...Oil and Gas Prices Darlene Dant COM 150 In August 2006 the American national average for a gallon of gas was $3.09. Gas prices hit an all time high in July 2008 with a national average of $4.12 per gallon. By December 2008 the national average for a gallon of gas was a mere $1.61 (GasBuddy, 2009). Due to the affect that supply and demand has in combination with state and federal taxes, America has seen significant fluctuations in gas prices. As people say, “What goes up must come down” and, in the oil and gas industry the opposite is also true, “What goes down must come up”. Fuel costs are affected by the world’s oil supply. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) consists of 12 members from various countries, who are the main suppliers of the world’s oil (OPEC, 2009). According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA [2009]), America gets the majority of its oil from five countries: Canada, Venezuela, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. There are different grades, or qualities, of crude oil. Two of the most popular grades are: light-sweet crude oil (better grade) and heavy-sour crude oil (lesser grade). Depending on where the oil is coming from, it may be of a better, or lesser, grade compared to that of another country. The most desirable crude oil is light-sweet crude oil. While easily obtained in the past, light-sweet crude oil is becoming less available, causing an increase in price (Wagner, 2008). While light-sweet crude oil may have...
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...The United States Foreign Policy with Israel and the Effects on the Middle East Michael Hanners Axia College of University of Phoenix The United States' support of Israel started immediately after Israel's declaration of independence in 1948, both financially and with military arms. With other Middle Eastern countries being Arab, and Israel being Jewish, there has been a religiously motivated conflict in this region of the world for more than 60 years. Many Middle Eastern countries have not nor do they believe that Israel has a right to exist. This has been a problem for the United States since its recognition of Israel. Why is this region of the world so important to the United States? The majority of the worlds oil supply comes from this region. Peace in this region is a must for the United States, however; since most Arab countries do not recognize Israel’s right to exist; it puts the United States in the sensitive position. The United States is Israel’s biggest supporter, when the United States changes policy with Israel; it puts other Middle Eastern countries in a state of uncertainty. What is now considered the Middle East; was once known as the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia. As one of the most powerful states in the world, the empire spanned more than 600 years and came to an end only in 1922 after WW I. The Empire was replaced by states in southeastern Europe and the Middle East. At its height...
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...How Crude Oil Prices Affect Gas Prices Crude oil prices make up 71% of the price of gasoline. The rest of what you pay at the pump depends on refinery and distribution costs, corporate profits, and Federal taxes. Usually, these costs remain stable, so that the daily change in the price of gasoline accurately reflects oil price fluctuations. (Source: EIA, FAQ, December 6, 2013) It usually takes about six weeks for oil price changes to work their way through the distribution system to the gas pump. Oil prices are a little more volatile than gas prices. This means oil prices might rise higher, and fall farther, than gas prices. Historical Oil and Gas Prices: Oil and gas prices have been especially volatile since the 2008 financial crash. Here's a look at their peaks and valleys, and what caused the price swings. * 2014 - Prices remained around $100/barrel. That's because the U.S. has plenty of shale oil. 2013 - Oil rose swiftly to $118.90/barrel on February 8, sending gas prices to $3.85 by February 25. Prices had started rising earlier than normal thanks to Iran's threatening war games near the Straits of Hormuz. What Causes High Oil Prices?: Like most of the things you buy, oil prices are affected by supply and demand. More demand, like the summer driving season, drives higher prices. There is usually less demand in the winter, since only the Northeast U.S. uses heating oil. However, oil prices are also affected by oil price futures, which are traded on the commodities...
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...Gasoline And Oil Prices: Present And Our Future Antony T. Zavatter Com 150 Professor Johnson April 25, 2010 Imagine someone at the gas station on a beautiful spring day. As they are filling the tank, they look up and see the price has risen five cents overnight or comparing in their mind, the most recent gas bill from the previous month. “Where do these prices come from?” This is a question most people have asked themselves at one point or another in their lives and the answer is not as simple to give as most of us would think. The complexity of the oil industry and controversies that surround them are not so simply placed in just black and white. The gray areas in the world of oil and petroleum products is vast, and in an age of growing populations with more demand on the natural resources we have, we are racing toward a turning point in the worlds’ economy with the drain on our fossil fuels reaching a boil. The oil industry from start to finish is fragile at best, and must be treated with a great deal of care or the whole world breaks. Many variables are evaluated when placing the ever changing price tag the average gas consumer view. The process is not as simple as raising prices when a barrel of oil goes up. Four main elements exist that are incorporated into the equation before pricing is adjusted. Those elements are: crude oil cost, taxes, refining, and distribution...
