Recent Gas News/GasBuddy Blog

GasBuddy Blog -- The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the United States expanded by 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2013 over the previous quarter. GDP Growth Rate in the United States is reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In a case of apparent cheerleading, when they reported the latest GDP number, the Wall St. Journal said the number was an indication that the U.S. economy ‘perked up’ in the first quarter.

Additionally, WSJ explained that the GDP’s first-quarter 2.5% tick followed growth of “just 0.4% in the fourth quarter” and said “the overall performance suggests the economy continues to expand at around 2% a year on average, as it has throughout the recovery.” ‘Recovery’… yes, that was the word they used.

Strangely...  (go to article)

Open Markets -- In 2012, the Association of American Railroads said it moved a record amount of crude oil: 233,811 Class 1 carloads, up 256 percent from the 65,671 carloads moved in 2011. That’s equivalent to about 350,000 barrels a day, says Rusty Braziel, president, RBN Energy, who has extensively analyzed the growing use of rail in the energy industry.  (go to article)

World Car Fans -- Deal could reduce costs on both sides of the Atlantic

Automakers have expressed their support for a free trade deal between the United States and European Union that could significantly reduce costs on both sides of the Atlantic.

According to the Association of Global Automakers trade group, the deal can "promote economic growth, increase jobs and enhance the global competitiveness of U.S. and European producers — both in general and within the automotive sector in particular — through regulatory convergence, mutual recognition, the elimination of tariffs and other facilitation measures.”  (go to article)

Houston Business Journal -- Various energy companies — many based in Houston or with a large presence in Texas — are sending money and volunteers to aid disaster relief efforts following a massive tornado that destroyed buildings and killed dozens in Oklahoma on May 20.

Houston’s ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 both said Tuesday they will donate $1 million each to the American Red Cross. Both companies will also match employees’ contributions.

"Our company's roots run deep in Oklahoma, and our thoughts and heartfelt prayers go out to the people affected by this disaster,” Greg Garland, chairman and CEO of Phillips 66, said in a statement. “We are extremely thankful that all of our employees in Oklahoma and their immediate families are safe. We thank the first responders and medical personnel that came to the rescue  (go to article)

By Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – -- WASHINGTON - The American political brawl over TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL pipeline is shifting into overdrive as Republicans in the House of Representatives make yet another attempt to take the decision out of U.S. President Barack Obama's hands  (go to article)

Forbes -- Dow Chemical said Thursday it has bought solar startup NuvoSun, which developed a thin film technology that Dow will use for its solar roof.

Dow, which made equity investments in NuvoSun over a 3-year period, closed the purchase of the startup on Feb. 28, said Dow spokeswoman Kate Nigro. She declined to disclose the purchase price. Greentech Media first reported the acquisition on Wednesday.

Dow took an interest in NuvoSun’s technology because Dow had been planning to roll out shingles embedded with solar cells for many years. After some delays, Dow began selling the solar shingles in 2011, first in Colorado and later in California and Texas. I wrote about the first Dow solar shingle installation in California last summer.  (go to article)

Fox News -- Three Ohio drivers are suing Ford Motor Co., claiming the company's six-cylinder EcoBoost engine is defective.

The lawsuit says the 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine can shudder, shake and then rapidly lose power while drivers are accelerating. Two of the plaintiffs, a married couple, say their 2010 Ford Taurus SHO has lost power and stalled on multiple occasions. The third says he has lost power when he was accelerating in his F-150 pickup.

The lawsuit says more than 100 drivers have complained to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the V6 EcoBoost rattling or losing power. Ford hasn't recalled any vehicles for the alleged defect, and NHTSA hasn't opened an investigation, which is often the first step in the recall process.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013  (go to article)

The (Toledo) Blade --
Beginning this summer, motorists in certain parts of the state will be allowed to drive 70 mph on interstate highways, the Ohio Department of Transportation has announced.

ODOT unveiled a map Tuesday identifying the locations where motorists, starting July 1, will be able to drive 70 mph. The new limit follows legislation that was recently passed permitting speeds to increase from 65 to 70 mph on certain parts of interstate highways.

The department also plans to make 317 new signs that will be posted to alert motorists of the change, at a cost of about $8,200.  (go to article)

GasBuddy Blog -- The Energy Information Administration released its weekly report on the status of petroleum inventories in the United States today.

