Gasoline prices have been climbing. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports:

The average U.S. retail price for regular motor gasoline has risen 45 cents per gallon since the start of the year, reaching $3.75 per gallon on February 18. Between January 1 and February 19, the price of Brent crude, the waterborne light sweet crude grade that drives the wholesale price of gasoline sold in most U.S. regions, rose about $6 per barrel, or about 15 cents per gallon.

By far the largest factor in gasoline pricing is the cost of crude oil – and the cost of crude has been rising since mid-December, as this chart shows:

There’s lots of detail from EIA here on the factors affecting global crude markets – chiefly increases in global demand as economies pick up steam after t... more »

Hurricane and tropical storm activity can put a strain on U.S. oil and natural gas operations, particularly if the storm tracks through the production-heavy Gulf of Mexico or makes landfall along the Gulf Coast region.

The Gulf Coast region of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas is the heart of the nation’s oil and natural gas industry. According to EIA statistics in 2011, this area accounted for approximately 44 percent of U.S. refining capacity.  When production is lost and demand surges, fuel prices sometimes rise –even in areas far from hurricane-affected states.

Regarding Hurricane Isaac it is too soon to know what will happen without knowing landfall impacts.  Given the size of the storm it is possible that offshore production would resume fairly quickly and have only... more »

Ridiculing a New York Times editorial blog is like shooting unusually large fish in a barrel, but this one from last Friday is so fantastical and extreme that a commitment to an honest debate on energy compels me to fire away.  And we don’t have to go far to start the fact check, as they lead with:

"The simple truth, as President Obama has recognized, is that a country that holds less than 3 percent of the world’s reserves but consumes more than 20 percent of the world’s supply cannot drill its way to energy independence."

You would think that by 2012 the New York Times would know better than to take political rhetoric as fact, as the Washington Post notes in giving the president Two Pinocchios for the above claim “A politician can create a false, misleading impression by playing... more »

One of the biggest challenges in planning for our energy future is that opponents of oil and natural gas are quite unwilling to acknowledge the reality of our energy supply and demand.  Two examples: First, from a new Sierra Club video (ably rebutted in full by Oil Sands Fact Check here):

“Moving America beyond oil isn’t that difficult.”

And second, from a Globe and Mail article featuring Jeremy Rifkin, a Maryland-based author and consultant:

“We have to be off carbon in 30 years.”

Now for the reality: The government projects oil and natural gas will supply 57 percent of our energy in 2035:

And 52 percent of the world’s energy that year:

So yes, moving America “beyond oil” would be “that difficult,” and yes, we need to plan to use carbon-based energy well beyond... more »

Interesting chart in this Bloomberg BusinessWeek post on falling crude oil prices, which also makes the point that the United States is sitting on more oil supply than it has since 1990. 

Note the “Y” axis, which shows that global crude oil output at nearly 90 million barrels per day (solid blue). Now look at the saddle between Q2 2008 and Q2 2010, showing that output was approximately 83 million barrels per day. The difference between then and now is about 7 million bpd.

Now check out this chart, which shows where U.S. liquid fuels production could be with increased access to our energy resources – including the outer continental shelf off both coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The difference between U.S. production (dark blue part of eac... more »