Gas to Hit $5 a Gallon? Yes, Says Ex-Oil Exec

Coming and Going
Gasoline prices typically deflate during winter months when demand is relatively low. When the weather warms, price rises in step with increased seasonal demand. This doesn't bode well for 2011. (In June 2008 prices peaked at over $4.50/gal.) Up until a few weeks ago crude Oil Prices were in the low $80s per barrel. Currently, the price is $91. Rising crude has prompted speculators to jump into the oil market . That trend likely will continue, with major Investment Banks projecting a return to $...

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...

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. ...

$5 A Gallon Gas Forecast Has Ex-Shell Exec Making Headlines
What is this? Predicting that Gasoline will hit $5 a gallon by some time in 2012 has put former Shell Oil president John Hofmeister on the News Media's radar today. Why's he think the price will go there? "The issues that gave rise to high priced Gasoline in 2007 and 2008 are repeating themselves, except the world demands even more oil in the next several years than before," Hofmeister tells CNN (he's due on tonight's edition of Parker Spitzer). "Asian growth is continuing. ... U.S. economic rec...

$5 A Gallon Gas Forecast Has Ex-Shell Exec Making Headlines
What is this? Predicting that Gasoline will hit $5 a gallon by some time in 2012 has put former Shell Oil president John Hofmeister on the News Media's radar today. Why's he think the price will go there? "The issues that gave rise to high priced Gasoline in 2007 and 2008 are repeating themselves, except the world demands even more oil in the next several years than before," Hofmeister tells CNN (he's due on tonight's edition of Parker Spitzer). "Asian growth is continuing. ... U.S. economic rec...

With Gas Prices Well Over $3 a Gallon In Some Parts of the Country, Where Are the 'Pain at the Pump' Stories?
What a difference a president makes. On November 5, 2007 Gas Prices topped $3 a gallon for the first time ever, the media had stories about how it was hitting people right in the wallet. We're not seeing too many of those stories today with prices well over $3, the price was $1.81 when Obama took office. Here's a few headlines of that same price during the Bush presidency ...

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 ...

$5 gas! What,no pitchforks?
Five dollars per gallon of gas by 2012! A former president of Shell Oil considers this likely. The average price on Christmas Day for a gallon of regular gas reached $3.28 in Los Angeles County, the highest price since October 2008. In one month, the price rose 13 cents, up 35 cents year to year. Where are the calls to sic Obama's Justice Department on Big Oil to hold the oil companies accountable for "market manipulation"? Why aren't we hunting down the amoral "oil speculators" responsible f...

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...

Gold run-up stops shy of record
NEW YORK, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Gold prices climbed above $1,410 per troy ounce in New York Wednesday as The Dollar index dropped 0.72 percent. Gold might have seen more of a bounce, but many investors played their hands Tuesday, sending gold up by close to $24 to within reach of its record above $1,420. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday, gold gained another $6 to $1,411.60 per troy ounce. February delivery crude Oil Prices lost 47 cents to $91.02 per barrel. The do...

Gas hits $2.99/gallon in Iowa
Iowa’s average price for unleaded Gasoline hit $2.99 per gallon this week, the Office of Energy Independence reports. That is below the national average of $3.05 this week. The $2.99 price is the highest since October, 2008, and tracks the runup in crude Oil Prices from $75 per barrel in September to $91 per barrel this week. Gasoline averaged $2.84 per gallon in Iowa in mid-December and $2.55 per gallon a year ago this month. Diesel prices average $3.24 per gallon in Iowa, up from $3.04 a mon...

Iraq wants to lead oil world
BAGHDAD, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Iraqi Oil Production is increasing to the point that it will dominate Oil policies on the global stage, a deputy Prime Minister for energy said. Iraq plans to boost production to as much as 12 million bpd by 2017, which would put the Iraqis near Saudi Arabia's current capacity. Hussain al-Shahristani, who left the post of Oil minister to become the deputy Prime Minister for energy in the new Iraqi Government, said his country would be at the forefront of world Oil produ...