Here are some highlights:

CRUDE INVENTORIES:
Crude oil inventories decreased by 0.3 million barrels to a total of 394.6 million barrels. At 394.6 million barrels, inventories are 12.0 million barrels above last year (3.1%) and are well above the upper limit of the average range.

GASOLINE INVENTORIES:
Gasoline inventories increased by 3.0 million barrels to 220.7 million barrels. At 220.7 million barrels, inventories are up 19.7 million barrels, or 9.8% more than last year. Here's how individual regions and their gasoline inventory fared last week: East Coast (+0.3mb); Midwest...  (go to article)

Platts -- Not long ago, there was too much crude in Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point of the NYMEX sweet crude futures contract.

This had traders constantly eyeing the spread, or price difference, between US benchmark WTI and North Sea Brent, pushing WTI from its traditional premium over Brent to a discount where it has held for several years.

The flip in relationships between the two benchmark crudes was due to the lack of pipeline capacity to carry crude out of the oil hub of Cushing to refineries along the US Gulf Coast, which is home to about half the nation's refinery capacity.

But instead the spread started to narrow and one of the biggest issues for traders was trying to get back on the right side of their position.

"So many traders were convinced that the Brent premium was not going  (go to article)

AOPL -- On May 15, 2013, the Commission issued a Notice regarding the annual change in the oil pipeline rate index for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014. The rate index adjustment is positive 4.5923%. The index adjustment was calculated by adding together the annual change in the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods plus the 2.65% index adjustment factor approved by FERC in its December 16, 2010, order on the five-year review of the oil pipeline rate index.

[In other words, pipelines that don't charge market-based rates can increase their tolls by 4.5% this year.]  (go to article)

VTDIGGER.ORG -- WASHINGTON – With gasoline prices rising rapidly, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today proposed an amendment to make U.S. federal regulators follow the lead of Europeans and investigate oil and fuel price manipulation.

Sanders also proposed a 30-day deadline for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use its emergency powers to curb excessive speculation in crude oil markets.

“We must do everything that we can to make sure that oil and gasoline prices are transparent and free from fraud, manipulation, abuse and excessive speculation,” said Sanders, a member of the Senate energy committee.

Over the past five months, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline has gone up by more than 41 cents. The price hikes come at a time when U.S. oil inventories reached a three-decade hi  (go to article)

The Washington Post -- D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson will ask his colleagues Wednesday to repeal the city’s 23.5 cent-a-gallon gasoline tax and replace it with an 8.3 percent tax on wholesale gas and diesel purchases.

The proposed shift, inserted into Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s 2014 budget proposal, would shift the onus of paying fuel taxes from consumers to businesses. But fuel distributors would almost certainly pass those costs on to customers.

 (go to article)

Autoevolution -- Toyota Financial Services has recently awarded a new Corolla model to the 2012-2013 Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) National Youth of the Year Winner, named Trei Dudley. The event took place as part of Toyota’s ‘Making Life Easier for YOUth’ initiative.

BGCA’s National Youth of the Year pays recognition for teen members that made outstanding contributions to their family, friends and community, while overcoming personal obstacles.

“Trei embodies the spirit of the Youth of the Year program,” said Al Smith, group vice president, TFS Service Operations & Corporate Planning. “She has been a mentor for other students and worked to improve her community all while overcoming obstacles and maintaining high academic standards. Toyota is proud to join with BGCA in support of such an extra  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Canada, which depended on railroads to build the nation in the 1880s, is counting on pipelines to drive future economic growth, Enbridge Chief Executive Officer Al Monaco said.

“Pipelines are very similar to railroads,” Monaco said at the Bloomberg Canada Economic Summit in Toronto yesterday. “When you really get down to it, Canada is an export-driven resource economy. This is our foundation.”

The nation’s oil trade, which according to Statistics Canada rose 7 percent to about C$73 billion last year, is set to grow faster than the total economy. Pipelines already carry 15 percent of Canadian exports in the form of crude, mostly to U.S. markets. Enbridge and TransCanada plan to spend more than a combined C$50 billion to expand networks to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.  (go to article)

Kansas First News -- The White House says President Barack Obama opposes a House bill that would speed approval of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas.

