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Banned
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Originally Posted by aceventura3
GWB wants more oil produced in general and more oil produced domestically in particular. Democrats have been fighting Bush on producing more oil and are against increased domestic production.
Given the above and assuming speculators are driving the price of oil (which I don't think is true), what would be the one thing that would cause speculators to immediately drive the price down?
More oil production currently, them knowing more oil will be produced in the future and them knowing the future oil will come from a stable source, i.e. not the Middle East.
So assuming speculators are driving the price of oil, who is really to blame?
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ace....demand in the US is down....and "the market":
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Originally Posted by aceventura3
.....knowing more oil will be produced in the future and them knowing the future oil will come from a stable source, i.e. not the Middle East......
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Three new Gulf of Mexico petroleum projects, all routing their production via the new "Mardi Gras pipeline" (see Chicago Tribune article below for details on pipeline....) to south Louisiana refineries.... all coming on line in the last six months....two of the three....just in the past month....combined expected increase in total domestic US oil and gas production is more than 7 percent.... and price has done the opposite of what you say such a perception by "the market" will bring, ace..... you posted nothing more than republican party driven talking points....
Quote:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...4843493&EDATE=
Gasoline and Diesel Demand Drops, Survey Shows
Unregulated Market Speculation is Driving Prices, Says Trade Group
ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Once again, high fuel prices
are dampening travel plans this holiday. More Americans will stay home this
Fourth of July than last year, just as they did during the Memorial Day
weekend.
With fewer people on the road, retailers have seen demand for fuel
drop, according to data released today by NATSO, a trade group representing
the travel plaza industry.
Ask any economist what happens when a product's supply is ample but
demand is lower, and you'll hear that the price of that product is likely
to fall.
Not so with gasoline and diesel fuel this year, based on demand data
released today by NATSO, the national association representing America's
travel plazas and truckstops. Demand for both gasoline and diesel dropped
significantly in May, even while wholesale fuel prices (the cost of fuel
that retailers pay) continued to climb.
The number of gallons of gasoline sold fell nearly three percent in May
as compared with last May 2007, and diesel gallons sold dropped twice as
much that month, by about six percent. Declines of demand for fuel greater
than 2.5 percent are rare, even more so in a time that is considered to be
peak driving season.
Despite these declines, during that same month gasoline and diesel
wholesale prices surged. According to the Oil Price Information Service
(OPIS), the average wholesale cost of fuel sold to retailers climbed
throughout May and June. Retailers were paying an average 37 cents over the
prior month for gasoline and an average of over 60 cents more for diesel,
topping the $4 mark for the first time ever.
Softer demand and higher prices lends further support to experts who
have pointed to unregulated market speculation as a significant culprit in
higher fuel prices.
"In the past, when we've seen skyrocketing fuel prices like this, it is
because of some crisis that squeezes supply," said president and CEO of
NATSO Lisa Mullings. "We've seen no long lines at the pump; in fact, demand
has fallen and supply is adequate, so it is clear that there is another
factor driving up prices."
The price of crude oil on the commodities markets has surged this year,
up 40 percent over the past six months. Where once these markets served as
a management tool for oil producers and oil consumers such as refiners and
airlines, the markets have attracted a new breed of
speculator-non-commercial traders, such as Wall Street investment firms,
pension funds, and others who have no involvement with the commodities they
are buying and selling and who never intend to take delivery of a barrel of
oil. These non-commercial speculators, called "paper traders," now account
for two-thirds of all crude oil trading, double the number active in the
markets since the year 2000.
A number of congressional hearings have focused on the role of
speculators in soaring fuel prices, and a number of legislative proposals
are under consideration to limit the role of speculators in the market and
increase the regulatory authority of the Commodities Futures Trading
Commission.
While consumers feel the squeeze of the higher prices, for fuel
retailers the surging price of fuel strains their credit lines and makes
cash flow difficult to manage. A tanker truckload of diesel fuel, which a
couple of years ago cost a little more than $10,000, now costs more than
$32,000. Wholesale prices can increase as much as 10 to 15 cents in a
single day, making it more challenging than ever to manage fuel inventories
at travel plazas and gas stations.
