Fuelishness! Feed: U.S. gasoline prices hover around $2.66; Have gas prices peaked for summer; States Consider Gas and Oil Levies; IEA slashes oil demand forecast
- U.S. gasoline prices hover around $2.66/gallon: survey – The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States remained virtually unchanged from two weeks ago as crude oil prices hovered at about $70 per barrel, according to an industry analyst.
- Have gas prices peaked for summer? – After running up every day for nearly two straight months, gasoline prices have fallen this week — as they typically do a little before or after the Fourth of July holiday.
- States Consider Gas and Oil Levies – Cash-strapped states are considering raising taxes on oil production to plug yawning budget gaps, but they face strong resistance from oil companies, which warn the moves could lead to lost jobs and higher energy prices.
- IEA slashes oil demand forecast – The International Energy Agency on Monday cut sharply its medium-term forecast for oil demand because of economic recession, but said the threat of a supply crunch had only receded, not gone away.
- Nigerian militants say attack Shell despite amnesty – Nigeria’s main militant group said its fighters had attacked an oil facility belonging to Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta on Monday, days after President Umaru Yar’Adua proposed an amnesty.
First Look: Houston We Have a Problem [Movie Trailer]
Here’s a first look at the trailer for a new film Houston We Have a Problem – a feature documentary about America’s ferocious appetite for oil from the insider’s perspective.
Exploring our dangerous addiction to oil through candid insights from the Barons, Wildcatters, CEO’s and Roughnecks that comprise the world of Big Oil. This film is an inside look into the culture of oil that explores the history of our dependency that has led us to our current ENERGY CRISIS.
We learn how the perceived perpetrators of this critical American problem understand its complexities better than anybody. These seasoned professionals and New Wildcatters are presenting innovative strategies with a systemic shift to renewable, sustainable energy sources.
For too long, the energy policy of this country has been dictated by lobbyists and knee-jerk political decisions but now, politicians and business are finally joining together for a solution
The film premiered at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival earlier this year. Unfortunately, I wasn’t lucky enough to be there. There is, however, an interesting interview from the festival with director Nicole Torre and producer Eric Mofford where they talk about how the motivation for the film developed out of a conversation where two people, representing two distinctly different political and social perspectives, were able to overcome the obvious obstacles and discuss real solutions to the shared crisis.
I talked briefly with the film’s director Nicole Torre yesterday who told me they are still shopping it around for national theatrical distribution, and the screening schedule and DVD release date is not yet available.
You can learn more about the film Houston We Have Problem and it’s schedule at their website, or on the film’s FaceBook page.
Fifth Gear Puts Fuel Economy Ratings to the Test
Ford’s EcoBoost Gas-Turbo Direct Injection Engine
Earlier this year I proposed that Ford was “America’s Greenest Car Company“. Since then the company has managed to navigate the economic storm, plans to include a four-cylinder option for every vehicle they make, and has innovated some exciting new technologies that make real engineering progress in fuel efficiency and power. A case in point, the EcoBoost engine.
EcoBoost Gas-Turbo Direct Injection Engine
The EcoBoost family of 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder engines features turbocharging and direct injection technology. Compared with more expensive hybrids and diesel engines, EcoBoost builds upon today’s affordable gasoline engine and improves it, providing more customers with a way to improve fuel economy and emissions without compromising driving performance.
Click to See Original PDF Version
Faster return on investment to consumers means that the new technology “pays for itself” thru fuel savings in a shorter period of time than my other favorite efficient engines – the turbo-diesel and hybrids (can we get a flex-fuel hybrid out the door please!)
“Compared with the current cost of diesel and hybrid technologies, customers in North America can expect to recoup their initial investment in a 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine through fuel savings in approximately 30 months. A diesel in North America will take an average of seven and one-half years, while the cost of a hybrid will take nearly 12 years to recoup – given equivalent miles driven per year and fuel costs,” [said Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of Global Product Development.]
In case you’re thinking that EcoBoost might mean a wimpy ride, consider that Ford has had to redesign and strengthen the standard automatic transmission to handle the extra torque and power.