The White House said Tuesday that the bill “seeks to circumvent longstanding and proven processes” by removing a requirement for a presidential permit. The legislation also says no new environmental studies are needed.

House Republicans say the bill is needed to ensure the long-delayed pipeline is built. The project, which first was proposed in 2008, would carry oil extracted from tar sands in western Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Opponents say the pipeline would carry “dirty oil” that could trigger global warming, while supporters say it would create jobs and bolster North American energy resources.

 (go to article)

Bloomberg -- West Texas Intermediate fell for a second day after industry data showed U.S. inventories rose for a fourth week, the longest run of gains since February. China’s oil stockpiles climbed for a second month.

Futures slid as much as 0.9 percent in New York after a report from the American Petroleum Institute showed crude stockpiles increased 532,000 barrels last week. Government figures today are projected to show a 1 million-barrel decline, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. The API also indicated gains in gasoline and distillate-fuel supplies, including heating oil and diesel.

“The API numbers were bearish across the board,” said Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, who predicts Brent crude, the European benchmark, will average $105 a barrel thi  (go to article)

RTV Channel 6 -- INDIANAPOLIS - Hoosiers might be looking at good news at the gas pump this summer.

A Purdue professor said it isn't likely gas prices will reach $4 per gallon anytime soon.

Purdue agricultural economist Wally Tyner predicted regular gas prices won't hit the $4 mark that many have predicted, but will run between $3.50 and $3.90 a gallon, unless a major disruption occurs.

He said prices are currently at the top of his price range because of disruptions at refineries in Whiting, Ind., and Joliet, Ill, but he predicted price drops as soon as those are fixed.

Tyner said the law of supply and demand is finally working in consumers' favor, with more oil coming from sources like shale and less being burned.

"We're producing a lot more oil than we have in the past,” said  (go to article)

Bloomberg Buisness Week -- Spot gasoline in the U.S. Pacific Northwest dropped by the most against futures since February as tankers carried oil products to the region and a Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) refinery recovered from a power failure.

The oil-products tanker NCC Reem, near Seattle, was bound for BP Plc (BP/)’s Cherry Point refinery in Washington state today, according to IHS Inc. (IHS) data. The vessel was chartered by Phillips 66 (PSX) to deliver clean products to the West Coast from South Korea, ship-fixture information compiled by Bloomberg show. The Voge Dignity, off the California coast, is also headed for Vancouver.

Conventional, 84-octane gasoline in Portland, Oregon, a benchmark for the Pacific Northwest, weakened by 11.5 cents against futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange  (go to article)

Consumer Reports -- If you're going on a trip, these cars are great to rent.  (go to article)

MarketWatch -- U.S. crude-oil futures fell Wednesday in electronic trade following an unexpected rise in weekly oil inventories, setting investors up to look for signs about future energy demand during congressional testimony by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Crude for July delivery lost 44 cents, or 0.5%, to $95.74 a barrel. The June contract fell before it expired after the close of trade Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Investors received an update late Tuesday that oil supplies rose in the week ended May 17. The American Petroleum Institute said crude inventories increased 532,000 barrels, and analysts polled by Platts had expected a decline of 1.2 million barrels.

Gasoline supplies rose 3 million barrels, said API, while analysts were looking for a drawdown of 200,000 ...  (go to article)

Reuters -- Europe's energy price manipulation probe has turned regulatory attention to secretive trading units at oil companies with huge turnover and millionaire staff with risk appetite higher than at Wall Street's biggest banks.

Regulators have scrutinised banks, trading houses and commodities markets more closely following the Libor benchmark rigging scandal but trading desks at oil majors have largely escaped attention.

Although banks and trading houses have expanded rapidly in energy over the past decades, oil companies still often dwarf them in size, geographical reach, profits and sometimes the magnitude of scandals surrounding their operations.

An EU investigation into the suspected manipulation of the price of crude oil, refined products and ethanol has thrown them into the spotlight.
 (go to article)

nola.com -- The explosive expansion of drilling of natural gas and oil wells in shale deposits in the United States and Canada using a directional drilling method dubbed “fracking” may have spawned a $30 billion per year expansion of the waste disposal business, waste and investment industry executives were told Monday.

