Venezuela and US Gas Prices...

[El_Jibaro]

Chavez Guarantees U.S. Reliable Oil Supply to Help Ease Energy Crisis

Sunday, June 03, 2001

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that his country will help the United States deal with its ongoing energy crisis by guaranteeing a reliable supply of crude oil and increasing refining capacity.

"Venezuela is willing and capable of continuing to help the people of the United States with a reliable oil supply, as we have done for close to a century," said Chavez, speaking during his weekly radio program "Hello President."

Chavez' statements came a day after he visited Venezuelan state-owned oil refineries in Lake Charles, La., and Corpus Christi, Texas.

Citgo Petroleum Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, will invest $200 million to increase refining capacity by 100,000 barrels per day at its Lake Charles refinery.

Chavez said Venezuela is studying whether it would be feasible to supply orimulsion, a coal-like residue left over from the oil refining process that is used as an industrial boiler fuel, to the United States.

Venezuela is the third largest producer of oil within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, and the largest supplier of crude to the United States.

OPEC produces 40 percent of the world's oil.

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Greenspan: US Gas Prices May Drop


Updated: Mon, Jun 04 1:30 PM EDT

SINGAPORE (AP) - U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said Monday he was encouraged by signs that gasoline prices in the United States could be coming down in the months ahead.

"We may ... be seeing a flattening of the retail price of gasoline in the U.S. after sharp rises in the last few years," Greenspan said.

Addressing International Monetary Conference delegates by live video link from Washington, Greenspan also said that inflation is currently "not a significant problem" in the U.S. economy.

Greenspan stressed, however, that the Fed is keeping a close watch for signs of potential inflationary pressures.

The Fed has cut interest rates five times this year in an effort to boost the struggling U.S. economy, though government officials have remained watchful for any possible surge in inflation. So far it has been kept in check by U.S. businesses' current inability to pass along higher costs to consumers and by the strong U.S. dollar, Greenspan said.

Meanwhile, energy prices seem to be stabilizing, Greenspan said.

"Overall energy prices have declined since the first quarter, suggesting some easing of pressure on profit margins," he said.

Greenspan said gasoline inventories are finally beginning to build now that bottlenecks at refineries are subsiding.

However, Greenspan added: "We cannot be certain that the recent spike in gasoline prices in the U.S. is behind us. Nonetheless, it is encouraging that forecasters are calling for prices to decline."

As of last week, the average price of gas in the United States was $1.69 for a gallon of regular unleaded. Prices are up 10 percent from last year and some analysts predict they could reach $2 this summer - and possibly $3 in California and parts of the Midwest.

The IMC conference, which hosts central bankers from around the world, meets through Tuesday.

El_Jíbaro Comments:
Venezuelan President Hugo "the Fidel Castro wannabe" Chavez says that he wants to sell cheaper oil to the USA and Greenspan says the day after that "he was encouraged by signs that gasoline prices in the United States could be coming down in the months ahead"... Hmmmm, now we know where the point source of our expensive oil prices is. And Clinton did help this Chavez goon become president in Venezuela. I wonder what George W. Bush did to encourage Chavez to lower his prices...

[Nacionalista]

[whining]

What about us?

[/whining]

I which Puerto Rico could buy oil directly from Venezuela and any other oil producer. But, we are not allow.

[El_Jibaro]

From all the news, and asking my Dad living in Caguas, Puerto Rico has the same prices as New Jersey, so I don't see a problem, do you ?

[Nacionalista]

Originally posted by El_Jibaro
From all the news, and asking my Dad living in Caguas, Puerto Rico has the same prices as New Jersey, so I don't see a problem, do you ?

That is true. Last time I visited Puerto Rico, a couple months ago, I filled up in Barceloneta on my way back from the Arecibo observatory.

The price was .36 (cents) a liter. There are 3.79 liters in a galon:

So .36(3.79) = 1.3644 or $1.36

When I got to Virginia the gas was $1.399 a galon.

We have to understand that while Puerto Rico is attached to the USA via a umbilical cord, whatever happens in the USA, is reflected in PR.