Ford’s 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged, direct-injected EcoBoost V-6 engine, set to debut this spring under the hood of the Lincoln MKS and Ford Taurus SHO, makes so much torque (350 pound-feet, to be exact) that apparently the automaker’s standard 6F-50 six-speed automatic transmission couldn’t reliably handle it. So Ford went back to the drawing board and created a new transmission specifically for the higher torque demands of the new powerplant: the 6f-55 automatic transmission.
While most of the details are highly technical in nature, the key changes for this new transmission include stronger parts and materials to deal with the increased forces and temperatures present in the turbocharged power train. For example, the 6f-55 transmission features thicker transfer and final gears and a new, more robust differential case.
Ford continues to demonstrate that there is plenty of room for innovation even in old-fashioned piston engine technology. Instead of making excuses, they choose to find solutions.
Fuelishness! Feed: Iran Removes Oil Chief Torkan Amid Political Unrest; Iran’s oil supply and potential for disruption; [Flashback 2006] Why Iran oil cutoff could be suicidal
Some fresh Fuelishness!
- Iran Removes Oil Chief Torkan Amid Political Unrest - The sudden dismissal could raise concerns that political unrest in the second-largest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may be spilling over into the country’s oil industry.”If his removal is for political considerations, it is sad to bring in politics into the oil industry,” Manouchehr Takin, an analyst covering Iran at the U.K.-based Centre for Global Energy Studies. “He was considered a ‘doer’, someone getting things done. He got projects moving.”
- Iran’s oil supply and potential for disruption - Disruption to Iran’s oil exports would drive up the oil price as refiners that buy the Islamic Republic’s oil would be forced to buy elsewhere. Strikes in the run up to the Iranian revolution in 1978 stopped the flow from the southern fields, and the country’s capacity has never recovered to the 6 million bpd of before the revolution.The disruption was keenly felt by top oil consumer the United States, which had to ration fuel. The shortfall ruptured global supply lines, sparked panic-buying and saw a sharp rise in oil prices that contributed to the U.S. recessions of 1980 and 1981.
Iran now pumps around 3.8 million barrels per day, or about 4.5 percent of global supply.
- [Flashback 2006] Why Iran oil cutoff could be suicidal – Iran’s nuclear standoff with the United States, Europe, and other nations has led to considerable speculation of $100-per-barrel oil and $4-per-gallon gasoline in the US. Such high prices might kick off a worldwide energy crisis and recession.
Welcoming Kathy Kniss to the FuelClinic.com Team
I wanted to take a moment to welcome Kathy Kniss of K2 Public Relations to the FuelClinic.com team.
K2 Public Relations is a forward-looking PR firm with a variety of ecological clients and a vast network of contacts and connections across a full spectrum of print, broadcast and online media. K2 was hired in June 2009 to bring national awareness to the FuelClinic brand.
We here at FuelClinic look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Kathy and K2.
Breakdown: Oil’s monopoly on transportation sector will hold beyond 2030, says EIA
Refer to the following charts and an estimate from the Energy Information Administration looking ahead twenty years.
Again, charts from the recent API report Energizing America:
Click image to enlarge.
Take a look at transportation – 96% of the energy we consume leading our modern mobile “just in time” lives is derived from one sole source - oil. In no uncertain terms, that’s a monopoly.
According to the Annual Energy Outlook 2009 (AEO 2009) from the Energy Information Administration, not much is due to change in the next 20 years. They outlook for 2030 shows oil slipping it’s grip only slightly – down just 9% to still monopolize our transportation sector at 86% in 2030.
In 2030, oil will cost anywhere from $50/bbl to $200/bbl – depending on various factors, but the AEO’s best guesstimate settles somewhere around $130/bbl:
In the AEO 2009 reference case, world oil prices rise to $130 per barrel (real 2007 dollars) in 2030; however, there is significant uncertainty in the projection, and 2030 oil prices range from $50 to $200 per barrel in alternative oil price cases. The low price case represents an environment in which many of the major oil-producing countries expand output more rapidly than in the reference case, increasing their share of world production beyond current levels. In contrast, the high price case represents an environment where the opposite would occur: major oil-producing countries choose to maintain tight control over access to their resources and develop them more slowly… (read more…)
Astonishingly enough, the forecast calls for no growth in oil consumption during this time, which I find very hard to believe. Consumption will be curbed thru a mix of high prices and regulation.