Oil and gas fracking represents a $200 billion-a-year capital investment, and the companies doing the drilling are spending between $20 billion and $30 billion on waste disposal, said Michael Hoffman, managing director at Wunderlich Securities, during a seminar on waste management investment on the first day of the WasteExpo 2013 Conference and Exposition in New Orleans.

..Small explosions are set off to fracture the surrounding rock while a high-pressure mix of water, sand and chemi  (go to article)

Quartz -- The global solar industry may have hit the doldrums, but it could double again to a $155 billion business by 2018, according to Lux Research. The reason? As the Chinese manufacturers that supply most of the world’s solar panels struggle to avoid bankruptcy after expanding too fast, developers will use the resulting plunge in solar-panel prices to expand into new markets. That will soak up China’s excess capacity; so too will industry consolidation, as troubled manufacturers like Suntech and smaller companies go broke or are bought up.  (go to article)

WXIA Atlanta, GA -- Whether it is precious metals or gasoline, thieves are coming up with deviously creative ways to steal them. They have figured out how to get inside pumps to get the gas out free.

It is a relatively new crime but a Union City gas station is finding out about it the hard way. In the past two months thieves have stolen gas from the Mobil gas station on Flat Shoals Road four times.

The convenience store has surveillance video showing how the suspects broke into gas pumps and disconnected the meters inside. The video shows one of the suspects using a tool to pry open a door on the pump. Once inside he cuts wires to the meter that logs the purchase. Then with a swipe of a credit card, he can pump unlimited gas for free.

..11 cars pulled up to the pump and filled up for free. Over 180 gallons  (go to article)

The Washington Post -- Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said Tuesday he will delay final decisions on about 20 applications to export liquefied natural gas until he reviews studies by the Energy Department and others on what impact the exports would have on domestic natural gas supplies and prices.

Moniz, who was sworn in Tuesday as the nation’s new energy chief, said he promised during his confirmation hearing that he would “review what’s out there” before acting on proposals to export natural gas. Among the things Moniz said he wants to review is whether the data in the studies are outdated.

A study commissioned by the Energy Department concluded last year that exporting natural gas would benefit the U.S. economy even if it led to higher domestic prices for the fuel.

Senate Energy Committee Chairman Ron Wyden,  (go to article)

Science Daily -- Duke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications.

While hydrogen is ubiquitous in the environment, producing and collecting molecular hydrogen for transportation and industrial uses is expensive and complicated. Just as importantly, a byproduct of most current methods of producing hydrogen is carbon monoxide, which is toxic to humans and animals.

The Duke engineers, using a new catalytic approach, have shown in the laboratory that they can reduce carbon monoxide levels to nearly zero in the presence of hydrogen and the harmless byproducts of carbon dioxide and water. They also demonstrated that they could produce hydrogen by reforming fuel at much l  (go to article)

WSJ -- -- The new U.S. energy secretary raised the possibility of delaying further approvals for U.S. companies seeking to export natural gas, saying he wants to review whether the government's studies of the issue are adequate.

The comments by Ernest Moniz, who was sworn in as energy secretary Tuesday, came as industry executives urged the Department of Energy to move quickly on export applications, some of which have been waiting for more than a year.

Sempra Energy SRE -0.92% executive Octavio Simoes, who is in charge of the company's bid to export liquefied natural gas, told lawmakers Tuesday that time is running short for the U.S. because other natural-gas producers around the world are stepping up efforts.

"Potential customers, including some of America's most important trading partners, wil  (go to article)

San Francisco Chronicle -- The last of five defendants charged with defrauding investors of more than $4 million by promoting non-existent wind farm projects in Wyoming and South Dakota pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony charges.

Robert Arthur Reed, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty in federal court in Casper to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money. Four other co-defendants have entered earlier guilty pleas to various charges.

Prosecutors charged that Reed and the others used personal aliases as well as the company names of Mountain State Power Group, Mountain State Power and Sovereign Energy Partners.

An indictment alleges that they hired phone solicitors to make cold calls to investors, urging them to invest in wind farms by falsely claiming they were being constructed jointly  (go to article)

KTVA Anchorage -- Governor Sean Parnell signed a multi-billion dollar oil tax cut into law Tuesday, ending a years-long struggle to overhaul Alaska’s oil tax system that Parnell has been pushing since assuming office in 2009. Even as he put pen to paper, a throng of protestors were gathered in opposition to the tax cut, and already moving forward with their plans to repeal it.  (go to article)

CBSNewYork -- It’s a controversial proposal: Paying for every mile you drive to cover road repairs.