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...2008 Break even price for oil & gas: US$87.24-BMO Nesbitt — Oil and Gas Investments... Page 1 of 5 Learn how to invest in oil and gas stocks. Get your free guide here. Home About Contact Us In the Media Subscriptions Archives Members Center 2008 Break even price for oil & gas: US$87.24-BMO Nesbitt by Keith Schaefer on July 22, 2009 The breakeven price for oil and gas companies in 2008 was US$87.24 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), BMO Nesbitt Burns said in their annual Global Cost Study released July 21. The three year average for the industry’s breakeven price is US$73.60. They estimate the 2009 breakeven price will fall roughly 20% to close to US$70. It has risen steadily since 1999 when it was $16.96 BMO Nesbitt Burns is one of the largest Canadian brokerage firms. Their survey included 118 companies that produced 19 million barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 85 billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcf/d). These numbers encompass all costs, or what the industry calls full cycle costs, and include a 10% return on capital for the producer. (This is an important distinction as many investors get confused on costs. When companies report break-even costs on wells or production, they are often referring to operating costs, or what the industry calls half-cycle costs. Energy companies can say they can produce oil or gas at $X, but that may be on an operating basis, and not include items like land acquisition (this is especially true for the new shale gas plays).) – — – —...
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...Why Gas Prices are higher in California than in other Parts of US English 123 James L Hicks Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Abstract The rising gasoline and oil prices have become a global concern since petroleum has many uses around the world and yet its prices have continued rising for the last sixty years. This paper sought to find out why gas prices are higher in California than in other parts of America. The literature reviewed showed that West gasoline market dominated by California is defined by tight balance between supply and demand. Other factors found to be contributing the escalating gas price in California include isolation of the state from other refining centers, market conditions including international demand, Wall Street speculation, poor policies leading to uncontrolled oil cartels, decline of oil production during technical failure, political interferences, and increasing prices of crude oil due to demand forces. Despite there being no quick solution to the challenge, temporary measures such as efficient use of the available resource while looking for alternative cheaper source of energy could alleviate the challenge. Why Gas Prices are Higher in California than in Other Parts of US The Rising gasoline and oil prices have today become a world concern (Garrington, 2012). More concerns are raised considering that petroleum is an important product whose price continues escalating for the last sixty...
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...rationale. Marathon oil is considered the fourth largest oil company in the United States. They are engaged in exploration and production; oil sands mining; integrated gas; and refining, marketing and transportation (www.marathonoil.com). Marathon Oil Corporation operates seven refineries and sells refined products at Marathon-branded gas stations, and through retail subsidiary Speedway outlets. It also holds stakes in 10,000 miles of pipeline, and is one of the largest asphalt and light oil product terminal operators in the US. It distributes petroleum products wholesale to private brand marketers and to large commercial and industrial consumers, as well as to the spot market. The company has operations in more than 20 US states. The phase open to the greatest number of efficiency improvements is the pipeline transport of crude oil. Once the crude oil is in the pipeline it will take about eight to ten days to reach the refinery. “The Capeline Pipeline is a major thoroughfare for crude oil in the U.S., transporting up to one million barrels of crude oil a day…at an average speed of four miles per hour…” (“The time it takes,” n.d.). Transporting oil through pipelines is more economical than transporting over land. If Marathon improves the throughput rate of crude oil delivery they will be able to refine more barrels of gasoline and other petroleum products a day. As previously stated the pipeline can transport up to one million barrels of crude oil a day, and according...
