Haven’t We Seen This Before?

At this year’s ASPO conference, I was twice asked about the gasoline supply situation – once at a panel session and once by a reporter. At the time, there were gas shortages throughout the southeast, […]

You Heard it Here First

As I warned on Saturday: Gas Prices Climb Quickly as Refineries Remain Closed At least 14 Texas refineries, representing nearly a quarter of the nation’s refining capacity, will probably remain shut for the next week […]

Defining Price Gouging

As I warned yesterday, we may be on the verge of runaway gas prices in some areas. Today I spotted this story at CNN: Complaints of rising gas prices as Ike hits Some excerpts: WASHINGTON […]

Flirting with Disaster

Update: Governors in several states have now declared states of emergency due to potential gasoline shortages. One example: Governor Riley Declares State of Emergency MONTGOMERY – [Alabama] Governor Bob Riley on Friday afternoon declared a […]

The Myth of Election Year Price Manipulation

It seems that every election season, conspiracy theories arise that the oil companies are trying to bring down gasoline prices in order to influence elections. The thinking is that oil companies tend to favor Republicans […]

Up Like a Rocket, Down Like a Feather

That’s a very common saying in the refining industry. When oil prices are rising, gasoline prices generally rise pretty quickly. I say generally because during the recent oil price run-up, gasoline didn’t keep pace because […]

The Benefits of $4 Gas

There is a great article today in Time. It covers a lot of ‘hot button’ issues with me, such as suburban sprawl, shorter work weeks, and conservation: 10 Things You Can Like About $4 Gas […]

The Fate of the Small Rural Town

Update: Today’s Drumbeat at The Oil Drum features two additional stories covering this issue: Gas guzzlers and ‘ghostburbs’ SUV factories closing, bicycle sales and train use rocketing, commuter belts becoming “ghostburbs” as residents flock to […]

The Oil Industry for Dummies

Because apparently, this is a business that any dummy could run. Take Ed Markey’s new bill, for instance: America’s untapped oil “Big Oil is more interested in pumping up prices and pumping up their own […]

Gas at $4 and Corn at $7

For the first time ever, with oil prices pushing $140/bbl on Friday, the U.S. national average price for gasoline cracked $4/gal: Gas price record reaches $4 a gallon NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Gasoline rose to […]