While some say it’s necessary, others are saying it’s time to put the brakes on the idea, CBS 2’s Christine Sloan reported Tuesday.

It’s the one thing New Jersey can boast about – having the fourth-lowest gas tax in the nation. The money goes into the state’s transportation trust fund, paying for roads and bridges.
 (go to article)

New York Times -- ... not only believes in global warming but also supports a carbon tax to combat it. ... insurance companies like Allied World, Renaissance Re, ...  (go to article)

Examiner-Enterprise -- Enbridge Energy is planning to begin construction of the Flanagan South Pipeline Project — a nearly 600-mile, 36-inch diameter interstate crude oil pipeline — in the next few months, potentially bringing with it hundreds of jobs.

The pipeline will originate in its namsake, Flanagan, Ill., and terminate in Cushing, Okla., crossing Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. According to the company, the majority of the pipeline will parallel Enbridge’s existing Spearhead crude oil pipeline right-of-way. The company has also proposed to install seven pump stations including one at the Flanagan terminal and six along the pipeline route. Initial capacity will be 600,000 barrels per day.

The pipeline is needed to provide additional capacity to bring crude oil to refinery hubs in the U.S. Gulf Co  (go to article)

WEC press release -- Worldwide Energy Consortium, Inc. announced today that it will begin the initial Engineering/Permitting phase for its new refinery located near Gardendale in La Salle County Texas. The site was chosen to take advantage of the oil production from the Eagle Ford Shale play, considered to be one of the largest Oil and Gas fields in the world.

This is the first of several planned operations by WEC in the region. Working closely with local officials, producers, land owners, and state agencies, WEC has identified multiple production sites that will allow it to take advantage of the abundant resources being developed in the area.
This first project, The Whitetail Refinery, will begin immediately. The facility is expected to be operational by the last quarter of 2014.  (go to article)

Reuters -- Petroleum coke piled up along the banks of the Detroit River has sparked a storm of protest from local residents and environmental campaigners, who claim they are just one more problem associated with the bituminous tar sands being mined in western Canada.

The implication is that tar sands oil is uniquely dirty: without it the residents of Detroit, and neighbouring Canada's Windsor, might be spared an eyesore some fear could also pose health risks.

However, it is misleading to blame the coke mountain on Canada’s oil sands as if they were uniquely problematic.

No one is likely to welcome a stockpile of petroleum coke stored at the bottom of their street because it doesn’t look very pretty. But if there is a problem, the solution is tougher zoning regulations, not trying to blame oil sand  (go to article)

GasBuddy Blog -- Has the time finally come? Well, it may be too early to blow the final whistle, but gasoline spot values have eroded today, and that may pave the way for some price decreases that could show up beginning next week or even sooner.

The nation's hottest gas price markets, the Mid-continent region and Great Lakes should see some relief ahead as spot gasoline prices take a nose dive today. However, as indicated earlier, while the party may be over, tomorrow's pivotal Energy Information Administration report could upend the predicted drop in retail prices.

While every region appears ripe to see declining wholesale gasoline prices later today, some regions are certainly in line for more of a break than others. The Great Lakes...  (go to article)

Bloomberg News -- Enbridge, Canada’s largest oil pipeline operator, is spending more time seeking public support for new conduits than regulatory approval as opponents of fossil fuel development try to block new routes to market.

It’s all about ensuring that the public is comfortable. Enbridge has proposed the $6-B Northern Gateway pipeline to carry oil-sands crude from AB to Canada’s Pacific Coast.

Environmental and some aboriginal groups oppose the 731 mi project because of the risk of spills.

New conduits are needed from Canada to correct a “huge disconnect” in N.A. oil prices as supply exceeds pipeline capacity.

Constraints on existing lines have caused Canadian heavy oil prices to trade at a discount to WTI. WCS oil was $21 less than WTI today.