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...Economic Profile on the Oil and Gas Industry The oil and gas industry is one of the most talked about industries today, at least in my town it is. Everywhere I go I hear people talking about the rise or fall in gas prices or how the cost of a barrel of crude oil has just gone up or down .10 cents. I also hear about how the current hurricane season could pose a threat to the oil industry, as it did last year with hurricane Katrina, putting oil refineries under water or causing extreme damage to them. In this essay I am going to discuss the shifts and price elasticity of supply and demand in the oil and gas industry. I am also going to discuss the oil and gas industry’s positive and negative externalities, wage inequality, and monetary and fiscal policies. Lastly, I will discuss the economic affects and influence on the oil and gas industry. Shifts and Price Elasticity of Supply and Demand The price elasticity is the affect of the price for a good on the demand of that good. If consumers are not affected by the change in price then this good would be referred to as inelastic. If consumers are affected by the change in price then this good would be referred to as elastic. The oil and gas industry is inelastic when the prices rise because, although consumers slightly reduce their consumption of oil and gas, consumers still purchase oil and gas. With gasoline prices in the U.S. approaching an average $3 a gallon, Americans are moaning about the rising cost, but so far they are...
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...significant oil and gas producers. Malaysia holds the world’s 28th largest crude oil reserves with proven oil reserves of 4 billion barrels. Malaysia is also the world’s 13th largest natural gas reserves with a 33 capacity of 2400 billion cubic meters. Regarding to this, the development of oil and gas industry in Malaysia bring some impact to us. Mining in the past few decades in the oil，it brings some effects on economic, social and environment to some developing countries led to a huge problem. As one of the nation's main commodities, oil and gas has a very strong impact on the Malaysian economy. Our Oil and Gas team with its industry professionals and worldwide capabilities is ideally placed to help companies...
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...Patisy Salifu SAPAD133 Economics (ECF1110D) The Oil and Gas sector includes the oil and gas extraction industry as well as petroleum refining. The United States is the world's third-largest petroleum producer, with more than 500,000 producing wells and approximately 4,000 oil and natural gas platforms operating in U.S. waters. Together, oil and gas supply 65 percent of U.S. energy. The nation's 144 refineries process more than 17 million barrels of crude oil every day. Oil and gas production facilities include 16,000 establishments with a value of shipments of $134 billion. Natural gas is seen as a good source of electricity supply for a number of economic, operational and environmental reasons: it is low-risk (technically and financially); lower carbon relative to other fossil fuels; and gas plants can be built relatively quickly in around two years, unlike nuclear facilities, which can take much longer. (“Oil and Gas”, n.d.) Oil prices have risen while natural gas prices have soared. Using the supply and demand models, this essay analyzes the change in price from an economic point of view. The price of oil rose 1 percent Thursday as stockpiles declined and new indications that demand is rising in the U.S., the world's largest crude consumer. The price of natural gas soared nearly 5 percent to close at $4.46 per thousand cubic feet — the highest price since July of 2011 — after the government reported a huge draw in supplies...
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...THE EFFECT OF ENERGY PRICES ON TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE SECTOR’S EQUITY RETURNS: THE IRANIAN CASE by ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of oil and gas prices on transportation and storage sector’s equity returns in Iran. To this end, we analyze Iranian transportation and storage sector index for the period from the first week of January 2005 until the third week of March 2010. Based on the multifactor model and using time-series regression, our findings indicate that oil price is not an important determinant of returns in transportation and storage sector. Similarly, the findings suggest that gas price movements do not seem to play a role for transportation and storage sector. However, consistent with the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), the market portfolio is a significant pricing factor in the sector’s stock returns. In addition, the estimated regression indicates that the exchange rate is not priced for this sector’s stock returns. The results of this study help domestic and potential foreign investors to understand the effect of energy price changes on transportation and storage sector stock returns in order to manage their portfolio effectively. KEYWORDS Energy prices, Transportation and storage sector, Equity returns, Iran INTRODUCTION Recent years have witnessed massive price movements of the energy markets. The price of energy has a large impact on economy of the world (Huang et al., 1996; Nandha & Brooks, 2009; Chen et al., 1986; Nandha...
