NYT, pg1: Oil Industry Says Biofuel Push May Keep Gas Prices Up

[DeepModem Mom]

Oil Industry Says Biofuel Push May Hurt at Pump
By JAD MOUAWAD
Published: May 24, 2007

Gas prices are spiking again — to an average of $3.22 a gallon, and close to $4 a gallon in many areas.

And some oil executives are now warning that the current shortages of fuel could become a long-term problem, leading to stubbornly higher prices at the pump.

They point to a surprising culprit: uncertainty created by the government’s push to increase the supply of biofuels like ethanol in coming years.

In his State of the Union address in January, President Bush called for a sharp increase in the use of biofuels, along with some improvement in automobile fuel efficiency to reduce America’s use of gasoline by 20 percent within 10 years. Congress is considering legislation calling for a nearly fivefold increase in the use of ethanol.

That has forced many oil companies to reconsider or scale back their plans for constructing new refinery capacity.

In hearings before Congress last year, oil executives outlined plans to increase fuel production by expanding existing refineries. Those plans would add capacity of 1.6 million to 1.8 million barrels a day over the next five years, for an increase of 10 percent, according to the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association.

But those plans have since been scaled back to more than one million barrels a day, according to the Energy Information Administration, an arm of the federal government....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/business/24refinery.html?ref=todayspaper

[pepperbear]

1. So now it will be interpreted as the fault of the...

environmental lobby.

:eyes:

[LSK]

2. wow, talk about bullshit

The problem is the fucking oil companies dont have enough refineries.

They are also scared of biofuels putting them out of business, so of course they will blame them.

Oil companies are the lowest form of scum in this country.

:grr:

[kansasblue]

3. let me see....the Fox says...

The fox says that the new fence around the hen house is going to draw more foxes.

or... competition is a BAD thing!








on edit: spellcheck

[kysrsoze]

4. Wow! At this rate, breathing, eating, farting and sunshine will raise gas prices

[One Sweet World]

5. Not if gas stations stop selling gas

somethings gotta give. I just got this from Drudge...prices are high but the fees are killing gas station owners. So much so that some have stopped selling gas altogether.

Running on empty
Hit by high prices and fees, some gas station owners stop selling fuel
By THOMAS CONTENT
Published: May 23, 2007
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

He wasn't a motorist at the pump fed up by the blur of numbers spinning higher as he filled his tank.

Curro is a gas station owner who has stopped selling gas to his own customers.

After selling gas at N. 124th and W. Burleigh streets for 20 years, Curro turned off his pumps at his Shell station in Brookfield when the price he was being asked to pay was just too much...

Add to that the money he loses every time a motorist uses a credit card at the pump, and there was no reason to keep selling gas, Curro said.

Credit card companies and banks get an average of 2.75% on every gallon of gas sold, and credit card processing fees now rank as the second-biggest expense for gas station operators, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=610122