Total U.S. demand for liquid fuels grows by only 1 million barrels per day between 2007 and 2030 in the reference case, and there is no growth in oil consumption. Oil use is curbed in the projection by the combined effects of a rebounding oil price, more stringent corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, and requirements for the increased use of renewable fuels… (read more…)
Will we suffer through high gas prices for the next 20 years? Or longer?
- or -
Will pragmatic innovators lead the world beyond oil, into a future where seeking energy sources no longer dominates our time and politics, or limit so much of our human potential?
What do you think? Comments are open and greatly appreciated.
Where does your gas money go?
There’s an outstanding report from American Petroleum Institute (API) called Energizing America. I’m going to cherry pick some of the best and most informative info-graphs from this report and highlight them over the next few weeks. You can download a free copy of their report from their website.
Click image to enlarge.
The API report wants to emphasis that oil companies only make a 5.5% margin on each drop of oil the buy, refine, and transport to your local filling station.
More interesting are the taxes; nearly a quarter of the money consumers spend at the pump gets fed back to local, state, and federal governments. Any idea why every administration since the 1970’s oil crisis has so far failed to solve our oil addiction? Anyone?
What to do about a most Inconvenient Double Hockeystick Graph?
I write a lot about the price of oil because it is the single most important indicator of coming hardship and suffering for those of us surviving on the thinnest margins. Those of us who are “scraping by” and have to go without other things in life to put gas in the tank, or work hard at a job that barely pays enough to justify the drive in each day, or those small business owners who are fighting to keep their dream alive – their employees working – and their deliveries and service calls on time.
I maintain that hyper-inflated fuel prices contributed to and certainly compounded last year’s global economic collapse. Yes, there were (are!) deep systemic problems with toxic mortgages being traded by Freddie, Fannie, and the rest - and the system had been failing (with warnings) for some time.
But the promise of oil prices skyrocketing at a dizzying speed well into the foreseeable future pushed the teetering economy off the cliff. Citizens and businesses didn’t know how they would survive in a world of $5/gal, $6/gal or $10/gal gasoline. We didn’t know how to plan for our future, so we did the only thing that made sense – we stopped spending money – on everything - including houses and cars.
It took a global economic meltdown to stop oil from reaching $5/gal, $6/gal or $10/gal in the US.
A few weeks ago I wrote about the oil-price hockey stick with a hook. Today I’ve updated the chart to include the last few months where oil continues to climb again at a dizzying pace.
So, what are you going to do about it?
I promise you it really is possible for you to spend 10% to 25% less for gas – while driving the same distances you normally do, without buying anything to add to your gas or bolt in to your engine, and without become a road hazard or nuisance to others around you.
The “trick” is to adopt some very practical and efficient eco-driving habits - and leave inefficient aggressive driving habits behind. You are leaving up to 25% of your gas money “on the table” when you drive aggressively, in a rush, competing to get to the next stop light, only to arrive at your destination in about the same amount of time.
You bought that gas with money you’ve already paid taxes on, and being thrifty with your after-tax money is akin to giving yourself a “virtual” pay raise roughly equal to the money you saved plus your tax bracket (around +33%). Saving gas money is even more satisfying, because those virtual pay raises are paid by the oil companies.
How much of a pay raise do you want to give yourself today?
Just in time for summer, $3 gas is back; World economy struggles to re-start its engine
California’s average price for a gallon of regular gasoline topped $3 Monday for the first time since last fall, driven higher by a rally in the market for crude oil. Just one month ago, Californians paid $2.52 per gallon, according to the AAA auto club…
…Some analysts say the price increase won’t go much farther.
Oil, they say, is now overpriced, because the demand for oil and gasoline in the recession-plagued United States remains low. If this spring’s oil rally continues, gas will keep rising. If the oil rally stops, gasoline prices should soon level out.
The federal Energy Information Administration last week predicted that gas prices nationwide would peak in July, averaging $2.70 for a gallon of regular for the month. According to AAA, the national average is already $2.67. The auto club expects the national average to pass $3 in the next few weeks.
The U.S. economy will not recover until the end of this year, and even then growth will remain meek and vulnerable to higher interest rates and commodity prices, economist Nouriel Roubini said on Tuesday.