For example, the unemployment index increased in the USA in April, so did in PR. That is why I laughed of the PNP rep that accused Sila for that, which in turn showed this rep knowledge of current events and understanding of the economy issue.

[El_Jibaro]

Originally posted by Nacionalista

That is true. Last time I visited Puerto Rico, a couple months ago, I filled up in Barceloneta on my way back from the Arecibo observatory.

The price was .36 (cents) a liter. There are 3.79 liters in a galon:

So .36(3.79) = 1.3644 or $1.36

When I got to Virginia the gas was $1.399 a galon.

We have to understand that while Puerto Rico is attached to the USA via a umbilical cord, whatever happens in the USA, is reflected in PR.

For example, the unemployment index increased in the USA in April, so did in PR. That is why I laughed of the PNP rep that accused Sila for that, which in turn showed this rep knowledge of current events and understanding of the economy issue.

Very sharp observations, you are a good accountant!!! But you must also realize that while we had our last recession in the USA, Puerto Rico was having an economical UPSURGE, that lasted until last November.

With the arrival of Sila we are not only witnessing the effects of the US economy on Puerto Rico, but a dramatic shift from a previous pro-business local government, to a very socialist and dramatically anti-business local government, one whose solutions to all economic issues is to crank up government expending. That is why while the USA has a dowturn and the US government is giving a tax cut to all of us taxpayers (I'll be getting my first tax cut related refund in the weeks ahead ), the Puerto Rico government has stated that it can't afford to give tax cuts.

Now, when there were good times Puerto Rico could easily afford to have high government expenses, but now that times are "bad" and the clown governor has poked with her witch nails Uncle Sam in the eye, where is all the money to carry out the socialist wishes of the clown governor going to come from ? I bet you that a huge tax increase in Puerto Rico is in the works...

[El_Jibaro]

Gasoline Panic Bubble Bursts; Pump Prices Set to Fall


Updated: Wed, Jun 06 2:48 PM EDT
By Richard Valdmanis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. gasoline pump prices are poised to head lower following a large drop in the wholesale market, blotting out doomsday predictions of $3 gasoline this summer, industry experts said Wednesday.

"There was a lot of fear that drove prices up to begin with, and now it's clear that that fear was misplaced," said Ken Miller, analyst for Purvin and Gertz in Houston. "Pump prices are certainly going to come down."

Wholesale gasoline prices in most areas of the country have fallen between 15 and 25 percent since their highs at the end of May due to steadily growing supply. The cost of the fuel fresh from refineries in the Gulf Coast is now as low as 73 cents a gallon, compared with 91 cents less than two weeks ago.


The supply growth has erased a deep deficit and brought U.S. gasoline stocks to more than six million barrels, or 3 percent, ahead of last year. This is attributed to a brisk domestic refining pace and strong imports, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API).

The outlook could awaken the nation's motorists from their gasoline nightmare, caused by near-record retail prices of $1.69 a gallon, and more than $2 a gallon in certain areas of the West Coast and Midwest, according to the American Automobile Association's (AAA) daily survey.

The high prices were driven by fears of short supplies this summer -- a season of traditionally high gasoline demand -- and recollections of last year's spike in the Midwest which drove prices as high as $2.75 in some major cities.

But this summer's relief is not likely to come immediately, analysts said, since retailers often take two weeks or more to start reflecting their lower costs at the pumps.

"It looks like the improved supplies will be depressing gasoline prices at the marketplace," said Jerry Cheske, spokesman for the AAA. "But, historically speaking, retail prices are slower to follow wholesale declines than increases."

Cheske added that regional supply disruptions, like a refinery shutdown or a pipeline leak, could send prices at some service stations the other way. Also, Iraq's cutoff of most of its oil exports due to a row with the United Nations could keep crude oil prices high and offer support for gasoline values.

Nonetheless, the improved outlook puts the prospect of $3 gasoline farther out of reach, even after reports of oil companies ordering large number '3's in California this spring to hang in the dollar slot at filling stations.

"The shortage is over," said one Texas gasoline trader Wednesday. "There's plenty of gasoline out there."