$5 Gas by 2012? Ex-Shell Oil Exec Predicts

Guest Post: Former Shell Oil Chief Predicts $5 Gas by 2012
Former Shell Oil Chief Predicts $5 Gas by 2012 Though he’s no longer running one of the largest companies in the world, former President of Shell Oil John Hofmeister warns that the outlook for Gas Prices in the coming decade is not looking good: I’m predicting a worse outcome over the next two years, which takes us to 2012 with higher Gasoline prices, uncertainty as to the future of hydrocarbons, more Regulation on the hydrocarbon industry based upon who the administration is today...

Oil Breaches $91 a Barrel in Light Trading
Oil Prices on Tuesday reached the $91-a-barrel mark in light trading as strong demand and limited supply continues to push up prices toward the end of the year. Oil for February delivery increased 27 cents to $91.27 a barrel in New York Mercantile Exchange trading Tuesday. It had been trading at about $81 a barrel about a month ago. Sponsored Links The higher oil prices reflect tightened petroleum inventories and what may be a slight resurgence in the U.S. economy, which is increasing demand....

Former shell executive raises the specter of $5 per gallon gas
Gas Prices became a major topic of discussion this week after the former president of Shell said that the United States could see gas prices as high as $5 per gallon in 2012. "When American Consumers are short or prices are so high — $5 a gallon for Gasoline, for example, by 2012 — that's going to set a new tone. It's going to be panic time on behalf of the politicians," John Hofmeister, who was president of the company from 2005 to 2009, told Platts Energy Week. Platts Energy Week aired t...

Oil hovers above $91 as traders eye crude supplies
Oil prices hovered above $91 a barrel Wednesday in Asia ahead of reports that may show a third week of U.S. crude inventory reductions, a sign demand is improving. Benchmark Oil for February delivery rose 1 cent to $91.50 a barrel late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 49 cents to settle at $91.49 on Tuesday. Crude supplies likely fell 3.2 million barrels last week, according to analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy informatio...

Oil Stays Above $91 As OPEC Signals No Output Hike
Monday, December 27, 2010 By Alex Kennedy, Associated Press Singapore (AP) - Oil Prices hovered above $91 a barrel Monday in Asia as some OPEC ministers signaled the group doesn't plan to boost output to cool the recent jump in crude. Benchmark Oil for February delivery fell 17 cents to $91.34 a barrel midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, the contract rose $1.03 to settle at $91.51, the highest level since October 2008. Global Oil mar...

The World Powers Up While America Powers Down
The Wall Street Journal reports: “The global Oil Industry, far from chastened by the catastrophic spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, is planning record spending next year, including a large amount for deep-water development. … Barclays estimates spending on new wells, producing platforms and other energy infrastructure will total $490 billion next year, up 11% from 2010. The figure is based on a survey of 402 companies. In part, the planned spending increases reflect the higher cost...

Brace for $5 gas, Shell exec warns U.S.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Gasoline Rationing and $5 pump prices are predicted by 2012 for consumers if U.S. politicians don't get their act together, a former Shell executive said. The average price for regular unleaded gasoline for U.S. consumers topped $3 per gallon during the Holiday Season. John Hofmeister, a former president at Shell Oil, told the Platts news service that energy shortages and record-high gasoline prices were on the horizon because of high demand and ineffective governing...

A Lower-Carbon Route to Replacing Oil
An emerging surfeit of Natural Gas has chemists and engineers studying how to turn it into pricier commodities, like diesel fuel or other Oil substitutes. As I wrote last week, Sasol, a South African company that produces diesel fuel and naphtha from coal, is considering building a similar plant to take advantage of the Natural Gas fields of Canada. The conversion would turn a profit, but the conversion itself, even before the fuel is used, can be a major source of Carbon Dioxide emissions. A Sa...