The price gap amounts to $25-B a year of value destr  (go to article)

Convenience Store Decisions -- A trio of unexpected gasoline producing unit outages in Illinois, Wyoming, and Kansas, atop of already low supply in the Midwest spiked regional gasoline prices to start out the second half of May, and in front of Memorial Day in what is known as the kickoff to the summer driving season.HollyFrontier on May 15 announced unplanned downtime for the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units at its 52,000 barrel per day (bpd) Cheyenne, Wyo., and 135,000 bpd El Dorado, Kan., refineries, with the outages seen lasting for 10 days. CITGO, according to trade sources, also experienced an unplanned FCC outage at its 167,000 bpd Lemont, Ill., refinery at roughly the same time, with the outage potentially lasting for 10 days and to result in the loss of 350,000 bbl of gasoline production.
 (go to article)

Cleveland.com - The Plain Dealer -- CLEVELAND, Ohio -- While state lawmakers consider banning controversial traffic-enforcement cameras, the city of Cleveland plans on adding them to 26 more intersections -- doubling the number of cameras that ticket thousands of motorists every year.

Cleveland City Council approved a contract Monday with red-light camera vendor Xerox State & Local Solutions Inc., for as many as four years, with three one-year options to renew. Council adopted the measure 15-3 with council members Zack Reed, Joe Cimperman and Dona Brady voting against it. Terrell Pruitt was absent.

The new contract adds more than two dozen new locations for stationary cameras, mostly on the city's East Side, to the 23 cameras already in operation. Drivers will have a 30-day warning period after equipment is installed  (go to article)

The Omaha World Herald -- Nebraska and Iowa motorists are paying some of the steepest gas prices in the nation, with Omaha breaking a local record at the pump.

“The averages for Nebraska and Iowa now match California,” said Rose White, a spokeswoman for AAA. “Those states are in the top 10 average price per gallon.”

Gas in California, Nebraska and Iowa on Monday was averaging $4.05 a gallon on Monday. Iowa was trailing a bit at $4.02.

The only states with higher prices were Hawaii at $4.35, followed by Minnesota at $4.27 and North Dakota and Alaska at $4.23 and $4.06 respectively.

In Omaha, motorists woke Sunday to an all-time high of $4.09 per gallon of regular unleaded. That beat the city's record average of $4.08, set in July 2008.

Lincoln motorists were paying even more – an average of $4.12 per  (go to article)

KSTP Minneapolis & St. Paul -- The prices seemed too good to be true and they were.

Last Saturday a Waconia Super America sold gas for $3.85 a gallon and everything inside the store was half-off. But, the owner didn't know anything about the grand sale.

The owner tells KSTP he was selling the store to prospective buyers who were running the gas station.

But, the owner says, their down payment did not clear the bank and the next thing he knew they sold gas at cut-rate prices, sold nearly everything in the store at half-price, pocketed nearly $50-thousand and then took off.

Carver County investigators confirmed they are looking into the possible theft and they say part of the investigation includes the gas prices. They say it is illegal, under state law, to set gas prices too low...  (go to article)

Downstream Today -- Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. Monday announced it is constructing a 95-mile extension of its existing Oklahoma crude oil pipeline system to service increasing production from the Granite Wash, Hogshooter and Cleveland Sands producing areas in western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle.

The new Western Oklahoma pipeline will provide up to 75,000 barrels per day of new takeaway capacity from Reydon, Okla. in Roger Mills County to PAA’s existing Orion station in Major County, Okla. At the Orion station, crude oil will flow on PAA’s existing pipeline system to the PAA terminal in Cushing, Okla.

The new Western Oklahoma pipeline is supported by long-term producer commitments and is expected to be in service by the end of the first quarter of 2014.  (go to article)

The Week -- Solar power is getting much easier to store — and at a much cheaper price

The total solar energy hitting the Earth each year is equivalent to 12.2 trillion watt-hours. That's over 20,000 times more than the total energy all of humanity consumes each year.

And yet photovoltaic solar panels, the instruments that convert solar radiation into electricity, produce only 0.7 percent of the energy the world uses.

