiration of EPA “summer blend” rules. Today’s move accelerates the date, helping to boost supplies
immediately.
“I’m concerned about pricing and recent fuel shortages, so we’re pushing the industry to get more fuel into North Dakota and take the pressure off prices at the pump,” Hoeven said. “The industry needs to step up and help consumers by increasing fuel supplies and easing prices.”
Hoeven sent a letter to EPA Administrator Steven Johnson Monday requesting the 20-day waiver on fuel imports from Canada. Yesterday, he contacted EPA officials by phone and asked that the process be expedited. The waiver will provide shippers and pipelines with access to additional fuel. With EPA assistance, the Governor has identified nearly 1.5 million gallons of fuel.
The Governor has contacted officials at Marathon and Koch refineries in St. Paul, Minn., and the Cenex Refinery in Laurel, Mont., and other refineries, including Conoco Phillips, Coffeville and Tesoro here in North Dakota. According to Hoeven, Mandan-based Tesoro has agreed to shift more of its fuel from out-of-state markets into North Dakota. The Cenex Refinery has agreed to ship additional fuel for the weekend into Minot. The other refineries have agreed to work to ship more product to the state. The Magellan Pipeline said that additional supplies of fuel will be delivered to the Fargo area within the next several days.
KXMB _________________ It's already over, now it's just a matter of adjusting.
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 9:50 pm Post subject: Re: North American Fuel Shortage Reports
I honestly can't say for sure whether we're overreacting to a local supply problem and some quotes from local numbskull gas station owners scratching their heads (I'm related to several gas station owners and, believe me, they're not knowledgable about oil supply/demand).
But I sure can say that the Midwest is the only area that seems to have higher gas prices than a year ago.
Check out Bismarck, ND and then almost any other city's current and year-ago prices.
Joined: Oct 23, 2004 Posts: 5922 Location: New Jersey
Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:47 am Post subject: Re: North American Fuel Shortage Reports
Upper Midwest gasoline prices soar as shortages spread:
Quote:
EPA Grants Gasoline Waiver to North Dakota
Oil Daily (Friday, August 31, 2007)
After falling for more than three months, retail gasoline prices are rising again as a result of record low US inventories and refinery outages. The Midwest market is currently the most buoyant, with a number of refinery outages in the region causing spot prices to soar some 38¢ above futures much to the chagrin of local consumers and politicians.
Governor extends waiver for fuel haulers
By RICHARD PIERSOL / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Aug 31, 2007 - 12:15:46 am CDT
Supply shortages continued to “run rampant” in many pockets of the Midwest this week, with some North Dakota stations out of gasoline just ahead of the last major driving weekend of the year, reported the Oil Price Information Service.
“There is a major shortage going on right now,” said Mike Rud, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association.
The supply squeeze shows little let-up in South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota, sources told the information service.
Journal Star _________________ It's already over, now it's just a matter of adjusting.
“It’s really been extremely hard to find gasoline, and diesel fuel is just as bad,” Satrang said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in almost 30 years of management.”
Quote:
“I’m hoping … that we can hang on and continue to supply the public and not create a real panic,” Rud said. “I don’t think there’s a real need for that yet.”
On the other hand, things aren’t going to change overnight and the fuel shortage will likely continue to be an issue into October, he said.
Some in the industry say the situation is as bad as they have seen it since the oil embargo in the 1970s, Rud said.
Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:38 pm Post subject: Re: North American Fuel Shortage Reports
DarthBruder wrote:
But I sure can say that the Midwest is the only area that seems to have higher gas prices than a year ago.
This has been going on since spring. I was really shocked when I made my usual Memorial Day trip through the midwest, and found prices higher than in the northeast. It's always been the opposite in previous years. For awhile, gas in Michigan was more expensive than gas in San Francisco. Which is just nuts.
But I don't think the Midwest is being targeted. They're just at the end of the pipeline. And they have no ports, being in the middle of the country and all.
Mike Rud, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association, said North Dakota has been fighting a shortage of gasoline since mid-June. About half of North Dakota's fuel comes from refineries in Minnesota, he said.
“We're on the end of the pipeline from the east and we're getting the crumbs,” Rud said.
It's kind of interesting, to see how the shortages play out. As predicted, the ones at the end of the pipeline are out of luck. Also, the gas stations that actually ran dry were the independents. The stations that were connected to big oil companies were kept supplied. _________________ "The problems of today will not be solved by the same thinking that produced the problems in the first place." - Albert Einstein
Sometime in the next few months, some event is likely to set off a spike in gasoline prices. Be it a hurricane, terrorist attack, adverse geopolitical crisis or some credit crisis development, the realization will dawn that we are extremely short of gasoline and have little hope of remedying the situation over the short term. Then the troubles will begin.