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...switching between natural gas and residual fuel oil kept natural gas prices closely aligned with those for crude oil. More recently, however, the number of U.S. facilities able to switch between natural gas and residual fuel oil has declined, and over the past five years, U.S. natural gas prices have been on an upward trend with crude oil prices but with considerable independent movement. Natural gas market analysts generally emphasize weather and inventories as drivers of natural gas prices. Using an error-correction model, we show that when these and other additional factors are taken into account, movements in crude oil prices have a prominent role in shaping natural gas prices. Our findings imply a continuum of prices at which natural gas and petroleum products are substitutes. 1. Introduction For many years, natural gas and refined petroleum products were seen as close substitutes in U.S. industry and electric power generation. Industry and electric power generators switched back and forth between natural gas and residual fuel oil, using whichever energy source was less expensive. Consequently, U.S. natural gas price movements generally tracked those of crude oil. As shown by Yücel and Guo (Energy Journal, 1994), crude oil prices were shaped by world oil market conditions, and U.S. natural gas prices adjusted to oil prices. Over the past 10 years, however, the number of facilities able to switch quickly between natural gas and refined petroleum products...
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...significantly towards a more independent energy system. The most imperative of these innovations include a decrease in the amount of oil imported from foreign oil exporters and an increase of domestic shale oil discoveries throughout America. As technology continuously modernizes, the efficiency of American shale oil extractions increase. America is hypothesized to have the ability to supply all its own energy by 2030. If America continues to reduce their petrochemical consumption and reliance on foreign oil, this energy independent milestone will be an approaching, feasible possibility. In this presentation, I will illustrate the constant momentum toward energy independence and how achieving autonomy introduces a surplus of economical possibility that has neglected to exist in previous American history. Rationale The Unites States, along with every other country, would benefit from being as energy independent as possible from foreign oil exporters. Currently, the United States reliance on OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Counties) causes them to be highly susceptible to disturbances in these counties oil industry. Energy independence would result in economical stability and security, while diminishing the uncertainty that lies in the dependence of major oil exporters. There exist an on average increase of petroleum oil prices...
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...men and setting off the largest oil disaster in U.S. history. Its impact would reverberate well beyond the Deepwater Horizon and the families of the eleven men who died, and even beyond the people and places of the Gulf of Mexico. Known as the BP spill, this tragedy seemingly was not an isolated incident. According to Juhasz (2011), “BP was not a lone actor; rather, this tragedy was the predictable outcome of an industry that has pushed well beyond its own technological capacity and beyond the government’s ability to regulate it” (p. 2). This oil well disaster has had important ramifications for the future of our country. In order to tackle the nation’s energy crisis, there must be an establishment of an orderly transition from crude oil to an affordable, sustainable energy future. The purpose of this paper is to explore ways of converting crude oil to consumer fuels. The paper will examine Marathon Oil’s product process and give a determination as to which phase shows a need for the greatest efficiency improvements. In addition, the paper will address the retail price of gasoline and its relation to the world’s demand for crude oil, as well as what Marathon can do to keep the gas prices the same without losing profits even if global crude production is decreased by 10%. Finally, the impact of a continuation of a deep-water drilling moratorium on U.S. gas prices will be addressed. Marathon Crude Oil Supply: Phase 1 Marathon Oil Corporation is a global corporation...
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...that contribute to rising gasoline prices. The major cause for increasing gasoline prices has to do with refining capacity. Even if oil were inexpensive, we would still have a problem converting it into the gas that fuels our economy. That is what keeps the gas prices high. When gas supplies are short, due to an “inability to refine crude oil into gas efficiently,” prices increase. This is a component of supply and demand economics. In a positive aspect, rising gasoline prices do serve a purpose; they curtail usage so that we do not eventually run out of fuel. If gasoline continued to retain its cheap price, despite how much was available, people may pull up to their favorite gas station only to see caution tape around the pumps because frequent consumers would not curtail their consumption. Contrary to what some think, gasoline isn’t the only product refined from crude oil. In his article “Gas Prices Rising”, Matt Rosenberg wrote that, “Only about 51.4% of an oil barrel is used to make gasoline; the rest of the oil is used to make other products such as jet fuel, asphalt, road oil, heating oil and liquefied refinery gas” (Para 3, Rosenberg). This makes oil a high demand commodity around the world and because most countries don’t produce enough oil of their own, they have to import it from other countries that have more than they know what to do with. This also creates a global market in which prices can fluctuate depending on who needs oil and how much. For example, China...
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