Archive for February, 2010
Woman Gets Helping Hand Full of Heating Oil in Mass.
A Lynn, Massachusetts woman and her children are enjoying a toasty home this weekend, thanks to the charity of a local business. Local news site ItemLive.com reported on Wednesday that single mother of two Leanne O’Loughlin had run out of heating oil and could not afford another delivery. After contacting several assistance agencies [...]
Read More »Genetic Engineering Renews Jatropha’s Promise as Biofuel Source
Jatropha, a waxy-leafed plant that produces round fruits and oily seeds, has been touted as a promising future source of biofuel. The inedible plant received votes of confidence from major corporations Valero and Toyota in recent months, in the form of big investments. In practice, however, jatropha has proven to be a difficult [...]
Read More »Heating Oil Weekly Roundup: Green Olympic Games, Safety Training for Offshore Oil Rigs, and Home Energy Efficiency
While the Northeast got another foot or two of snow, the Vancouver Olympics has had a difficult time getting enough snow for its competitions. It’s been warm enough in Vancouver for the mayor, Gregor Robertson, has actually ridden his mountain bike to most events. For Robertson, it’s all part of the Vancouver Games’ effort to [...]
Read More »Record Heating Assistance Applications Foreshadow Residential Fuel Crisis
As reported Monday by the New York Times, applications for heating assistance in the United States have reached record levels for the third consecutive year. Soaring demand for federal heating assistance has forced states to scrape the bottom of the $5.1 billion federal heating assistance program known as LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program). [...]
Read More »This Week in Heating Oil: Two Visions of 2010 Oil Prices
This week brought fresh predictions for 2010 oil prices from two prominent sources: the investment bank Goldman Sachs and the Centre for Global Energy Studies in the UK.
Goldman, still confident that a robust economic recovery will take place in the global economy this year, increased its crude oil price prediction to $85-$95 a barrel by [...]
Afternoon Price Check, February 26: GDP Growth Boosts Oil Prices
After yesterday’s report on jobless claims sowed doubts about the US economic recovery, sentiment turned around quickly when the Commerce Department released its revised assessment of GDP in the fourth quarter of last year. Last month Commerce pegged US GDP growth at 5.7 percent, but on Friday morning the department announced that the US economy [...]
Read More »Markey Receives Award for Heating Assistance Advocacy
On Tuesday, Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) received an award for his continued support of government heating assistance through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the Belmont Citizen-Herald reported. Markey’s award came from the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA), a private organization that bills itself as “the primary educational and policy organization for [...]
Read More »US Refining Industry Threatened by Bahamian Oil Terminal
Refineries in the US have been hit hard by the recession, which cut demand for refined oil products, and the industry continues to struggle. As oil companies consider idling or shutting down refineries, the industry now confronts another challenge 80 miles off the coast of Florida: the expansion of the Borco oil terminal on the [...]
Read More »New Winter Storm Walloping Northeast Will Raise Heating Oil Prices
Snowmageddon The Sequel arrived in the Northeast today, with snowfall totals reaching almost 20 inches in parts of Pennsylvania and New York State as of 10 o’clock this morning. The storm that was expected to continue dumping a mix of rain and snow in many coastal areas has turned into an all-out snowstorm as [...]
Read More »Heating Oil Price Trend for February 26: -5¢
Oil prices fell as economic worries dimmed the prospects for rising oil demand. New jobless claims rose and a report showed that demand for durable goods had dropped in January. Stock markets fell on the news as well, further weighing on oil prices. Even snowstorms along the East Coast did not lift heating oil prices, [...]
Read More »Heating Degree Day Report: February 26, 2010
KEY: Cumulative Heating Degree Days since December 1, 2009 for specified location / departure from average cumulative HDDs for today’s date.
Read More »Afternoon Price Check, February 25: Oil Prices Fall on High Unemployment Figures
Economic reports raised doubts about the health of the US recovery, as new jobless claims rose again last week and demand for durable goods fell in January. A faltering recovery would keep demand for oil low, and the price of crude and heating oil tumbled today on the disappointing economic news. Despite the difficulties faced [...]
Read More »China Now Imports More Saudi Oil Than US
In a sign of China’s economic growth and its increasingly influential role in oil markets, China has now passed the United States as the top importer of oil from Saudi Arabia. Energy Secretary Steven Chu confirmed the news at a press conference on Wednesday, reports the AFP.
China’s new status as the leading importer of Saudi [...]
Blame Oil Refiners and OPEC for $100 Oil and Another Summer ’08, Says Analyst
In line with Goldman Sach’s forecast early this week, CNBC’s European Closing Bell program on Tuesday featured co-CEO of Randolff Capital John Kildoff predicting that oil prices would soon rise significantly. Calling the past week’s global crude oil price fluctuations below $80 a barrel a “temporary setback” and the French Total refinery strike “a [...]
Read More »Airlines Move Away from Oil Hedging After 2008’s Losses
Airlines take a safe approach to hedging their fuel consumption, industry CFOs told Reuters at a conference sponsored by the news service. Airlines and other companies that rely on petroleum products often try to protect themselves against price changes by hedging, that is, buying futures contracts or options. If airlines (or heating oil companies, for [...]
Read More »Heating Oil Price Trend for February 25: +1¢
Testimony by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke overcame concerns about oil demand and pushed oil prices higher on Wednesday. Bernanke said the Fed would not raise interest rates anytime soon, which should keep the dollar low. A weak dollar makes commodities cheaper for traders who hold other currencies, increasing demand and prices. Other news yesterday [...]
Read More »Heating Degree Day Report: February 25, 2010
KEY: Cumulative Heating Degree Days since December 1, 2009 for specified location / departure from average cumulative HDDs for today’s date.
Read More »Another Take On Peak Oil: Exports, Not Production, Indicate Crisis
President Obama pledges to attain national energy independence, only to be publicly rebuked days later by the Saudi oil minister for his lack of practicality. Two prestigious energy tracking agencies (CERA and the UK Energy Research Center) study the issue and release hefty reports in the same month with opposite conclusions. These are some of [...]
Read More »Afternoon Price Check, February 24: Bernanke’s Testimony Lowers Dollar, Lifts Oil Prices
The EIA inventory numbers showed a build in crude supplies and a smaller-than-expected drop in distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, but weak demand was overcome by the effect of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony before Congress. Bernanke said the Fed’s benchmark interest rate would stay low “for an extended period,” which pushed [...]
Read More »Total’s Strike Ends, French Refineries Resume Work
Workers at five of Total’s six refineries in France voted to end their weeklong strike on Wednesday, allowing shipments and oil processing to resume, reports Bloomberg. Total, the French oil major, planned to permanently close one of its refineries, precipitating the strike, but unions advised workers to end the walkout after Total promised that no [...]
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