FuelClub Discount

As President George W. Bush arrives in Saudi Arabia today, his second to the Kingdom within the year, to formally commemorate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the deep rooted, multifaceted Saudi-US relations, oil is reported to be very much up on his radar. Indeed with oil prices hovering around historic heights and talks of economic recession and stagflation in virtually every one’s dictionary, it would be naive to expect that when the leader of world’s largest oil consumer and the leader of the world’s largest exporter sit down for a face to face meeting, the issue would not be on agenda.

And the White House admits so. Spokeswoman Dana Perino told the press before the president embarked on his regional tour that President Bush will raise the issue of high oil prices and their negative economic impact when he visits Saudi Arabia today. Reports emanating from Washington very much emphasize that when the leaders of both the countries meet; George W. Bush would rake up the issue of boosting crude production further with his hosts.

It is understandable, the US leader, a former oil company executive, is especially eager to avoid spiraling oil prices in the months leading up to the November presidential election, which could scuttle presumptive Republican candidate John McCain’s hopes to succeed Bush in the White House.
(more…)

A move to stop filling the U.S. emergency oil reserve will do little to slow the record spike in fuel prices that is intensifying an economic slowdown in the world’s biggest energy consumer.

U.S. lawmakers voted overwhelmingly this week on bills to suspend adding oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until oil prices slip back to $75 a barrel from current levels around $125 — a proposal that the White House has consistently opposed.

The move would redirect an estimated 70,000 barrels of crude oil per day into the market — supply that would otherwise have been shipped to the reserve.

(more…)

Chrysler LLC will let U.S. consumers lock in gasoline prices for three years under a new incentive program launching at a time of sliding vehicle sales, rising oil prices and deepening consumer uncertainty.

The U.S. automaker, which has seen sales drop by almost 18 percent this year, said it would offer anyone buying one of its vehicles a pre-paid card that could be used to cap fuel prices at $2.99 per gallon for three years.

The sales incentive, which will be rolled out on Tuesday, will only cover the first 12,000 miles driven based on the estimated mileage for the Chrysler car or truck purchased, executives with the privately held automaker said.
(more…)

Gas costs around $3.25 in the Twin Cities which is about a dime shy of the record, but it’s nothing compared to the price of diesel. So why is diesel so pumped up?

It’s hard to complain about filling up a 20-gallon tank after watching Randy pump 170 gallons into his truck at $4.05 a pop.

“I’m paying almost $700 for a tank of fuel. I was glad to fill up for $350 a year ago,” said Randy.

Diesel used to be cheaper than regular unleaded. Now, it can be almost a dollar more a gallon.

David Morris is the vice president of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and an expert on energy said diesel prices are soaring.

“Diesel is what gets the goods to market; diesel is what runs the factories. Gasoline gets us to the store work. But basically the economy runs on diesel in the United States,” said Morris.
(more…)

A U.S. recession in the first half of 2008 will cause the first drop in summer gasoline demand since 1991, the head of the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration said Tuesday.

He estimated average gasoline prices at $3.60 a gallon this summer.

The U.S. projected an 85,000-barrel-per-day decline in gasoline demand for 2008, caused by higher gasoline and oil prices and the economic decline, said Guy Caruso, administrator of the Energy Information Administration.
(more…)

Topping $3 a gallon, gasoline isn’t cheap these days.

Now, one North Oaks man’s sophisticated system allegedly designed to steal it highlights the growing problem of gas thefts in the Twin Cities. With electric pumps and tubes built into his truck, he would siphon gas from the vehicles of unsuspecting motorists into his own with the flip of a switch, investigators said.

“We were kind of shocked and amazed that someone would go to that level of effort to steal gas,” Ramsey County sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Loots said.

Gasoline prices have shot up more than 20 cents a gallon in recent weeks, surpassing $3.25 a gallon in some locations. Filling up a tank can run to more than $50 on some vehicles. And with the economy tight, many people are resorting to stealing gas.
Investigators have noticed more drive-offs at gas stations, said Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher. That has prompted his office to create a database to report gas thefts.

There are now two to three drive-offs a day at the Holiday StationStore in St. Paul where Billi Jean Goodwin is an assistant manager. She said the station has seen the increase in recent months.

The thefts usually occur at busy times when attendants aren’t always able to write down license plate and vehicle description information, she said. Many area stations are requiring customers to pay before they can pump gasoline, either round-the-clock or during night hours, she said.

Investigating those drive-offs has become a priority. The sheriff’s office began a program about six months ago to follow up on license plate and video information provided by gas stations.
During the past two or three months, 22 service stations in Ramsey County have been able to use an online reporting system. Ramsey County Sgt. Eric Bradt, who is involved in the project, said it has been used in about 70 drive-off cases during that time.

Going after gas thieves is essential, Fletcher said, because they tend to be repeat offenders.

A criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court links the North Oaks man only to one incident. Chad Michael Storey, 34, is charged with possessing burglary or theft tools.

He was spotted about 4 a.m. Monday trying to get into his truck, which was parked about 8 inches from a van in a Vadnais Heights parking lot. Seeing Storey’s door hit the van’s, an officer looked to see if there was any damage. He smelled gas and noticed the van’s gas cap had been removed, the complaint said.

Police looked inside Storey’s truck and found a sophisticated hose system hooked up to an electric pump that allowed him to steal gas from a vehicle and pump it into another, the complaint said.

The system was turned on by simply flipping a switch under the dashboard of his truck, said Tom Rudenick, an investigator in the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office. The siphoning device appeared to be homemade, authorities said.

When investigators confronted Storey about stealing gas, the complaint said, he replied: “Yeah, but I didn’t get any.”

Jack Michaud, a general supervisor for Ramsey County Public Works, said anyone who has seen water being pumped out of a pool could figure out how to siphon gas. Michaud, who assisted during a demonstration of the device Tuesday, figures Storey might have had some mechanical knowledge.

“It’s not rocket science stuff, but he has mechanical ability,” he said.

Source: TwinCities