The percentage of light turned into electricity by a photovoltaic cell has increased from 8 percent in the first Cadmium-Telluride cells in the mid-1970s to up to 44 percent in the most efficient cells today, with some new designs theoretically having up to 51 percent efficiency. That means you get a lot more bang for your buck. And manufacturing costs have plunged as more companies ha  (go to article)

Science Daily -- Enough Northwest wind energy to power about 85,000 homes each month could be stored in porous rocks deep underground for later use, according to a new, comprehensive study. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Bonneville Power Administration identified two unique methods for this energy storage approach and two eastern Washington locations to put them into practice.

Compressed air energy storage plants could help save the region's abundant wind power -- which is often produced at night when winds are strong and energy demand is low -- for later, when demand is high and power supplies are more strained. These plants can also switch between energy storage and power generation within minutes, providing flexibility to balance the region's ....  (go to article)

USA Today -- After rising since the recession and hitting record highs, used car prices are easing, and the trend will continue, experts say.

Overall, used-car prices fell 4.5% on average in April at the wholesale level, compared with the same month last year, reports Adesa Consulting. After shooting to peaks each spring over the last three years, "They had almost no where else to go but down," says Adesa analyst Tom Kontos.

But the bad news for now is that prices for good, late-model used cars aren't falling much, even though new-car sales now are booming and trade-ins are coming in. That's because many consumers are trading in aging cars they nursed through the recession years -- clunkers worth so little that dealers don't even keep them around.  (go to article)

The Sacramento Bee -- Just months after California voters passed Proposition 30 to stave off education cuts, a push is under way to ensure that the next stream of higher education funding flows out of the ground.

The idea of an oil severance tax has been bubbling for years, but proponents have been unable to surmount intense lobbying from the energy industry.

 (go to article)

Morris News Service -- One Georgia state agency may have found a way to cope with limited appropriations and almost limitless expenditure needs, selling surplus property.

In addition to bringing in cash for the state, the sales would return the property to local tax rolls and generate income for cities, counties and school boards as well.

While that option isn’t open to most segments of government, the Georgia Department of Transportation routinely acquires land as part of its mission to build roads. Often, property owners will insist on the department buying their whole tract as the only way to avoid a costly court battle. In other cases, the department must buy acreage near roads or bridges to serve as staging areas during construction.
 (go to article)

Bloomberg -- West Texas Intermediate crude declined from the highest closing price in seven weeks on speculation that supplies will remain sufficient in the U.S. even if stockpiles decreased as forecast last week.

Futures fell as much as 0.5 percent in New York after advancing for a fourth day yesterday. U.S. crude supplies fell by 800,000 barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey before a report tomorrow from the Energy Information Administration. That would still leave inventories 3 percent higher than a year ago. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to release its stockpile data today.

“There’s nothing here to fundamentally justify a sustained price push at the moment, while expectations of future supplies are rather comfortable,” said Andrey Kryuchenko  (go to article)

Bloomberg News -- Elon Musk, Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA)’s chief executive officer and co-founder, said in a Twitter post the electric-car maker will “probably” repay its Energy Department loan as early as tomorrow.

A separate announcement Tesla was planning on the expansion of its so-called Supercharger network is being pushed back to next week “given govt loan repayment this week (prob Wed),” Musk said yesterday.

The maker of Model S sedans was planning to pay off the remaining portion of its Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan this week, two people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on May 17.
 (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser said it’s too early to speculate about the European oil-price fixing probe and the company is committed to the “highest standard of corporate behavior.” Shell, BP Plc (BP/) and Statoil ASA (STL) are targets of a European Commission inquiry into whether prices of crude, refined oil products and biofuels were manipulated, potentially harming consumers. Platts, a price assessor owned by McGraw Hill Financial Inc. (MHFI), was also questioned as the probe was announced last week.
“Since the investigation has just commenced it would be inappropriate to speculate about the outcome,” Voser told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in The Hague today. Shell is committed “to achieve the highest standard of corporate  (go to article)

ABC News -- The price of oil retreated toward $96 per barrel Tuesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's latest views on the U.S. economy. Benchmark crude for June delivery was down 28 cents to $96.43 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 69 cents to close at $96.71 on Monday. On Wednesday, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will appear before Congress and the central bank will release minutes of its most recent policy meeting. Traders will be looking for hints on what the Fed might be preparing to do in light of recent data that has pointed toward a sustained economic recovery. There is ongoing speculation that the Fed might want to scale back or modify its super-loose monetary policy and its massive, $85 billion-a-  (go to article)