Don’t overlook the possibility that someday soon there will be a run on the gas stations. A tank of gas is so important in America today that at the first reports of an impending gasoline shortage many of us will rush to fill our tanks. If we all did this at once, the national reserve would be drained by something on the order of 50 million barrels. A lot of us are sure to be disappointed because there simply is not enough gasoline in the system for this to happen.
_________________ "Thank you for attending the oil age. We're going to scrape what we can out of these tar pits in Alberta and then shut down the machines and turn out the lights. Goodnight." - seldom_seen
BP America says it's leaving most of South Dakota and all of North Dakota, Wyoming, Louisiana and Texas. The company has decided to focus on areas closer to its refineries.
But I guess prices still aren't high enough to make it worth BP's while... _________________ "The problems of today will not be solved by the same thinking that produced the problems in the first place." - Albert Einstein
Joined: Jun 13, 2007 Posts: 3641 Location: Minniesotuh
Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:22 pm Post subject: Re: North American Fuel Shortage Reports
From the "Doesn't Have a Clue" file:
Gas Shortages In North Dakota
By Rob on August 28, 2007 at 07:34 am
This will undoubtedly prompt all sorts of “BIG OIL!” conspiracy mongering among all the water-cooler, break-room pundits. But, in reality, high gas prices and supply shortages during peak periods of demand (like Labor Day, for instance) are the result of the intrusive government regulations and high taxes the oil industry is forced to cope with.
When oil refineries go down for maintenance or repairs people are quick to claim that “BIG OIL!” is doing it to drive up prices, but when the government has created an economic environment that has prevented the building of even one new oil refinery in the US in over three decades, despite demand for gasoline that goes up every single year, how can we blame the oil industry?
Joined: Oct 23, 2004 Posts: 5922 Location: New Jersey
Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 1:12 pm Post subject: Re: North American Fuel Shortage Reports
Ferretlover wrote:
From the "Doesn't Have a Clue" file:
Gas Shortages In North Dakota
By Rob on August 28, 2007 at 07:34 am
This will undoubtedly prompt all sorts of “BIG OIL!” conspiracy mongering among all the water-cooler, break-room pundits. But, in reality, high gas prices and supply shortages during peak periods of demand (like Labor Day, for instance) are the result of the intrusive government regulations and high taxes the oil industry is forced to cope with.
When oil refineries go down for maintenance or repairs people are quick to claim that “BIG OIL!” is doing it to drive up prices, but when the government has created an economic environment that has prevented the building of even one new oil refinery in the US in over three decades, despite demand for gasoline that goes up every single year, how can we blame the oil industry?
I've been reporting various pipeline disruptions that affect ND in another thread. It's really not so hard to understand. Unless a region has an alternative to supply from pipelines - such as being near a waterway, GOM , or ocean, even relatovely small pipeline problem can cuase problems when inventories are low - which they are in most of the country. _________________ It's already over, now it's just a matter of adjusting.
Curt Watson, the President of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, said the fuel terminal that usually supplies his area is dry. His supplier has to drive to another area, where long lines with a wait of four hours are not uncommon.
Experts blame a variety of refinery outages for the short supply, including a wave of maintenance shutdowns coinciding with peak harvest season from mid-September through October.
"That basically created a pulldown of inventories, more so than usual, before we entered the (harvesting) season," said Joanne Shore, an oil market analyst with the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
_________________ "The problems of today will not be solved by the same thinking that produced the problems in the first place." - Albert Einstein
Joined: Oct 23, 2004 Posts: 5922 Location: New Jersey
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:15 am Post subject: Re: North American Fuel Shortage Reports
As Leanan's article states, diesel is in short supply as the US harvest season gets underway. Refiners have optimized output for gasoline since spring time shortages, leaving diesel supplies well under last year’s levels.
Quote:
Diesel prices surge up 4 more cents
The national average retail price of a gallon of diesel increased 4 cents for the week ending Sept. 17 to $2.964, from $2.924 during the previous week. The price jumped 25.1 cents in a year-over-year basis.
The average price increased in every region tracked by the U.S. Department of Energy. The biggest increase -- more than 6 cents -- was in the Central Atlantic at $3.054, the most expensive diesel in the nation.
The New England region had the second-highest price at $3.025.
Buyers in the Gulf Coast and Lower Atlantic paid the least for diesel at $2.903 and $2.916, respectively.
E Trucker _________________ It's already over, now it's just a matter of adjusting.
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