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Richard Heinberg on high fuel prices (Audio)
Richard Heinberg, Global Public Media
In this brief interview, Richard Heinberg speaks with Julian Darley of Global Public Media about the misconception that current record-high fuel prices in the US are primarily a result of price gouging by the oil companies.

"These high prices are not something that's going to go away once this driving season is over and we get back to some kind of "normal" condition- there is no more normal. We've all been living in a fool's paradise of cheap gasoline, cheap oil for the last several decades, and that's coming to an end." - Richard Heinberg
(24 May 2007)

Confounding the Experts, A Poll Finds Prices Must Go Way Higher to Alter Driving
Steven Mufson and Jon Cohen, Washington Post
Even with high gas prices causing financial hardship for many Americans, most motorists still plan to stick to the roads at least until pump prices climb another dollar, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The poll found that nearly six in 10 Americans say that near-record gasoline prices are a hardship, but only 11 percent said that soaring prices would curtail their driving habits in the coming weeks. Three in 10 said they might skip a summer road trip.
(24 May 2007)

Rising prices at the pump (graphs)
NY Times
The average cost of gas has reached $3.22 a gallon, close to the previous peak (adjusted for inflation). But price varies widely by region.

Graph 1: Historical price of regular gas [1920 - present]
Graph 2: More detailed graph (1989 - present)
Graph 3: Regional Prices (County Averages)
Graph 4: Regional Prices (State Averages)

Sources: Energy Information Administration, Oil Price Information Service
(24 May 2007)
Press tabs to go between historical and regional prices.

Gas price spike longest on record
Chris Isidore, CNN Money
The 11th straight day of record high gas prices Wednesday resulted in a new measure of pain for the nation's drivers -- the longest stretch of time with gas above $3 a gallon, according a closely-watched daily survey.

And relief is no where in sight heading into the Memorial Day holiday that marks the start of the summer driving season. Prices continue to rise in most of the country, as the Midwest saw prices soar a nickel or more a gallon in one day in several states.
Gas prices have now stayed above $3 a gallon longer than than during any previous gas spike, and relief isn't anywhere in sight.

Gas prices have now stayed above $3 a gallon longer than than during any previous gas spike, and relief isn't anywhere in sight.

The latest reading from AAA Wednesday showed the nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded hit $3.221 a gallon, up from $3.209 on Tuesday.
(23 May 2007)

Saudi Arabia and Gas Prices
Stuart Staniford, The Oil Drum
Following on from recent discussions on Saudi Arabian production declines, and the somewhat uncertain degree to which we might attribute them to declines in North Ghawar, I'd now like to take up the question of what have been the consequences of these declines for global oil supply, and for US gasoline prices in particular.

We can discuss this impact regardless of the degree to which the declines have been deliberate or due to unavoidable declines in the output of some fields.

...right now we are in an anomalous period where gas prices have gone significantly higher than oil prices alone would suggest. Likely this is due to the refining tightness discussed elsewhere.

...Finally, for the record, I don't want to suggest that gasoline price increases are all bad. I personally am in favor of high gas prices to promote conservation of precious remaining oil, moves to make the vehicle fleet more efficient and reduced carbon emissions. But if you feel differently about high gas prices, you might want to pay close attention to what Saudi Arabia is doing.
(24 May 2007)

Oil Industry Says Biofuel Push May Hurt at Pump
Jad Mouawad, NY Times
Gas prices are spiking again - to an average of $3.22 a gallon, and close to $4 a gallon in many areas.

And some oil executives are now warning that the current shortages of fuel could become a long-term problem, leading to stubbornly higher prices at the pump.

They point to a surprising culprit: uncertainty created by the government's push to increase the supply of biofuels like ethanol in coming years.

In his State of the Union address in January, President Bush called for a sharp increase in the use of biofuels, along with some improvement in automobile fuel efficiency to reduce America's use of gasoline by 20 percent within 10 years. Congress is considering legislation calling for a nearly fivefold increase in the use of ethanol.

That has forced many oil companies to reconsider or scale back their plans for constructing new refinery capacity.

In hearings before Congress last year, oil executives outlined plans to increase fuel production by expanding existing refineries. Those plans would add capacity of 1.6 million to 1.8 million barrels a day over the next five years, for an increase of 10 percent, according to the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association.

But those plans have since been scaled back to more than one million barrels a day, according to the Energy Information Administration, an arm of the federal government.
(24 May 2007)

House Democrats Buckle Under Pressure from Big Oil, Strip Down Price Gouging Bill
Corporate Crime Reporter
Behold the spineless Democratic Party. On Iraq, no deadlines.

On trade, no enforceable worker protections.

Now, today, on oil industry price gouging, collapse.

In the face of withering pressure from the oil industry, the Democrats in the House, led by Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Michigan), have reportedly castrated their own legislation.

Stupak's original bill - HR 1252 - would make it unlawful to sell crude oil, gasoline, natural gas, or petroleum distillates at a price that "is unconscionably excessive" or "indicates the seller is taking unfair advantage unusual market conditions (whether real or perceived) or the circumstances of an emergency to increase prices unreasonably."

The law would be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

But according to a report by Darren Goode in Congress Daily AM, late last night, Stupak "added a trigger to his bill allowing the FTC to go after price gougers only during presidentially-declared energy emergencies."

In other words - almost never.
(24 May 2007)
Also posted at Common Dreams.