Roubini, who rose to prominence for predicting the global credit crisis, tore down the “green shoots” theory that a rebound is imminent, saying there was a significant risk of a “double-dip” recession where the economy expands slightly only to begin contracting again.
“In addition to green shoots there are also yellow weeds,” he told the Reuters Investment Outlook Summit in New York…
“You’re starting to see the engines of the economy turn,” Obama said today in an interview with Bloomberg Television at the White House. “It’s going to take a long time — we had a huge de-leveraging that took place.”
…The U.S. economy shrank at a 5.7 percent annual pace in the first quarter, capping its worst six-month performance in five decades and reflecting declines in housing, inventories and business investment…
British Airways has asked its 40,000 staff to work without pay for up to a month as the ailing airline seeks to cut costs.
The group, which made a record £401 million loss in 2008 amid surging fuel prices and a collapse in premium-fare passengers, is seeking to reduce costs dramatically and has already offered staff unpaid leave or a reduction in hours.
Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive, has now gone a step further by asking staff to volunteer for between one and four weeks of unpaid work in what he says is a “fight for survival.”
$3-per-gallon Gas a New “Pain Threshold” for Car Buyers
Americans are less optimistic today than they were earlier in the year about gas prices going down, according to a new survey by Kelley Blue Book.
Eighty-seven percent of new car shoppers last month said they think gas prices will go much higher, up from 66 percent in April.
The prospect of higher gas prices also is having an impact on purchasing decisions.
When asked what they would be most likely to compromise in their next new-vehicle purchase, shoppers cited engine size as the top item likely to be sacrificed, followed closely by vehicle size.
In addition, 73 percent of those who saw gas prices increasing in May said they plan to change their spending habits if gas prices were to go much higher.
“While we may not see the $5-per-gallon gas experienced in some areas last year, current economic conditions compounded by the pain at the pump may make $3-per-gallon gas a new threshold for car buyers – the point at which they change their mind about what vehicle to buy and how they spend their money,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and KBB.com, in a news release.
Five Ways to Save Gas Money Every Day
FuelCinic.com is more than just a website where you can track your fuel mileage – we’re starting a program to help educate drivers on how they can start saving money right away – using techniques that have been developed over the last several years. Some people call these techniques “thrifty driving” or “hypermiling” – but they are more commonly known as “eco-driving”.
Here are the 5 “golden” rules of eco-driving:
- Shift up as soon as possible
Shift up between 2,000 and 2,500 RPM. If your vehicle has a powerful engine, many times you can shift up as low as 1,800 RPM. Up-shifting early maximizes your engines mechanical advantage and improves fuel mileage. Experiment with this technique in an area without traffic to learn how your particular car handles during early up-shifting. (Note: With a manual transmission, up-shifting much too early can cause stalling.) - Maintain a steady speed
Use the highest gear possible and drive with low engine RPM. Avoid accellerating in cases where you’ll have to rapidly brake, such as stop-lights or stop-and-go traffic congestion. If you have an automatic transmission with an economy mode, make sure you use it. Avoid using “sport” mode. - Anticipate traffic flow
Look ahead as far as possible and anticipate the surrounding traffic patterns. Slow early if the cars ahead of you are braking or stopping. Allow tailgaters and aggressive drivers to pass you safely. - Maintain rolling momentum
When you have to slow down or to stop, decelerate smoothly by releasing the accelerator in time, leaving the car in gear. Many times a red light will turn green before you must stop completely. By maintaining some rolling momentum you will decrease the amount of fuel needed to accelerate back to the posted speed limit. - Smooth is efficient
If you follow rules 1 thru 4 you are well on your way to being a “smooth operator”. If you adopt these simple techniques, and combine them with an overall stress-free smooth driving style, you can slash your fuel consumption by 25% or more (some tests reflect 31% average). Discover what works for you. Leave a little sooner for appointments, let aggressive drivers pass, chill out with commercial-free music (iPod, satellite, CDs).
Getting involved with your fuel efficiency is the key to making real improvements to your fuel mileage. Chances are that you can achieve near-hybrid MPG performance in the vehicle you already own. Tracking you MPG in real-time using an on-board instrument will show you exactly what works and what doesn’t. Tracking your mileage over time will help you understand the long-term benefits of fuel savings.
Over the next few weeks we’ll be bringing you additional information that will help you save gas money.
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