August 13th, 2008
The government owns hundreds of underground fuel tanks, several in Michigan, that need to be inspected for leaks of hazardous substances that could make local water undrinkable.
Many of the tanks were designed for emergencies back in the Cold War.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has known since at least the 1990s that tanks under its supervision around the country could be leaking fuel into soil and groundwater, according to Associated Press interviews and research.
The agency knows of at least 150 underground tanks that must be inspected for leaks, says spokeswoman Debbie Wing. FEMA also is trying to determine by September whether an additional 124 tanks are underground or above ground and whether they are leaking.
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Tags: FEMA, fuel tanks, USA
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August 7th, 2008
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s plan to release oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve may lower crude and gasoline prices in the short term, but it could also leave the United States more vulnerable in a supply emergency.
Obama called this week for easing fuel prices by releasing some 70 million barrels of light, sweet crude from the nation’s stockpile and swapping it for less expensive heavy, sour oil.
The hope is that putting more oil on the market will push down crude prices and those savings will be passed on to consumers at the gasoline pump.
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Tags: crisis, George Bush, Obama, U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, USA
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August 7th, 2008
Crude oil prices, which have fallen by a fifth after touching a peak of $147 per barrel on July 11, is not only likely to provide relief for oil marketing companies but also result in substantial savings in country’s import bill by as much as $20 billion, if the prices stay at the current level.
For the three public sector firms- Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL)- the sharp drop in oil prices would mean corresponding reduction in loss for the petroleum products they sell below the production cost and more cash in hand to smoothly run their day-to-day operations.
At the current price level of US$116.9 per barrel for the Indian basket of crude oil, the under-realization loss for oil marketing companies is pegged at Rs180,000 crore for the financial year ending March 2008, around 25 per cent lower than the estimate when the price of oil nearly touched US$142 per barrel.
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Tags: crisis, fuel costs, price rising, Sensex
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August 7th, 2008
World Fuel Services Corporation, a global leader in the marketing and sale of marine, aviation and land fuel products and related services, today reported second quarter GAAP net income of $20.5 million, ($0.72 and $0.71 per share on a basic and diluted basis, respectively), compared to $17.0 million ($0.61 and $0.58 per share on a basic and diluted basis, respectively), in the second quarter of 2007. Non-GAAP net income for the second quarter, which excludes share-based compensation and amortization of acquired intangible assets, was $22.8 million ($0.79 and $0.78 per share on a basic and diluted basis, respectively), compared to $18.7 million, ($0.67 and $0.64 per share on a basic and diluted basis, respectively), in the second quarter of 2007. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results has been provided in the financial statement tables included in this press release. An explanation of these measures is also included below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
The company’s aviation segment generated record gross profit of $45.2 million, an increase of 29% from the prior quarter and an increase of 47% year-over-year. “During a quarter of significant market turmoil, our aviation segment delivered solid results. Our core aviation business as well as the recently acquired AVCARD business performed well despite a very difficult operating environment,” said Paul H. Stebbins, chairman and chief executive officer of World Fuel Services Corporation.
Tags: fuel costs, profit rising, World Fuel Services Corporation
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August 7th, 2008
As world crude oil prices plunge, small oil players on Thursday started implementing price cuts in their gasoline products.
SeaOil announced that it will cut by P1.00 per liter its gasoline prices starting 2 p.m. Thursday. This will be followed by Eastern Petroleum Corp. at 6 a.m. Friday.
Fernando Martinez, Eastern Petroleum president, said the prices of the company’s gasoline products will be slashed by P1.00 per liter at 6 a.m. Friday.
“We have decided that by tomorrow Eastern Petroleum will rollback gasoline prices at 6 a.m.,” Fernando Martinez, Eastern Petroleum president, told ABS-CBN’s morning show, “Umagang Kay Ganda.”
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Tags: DOE, Eastern Petroleum, fuel costs, oil drilling, price rising
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August 7th, 2008
Earlier in the presidential campaign, when John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton called for a summer holiday on the 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal gasoline tax, Barack Obama dismissed the tax-vacation as an election-year gimmick that offered financially-squeezed families “just pennies.” I wrote that, unlike Clinton and McCain, Obama “stood tall in opposing the gas-tax holiday.”
Now we know why. Obama must have seen the gas-tax holiday as a chump-change in the wondrous store of campaign gimmicks. When Obama panders, he panders big-time. Witness his proposed “emergency energy rebate” that - on the heels of this year’s $600 per taxpayer stimulus package rebate sent to taxpayers this year - promises additional $500 checks for American workers or $1,000 per family “as soon as this fall.” (Is there an income cap for how Obama defines eligible “working families?” The campaign did not get back to me on that by my deadline.)
To hear Obama, the check is practically in the mail.
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Tags: crisis, Obama, oil price, price rising, US
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