NATSO is the professional association of America's $42 billion travel
plaza and truckstop industry. Founded in 1960, NATSO represents the
industry on legislative and regulatory matters; serves as the official
source of information on the diverse travel plaza and truckstop industry;
provides education to its members; conducts an annual convention and trade
show; and supports efforts to generally improve the business climate in
which its members operate.
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Quote:
http://www.energycurrent.com/index.p...&storyid=11660
Neptune platform begins production in Gulf of MexicoFiled from Houston
7/7/2008 2:28:57 PM GMT
HOUSTON: BHP Billiton and its partners have begun production of oil and gas from the Neptune development in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Neptune is being developed with a tension leg platform installed in Green Canyon Block 613 at a water depth of 4,250 feet (1,300 m).
The Neptune facility is 120 miles (195 km) off the Louisiana coast and is BHP Billiton's first operated standalone deepwater production platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The facility has a capacity of 50,000 b/d of oil and 50 MMcf/d of gas. It recently underwent remediation to strengthen components inside the hull's pontoons. ....
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Quote:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,6657061.story
May 28, 2007
.....Against this backdrop, Thunder Horse, sitting atop a reserve that possibly holds 1.5 billion barrels, promises to deliver up to 250,000 barrels of oil a day, making it one of the gulf's biggest producers (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text). For U.S. consumers now paying an average of $3.10 a gallon for gas, Thunder Horse would relieve some of the price pressure: Fully operational, it would boost total U.S. production by 5 percent.......
...Leading a reporter on a tour of the complex onboard systems that separate oil, water and gas, McDaniel pointed to a pipe from the platform that plunges deep into the ocean. By the time Thunder Horse goes into production, the pipe will connect to Mardi Gras -- a $1 billion pipeline BP is building that one day will carry half of all the oil pumped from the deep-water gulf."This is the top end of the Mardi Gras pipeline," McDaniel said. "When the oil leaves here, it's gone."
For BP, and for gas-hungry consumers across the U.S., it can't happen soon enough......
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Quote:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/busine...LA495020080617
BP's Thunder Horse starts oil and gas production
Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:41pm BST
Crude oil, US drive Europe shares to day's high
More Business & Investing News... LONDON (Reuters) - BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said it started to commission its Thunder Horse platform in the Gulf of Mexico on June 14 and that the platform would be in continuous production by year-end.
"We started producing and exporting oil and gas from one well on June 14," a spokesman for BP said on Tuesday. "We would expect to complete full startup of the field by the end of the year."
The long-delayed field, 150 miles southwest of New Orleans, will produce a maximum of 250,000 barrels per day of oil and 200 million cubic feet per day of natural gas when it reaches peak production.
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Quote:
http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache...lnk&cd=1&gl=us
Business
June 16, 2008, 6:34PM
Thunder Horse platform finally pumping after three-year delay
By KRISTEN HAYS
Houston Chronicle Copyright 2008
BP's long-delayed Thunder Horse platform in the Gulf of Mexico is finally pumping oil and gas.
BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell said today that Thunder Horse started pumping from a single well on Saturday, launching the start of a lengthy commissioning process.
"There's still a lot of work to do. There are other wells to prepare for production and others to drill and complete. But we're on track, making good progress, and on schedule to have the field online by year-end," he said.
When the structure 150 miles southeast of New Orleans reaches its full daily capacity of 250,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of natural gas, Thunder Horse will be the biggest producer in the Gulf.
Thunder Horse originally was slated to start producing three years ago. But system and design troubles prompted lengthy delays for repairs.
Ballast system failures left the installation listing 20 degrees after Hurricane Dennis blew through the Gulf in July 2005. About a year later a crucial piece of equipment on the seabed sprung a leak, forcing BP to haul the piece back to shore for repairs.
When running at full tilt, Thunder Horse alone will increase overall U.S. oil and gas production by 3.6 percent. Add BP's Atlantis platform that started up last year, and the boost grows to 6.4 percent.
Analysts have said that is likely the biggest production increase from just two locations that the U.S. has seen in a decade.
BP owns three-fourths of Thunder Horse and Exxon Mobil Corp. holds a one-fourth interest.
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Last edited by host; 07-07-2008 at 07:17 AM..
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