Regulation Without Representation Alive and Well in Washington
Decisions made in Washington that affect every aspect of the lives of Americans, from the kind of cars we can drive to what type of light bulb we can put in our homes, are increasingly being made by individuals that never stand for election. This Regulation without representation has concentrated power in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government where countless Bureaucrats write reams of regulations that not only interpret existing federal law but also add new requirements that were never...

Gold continues rise in light trading
NEW YORK (AP) - Gold prices continued their surge Wednesday amid light holiday trading, as investors seemed convinced that Precious Metals will make a good hedge against Inflation during 2011. Gold for February delivery rose $7.90 to settle at $1,413.4560 an ounce. Silver continued its long-standing pattern of following in gold's wake, with contracts for March delivery rising 38.1 cents to $30.704 an ounce. A sagging dollar and concerns about global Inflation seem to be propping gold above its...

Gasoline Prices Are Spiking Way Out Of Season
Email Sent! You have successfully emailed the post. Doug Short is the CEO of Dshort.com. On our brief Christmas afternoon drive home from a family gathering in Clayton NC, we spotted a Wal-Mart service station sign for $3.019 regular gas. The post-Thanksgiving Holiday Season is not one I normally associate with high Gas Prices. As the chart below shows, the general pattern is for Gasoline prices to peak in the summer and decline after Labor Day. This year has run counter to the pattern by a si...

Local Gas Prices Climb 8 Cents In Week
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Gas Prices in the Greenville area have climbed 8 cents during the past week, according to GasBuddy.com. The website said that the average price for a gallon of Gasoline is at $2.86 as of Monday, but that price is below the national average of $3.03 per gallon -- up 4.3 cents over last week. Monday's prices were 44.2 cents higher than the same day last year and 26.2 cents higher than a month ago, the website reported. Nationally, GasBuddy.com said, the average price for a gall...

Oil steadies above $91 ahead of U.S. inventory data
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil steadied above $91 a barrel on Wednesday ahead of U.S. inventory data expected to show a drawdown in crude and distillate stocks in the world's largest oil user. NYMEX crude for February delivery slipped seven cents to $91.42 a barrel by 0531 GMT (12:31 a.m. ET), while ICE Brent Crude fell 14 cents to $94.24. U.S. Oil Prices climbed to a 26-month high of $91.88 on Monday, driven by a broad spectrum of factors ranging from The Dollar and cold weather to OPEC and surging ...

Energy prices lower, still around two-year highs
NEW YORK (AP) - Energy Prices fell Wednesday, while the East Coast continued to dig itself out of Monday's blizzard and a cold snap swept across other parts of the country. Heating oil, Natural Gas and other energy commodities usually get more expensive as the weather chills. But analysts said most traders already have locked in their energy contracts for the year, and those still buying are looking ahead to 2011. With the U.S. sitting on higher than average heating oil and Natural Gas supplies...

Oil prices dip before inventory report
NEW YORK, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Crude Oil Prices slid away from a run towards $92 per barrel Wednesday in New York, as trading remains light between major holidays. Traders are also waiting for a weekly report on U.S. stockpiles that generally provides hesitancy before the Wednesday afternoon report is released. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, February delivery light, sweet Crude Oil dropped from an overnight peak of $91.53 per barrel to $91.18. Heating Oil Prices shed 0.24 cents to $2.5331 per ...

Energy prices lower, still around two-year highs
Energy prices fell Wednesday, while the East Coast continued to dig itself out of Monday's blizzard and a cold snap swept across other parts of the country. Heating oil, Natural Gas and other energy commodities usually get more expensive as the weather chills. But analysts said most traders already have locked in their energy contracts for the year, and those still buying are looking ahead to 2011. With the U.S. sitting on higher than average heating oil and Natural Gas supplies, temperatures wo...