Former Shell CEO says gas headed for 5 bucks per gallon
The former head of the Shell Oil Company stated Monday that with the current market price for a barrel of oil nearing $92 and headed for over $100, the price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. could hit $5 per gallon in the not-too-distant future.  Others have estimated an even worse scenario. As speculators began to note that the future price of oil was headed through the roof due to increased competition from developing nations such as China and India, and as a result of Obama Administration...

Prosperity In Motion
Our government’s refusal to allow the development of our Oil resources has left us on the verge of $5 per gallon Gasoline, with fuel shortages looming in the future. This will have a profound negative effect on our economy, because growth requires movement. The level of wealth we are accustomed to depends powerfully upon the ability to move goods and individuals over long distances at low cost. Obviously, dramatic increases in fuel costs would increase the cost of shipping. This means mor...

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...

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...

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...

Nigeria's restive delta: The president is threatened by a fraying amnesty
Mr Daniel and his classmates (some of them pictured above) are former Militants from Nigeria’s Niger Delta, which lies above Africa’s biggest Oil and gas reserves. In a campaign for a larger share of the vast revenues from these resources, local gangs in recent years have blown up Foreign Oil groups’ Pipelines and kidnapped expatriate staff. The consequent drastic drop in Oil output has hit energy giants such as Royal Dutch Shell and America’s ExxonMobil that operate in t...

Avons Campaign Against the Oil Sands: All Form, No Substance.
Avon Products recent announcement that the firm wants to avoid using ‘high-carbon, high-impact fuels’ derived from the Oil Sands is yet another hit and run on America’s safest and most secure oil supplier. It is a disingenuous Publicity Stunt that misleads the public with false promises under false premises. Avon’s latest so-called “environmental” campaign boils down to asking its transportation contractors to eliminate higher-carbon fuels with a special focus

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...

Oil majors to spend big in 2011
Washington imposed a Moratorium on deep-water drilling after BP's Deepwater Horizon Oil rig caught fire and sank in April, leading to one of the worst Environmental Disasters in the history of the industry. A survey by Investment Bank Barclays Capital, however, indicates that major energy companies are planning to spend as much as $500 billion next year on Oil and gas exploration. James West, an energy analyst at the bank, told The Wall Street Journal that spending on new energy efforts in 2011 ...

ABC Scolds 'Rising Star of the Republican Party' Chris Christie for Missing Blizzard
17 Years and Counting: ABC's Dr. Tim Johnson Continues Spinning for Dems on Health Care Of the three morning shows, only ABC's Good Morning America on Wednesday singled out New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, chiding the "rising star of the Republican Party" for being out of the state when a blizzard hit. At the same time, reporter Sharyn Alfonsi praised Newark's Democratic Mayor Cory Booker for helping with the clean-up. She enthused, "Wow! A mayor with a shovel.&qu...;

Job Growth Is Likely Next Year. How Much Is the Question
The last few months have seen a flurry of economic stimulus measures: The Federal Reserve has begun its purchase of $600 billion in bonds, and Congress has passed -- and President Barack Obama has signed -- a broad extension of Tax Cuts, including a surprise decision to cut the Social Security withholding tax by 2%. But will any of those measures create enough new jobs to finally get The Economy moving? Among Economists, the consensus is that the job outlook will improve very slowly in the fir...

Iraqi's Maliki welcomes foreign oil firms
BAGHDAD, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Iraq needs foreign investors in the oil sector to help break a bottleneck at southern ports, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said. "We have no restrictions on their entry. We want them," Maliki told The Wall Street Journal of foreign investors. "We need speed. We need money." Maliki last year gave the nod to a series of oil deals aimed at boosting the country's Oil Production to more than 12 million barrels of Crude Oil per day in less than a decade. Exports and pr...

Economic Optimism? Yes, Ill Take That Bet
By JOHN TIERNEY NYT Five years ago, Matthew R. Simmons and I bet $5,000. It was a wager about the future of energy supplies — a Malthusian pessimist versus a Cornucopian optimist — and now the day of reckoning is nigh: Jan. 1, 2011. The bet was occasioned by a cover article in August 2005 in The New York Times Magazine titled “The Breaking Point.” It featured predictions of soaring Oil Prices from Mr. Simmons, who was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the head of a Hous