Oil shortage was staged analyst says

[Andy823]

Quote:http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/...ys-states/

By Kevin G. Hall McClatchy Newspapers

Thursday, June 7, 2012

WASHINGTON — West Coast oil refiners cut gasoline production after a fire earlier this year at a Washington state refinery, creating a supply shortage that’s left West Coast motorists now paying very high prices at a time when the rest of the nation is seeing prices plunge, according to an influential senator and a veteran energy analyst.

In a letter being sent to regulators on Thursday and obtained by McClatchy Newspapers, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., calls on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate refinery operators Alon, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, Tesoro and BP following the shutdown of BP’s Cherry Point refinery in Washington state.

Citing a report by Portland, Ore., energy consultant McCullough Research — whose work helped topple energy-trading giant Enron Corp. — Cantwell questioned why May gasoline prices in her state soared recently to within cents of the local record of $4.35 a gallon, set in July 2008. Meantime, gasoline prices nationwide in May fell 17 cents a gallon and oil tumbled more than $14 a barrel.

You can read the whole article at the link above.

Just found this at McClatchy news site: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/06/07/15...eries.html

[NJMaverick]

there are political motives as well. Notice how the right wing media reported the price hikes but has been deathly silent on the price drops (after blaming Obama for the rise, they would have to credit him with their fall)

[Andy823]

(06-08-2012 11:30 AM)NJMaverick Wrote:  there are political motives as well. Notice how the right wing media reported the price hikes but has been deathly silent on the price drops (after blaming Obama for the rise, they would have to credit him with their fall)

Yes, and besides the local paper, and the McClatchy news site, I have not found any other reports of this. We here in the west have had high gas prices all year long. One drop happened earlier for less than a month then the prices jumped back up to $4.26 where I live. It dropped 2 cents after Memorial day, then today it has dropped to $4.15, the lowest it has been in months!

[Willinois]

I'm extremely NOT surprised.

[Andy823]

(06-08-2012 12:04 PM)Willinois Wrote:  I'm extremely NOT surprised.

I am not surprised either. I think this happens all the time, and they just keep getting away with it. Big oil knows how to work the system, and with so many congress members being bought and paid for by big oil, the odds of anything being done are probably pretty slim.

[Born_A_Truman]

This really pisses me off! They have done this many times before, IMO. From having tankers sit offshore in the 70's until gas prices shot up and we know Koch did it in 2008:

In 2008, Koch called attention to itself for “contango” oil market manipulation. A commodity market is said to be in contango when future prices are expected to rise, that is, when demand is expected to outstrip supply. Big banks and companies like Koch employ a contango strategy by buying up oil and storing it in massive containers both on land and offshore to lock in the oil for sale later at a set price. In December of 2008, Koch leased “four supertankers to hold oil in the U.S. Gulf Coast to take advantage of rising prices in the months ahead.” Writing about Koch’s contango efforts to artificially drive down supply, Fortune magazine writer Jon Birger noted they could be raising “gasoline prices by anywhere from 20 to 40 cents a gallon” at the time. Speaking with the Business Times, Koch executive David Chang even boasted that falling crude prices in 2008 provided an opportunity remove oil from the market for future delivery:

Quote:CHANG: The drop in crude oil prices from more than US$145 per barrel in July 2008 to less than US$35 per barrel in December 2008 has presented opportunities for companies such as ours. In the physical business, purchases of crude oil from producers and storing offshore in tankers allow us to benefit from the contango market where crude prices are higher for future delivery than for prompt delivery.

[Andy823]

(06-08-2012 01:25 PM)Born_A_Truman Wrote:  This really pisses me off! They have done this many times before, IMO. From having tankers sit offshore in the 70's until gas prices shot up and we know Koch did it in 2008:

In 2008, Koch called attention to itself for “contango” oil market manipulation. A commodity market is said to be in contango when future prices are expected to rise, that is, when demand is expected to outstrip supply. Big banks and companies like Koch employ a contango strategy by buying up oil and storing it in massive containers both on land and offshore to lock in the oil for sale later at a set price. In December of 2008, Koch leased “four supertankers to hold oil in the U.S. Gulf Coast to take advantage of rising prices in the months ahead.” Writing about Koch’s contango efforts to artificially drive down supply, Fortune magazine writer Jon Birger noted they could be raising “gasoline prices by anywhere from 20 to 40 cents a gallon” at the time. Speaking with the Business Times, Koch executive David Chang even boasted that falling crude prices in 2008 provided an opportunity remove oil from the market for future delivery:

Quote:CHANG: The drop in crude oil prices from more than US$145 per barrel in July 2008 to less than US$35 per barrel in December 2008 has presented opportunities for companies such as ours. In the physical business, purchases of crude oil from producers and storing offshore in tankers allow us to benefit from the contango market where crude prices are higher for future delivery than for prompt delivery.

It's supply and demand, that's what they always say is the main factor in high oil prices and gas prices. What they don't tell you is they control the "SUPPLY" and they "DEMAND" more money so they can make record breaking profits year after year.

As long as they have enough members of congress in their pockets, things will never change, and that's what really ticks me off!

[sandnsea]

Good. Our gas prices are ridiculous. If Maria Cantwell is pissed, maybe they'll take notice. She's not one to lead the way against the big money boys.

[Leaning Right]

Gas at the pump doesn't always reflect what's going on in the oil industry - at least not what's visibly going on.

The price per barrel of oil, is not set by the oil companies, it's set by speculators on the commodities market. Speculators trade in high-demand commodities, and they purchase oil at a set price today, but don't pay for it until months down the road.

Speculators have often been accused of manipulating commodities by artificially creating news that affects the "speculated demand" for crude. Some are hedgers, too.

A rise in the price of crude doesn't even have to relate to the oil industry. The risk of war - even if it's not in an oil-producing country, can increase the trading price of crude.

[MilesColtrane]

enforced the Sherman Antitrust Act.

That would be nice.