Hutchison: EPA climate rules like a new gas tax
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to delay plans to implement new greenhouse-gas standards on oil refineries, arguing the regulations would amount to “a new gas tax.” The new greenhouse-gas standards “will hurt every American driver, trucker, farmer and flier with higher Gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices,” Hutchison said in a letter sent Wednesday to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “Higher prices passed on to consum

Gas to Hit $5 a Gallon? Yes, Says Ex-Oil Exec
"In the U.S., we use 20 million barrels a day. We produce about seven. We're not drilling. We're going to produce about six a year, year-and-a-half from now. That means we have to import more Oil, while the whole rest of the world is also importing oil. It's going to put tremendous upside pressure on the Crude Oil price, which is the only way to tamp down demand. It's very worrying for consumers and, really, for the American Economy to think we would go back to such high prices." Hofmeister cal...

Obamas Energy Policies Will Cost U.S. Dearly
The fact is every $1 increase in crude Oil Prices reduces the US Gross Domestic Product by an estimated $100 billion. Every one cent increase in Gasoline prices lowers disposable income by an estimated $600 million. US government regulations in the Gulf of Mexico; no drilling off the East and West coasts; increased environmental regulations; restriction on Nuclear Power plants, limits on coal fired Power Plants, etc, etc, will increase our energy costs and increase our importation of Crude Oil. ...

Writers and Authors
Wednesday, December 29, 2010 By Rich Galen I am a professional writer. Not an author, but a writer because I have never had a book published (at least, in part, because I've never written one). According to Webster's Third Unabridged, an author is defined as "the writer of a literary work (as a book)." See the difference? I just counted the number of MULLINGS I will have sent out by New Year's Eve this year: 146. Each is about 750 words - the length of a standard newspaper op-ed. Allowing ...

Iraq's oil output up but snarls continue
BAGHDAD, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Iraq's new Oil minister says production has hit the highest level in two decades as Baghdad drives to challenge Saudi Arabia as the world's top Oil producer. But the going is going to be tough. Iraq plans to boost production to as much as 12 million bpd by 2017, which would put the Iraqis more or less alongside Saudi Arabia's current capacity. But that's a target many in the global energy industry say is far too ambitious and unlikely to be met. Iraq has signed 15 Oil a...

Oil Industry Plans Record Spending in 2011
One would think that BP's (BP) massive Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico would have given pause to the global Oil Industry, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Instead, companies in the sector are planning to spend a record $490 billion next year, including a large amount for deep-water development, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing a Barclays Capital survey. The record spending is projected to come from Oil majors such as Exxon Mobil (XOM) as well as small outfits as the in...

Top 10 energy picks for 2011
Demand for Oil will continue to rise as developing economies in Asia and elsewhere fuel their rapid growth. Here's how to play a Bullish outlook on oil. As we move into 2011, we remain Bullish on Crude Oil fundamentals for the long term. Increases in Merger and acquisition activity and in capital spending by the Oil and gas industry reinforce our view. And countries in the developing world, particularly from Asia, will continue to demand more barrels to fuel their Economic Growth. Energy compan...

Winter weather gives oil a boost
NEW YORK, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Ongoing winter weather supported Oil Prices Tuesday morning, with a barrel of oil gaining 10 cents to $91.03 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A weaker dollar also gave oil a boost, The Dollar index down 0.34 percent Tuesday, giving foreign buyers an advantage in commodities, like oil, which are priced in U.S. dollars. Heating Oil Prices shed 0.31 cents Tuesday to $2.5135 per gallon. Reformulated Gasoline blendstock lost 1.43 cents to $2.4063 per gallon. ...

Oil steadies above $91 ahead of U.S. inventory data
By Randy Fabi Singapore | Wed Dec 29, 2010 1:12am EST Singapore (Reuters) - Oil steadied above $91 a barrel on Wednesday ahead of U.S. inventory data expected to show a drawdown in crude and distillate stocks in the world's largest oil user. NYMEX crude for February delivery slipped seven cents to $91.42 a barrel by 0531 GMT (12:31 a.m. ET), while ICE Brent Crude fell 14 cents to $94.24. U.S. Oil Prices climbed to a 26-month high of $91.88 on Monday, driven by a broad spectrum of factors rang...