Energy Tomorrow Blog
Hurricane Update: Florida’s Fuel Receiving Ports Reopening
hurricane response florida fuel supply infrastructure
Mark Green
Posted September 14, 2017
While the recovery in Florida – as well as the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast – will continue over weeks and months, developments indicate the state’s fuel supply remains a top priority and is being served with the help of industry and state and local officials. This is encouraging, given Irma’s Sunday landfall. The historic resiliency of our energy supply system is a part of that – the ability and flexibility of markets to adjust and help areas where fuel product needs are acute.
Hurricane Update: Storage Tank Safety, Improved Fuel Outlook
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Mark Green
Posted September 12, 2017
Hurricane Update: Three things you need to know about claims of fuel price gouging
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Mark Green
Posted September 8, 2017
1. Industry Does Not Condone Price Gouging
2. Gasoline Stations are largely owned by mom-and-pop retailers
3. Supply and Demand Influences Prices
Hurricane Update: Focusing on Fuel Supplies Before Irma Arrives
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Mark Green
Posted September 7, 2017
As the Texas-Louisiana region continues its recovery from Hurricane Harvey, energy companies are making preparations for Hurricane Irma, which the National Hurricane Center projects could make landfall in Florida on Sunday. The big issue in Florida is consumer access to fuel. Companies are working with state and federal officials to meet needs.
Harvey Update: Price Impacts and the Need for Patience, Consideration
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Mark Green
Posted September 6, 2017
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports on rising gasoline prices in the wake of Hurricane Harvey and notes that the storm’s impact on prices is similar to the big hurricanes of 2005, Katrina and Rita. … EIA’s report underscores a number of points we’ve been making about the oil supply chain, of which the Texas-Louisiana region is part – especially the section of that chain that shows the path of refined products from refineries to retail outlets – and the need for patience as processes come back online.
Harvey Update: Supply, Demand and Gasoline Markets
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Mark Green
Posted September 5, 2017
Before then-Hurricane Harvey first made landfall, we discussed how mega-weather events historically have impacted the regional/national oil supply chain and supply levels in the marketplace. The uncertain path of Hurricane Irma will drive continued conversation about storm effects on refineries and other energy infrastructure and the potential for market impacts around the country. That’s the context for some basics about the fuel marketplace and the processes that bring finished consumer products from refineries to retail outlets.
The Facts About Natural Gas Storage
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Marty Durbin
Posted February 5, 2016
Our industry’s continuing commitment to safety is underscored in a new federal advisory bulletin on underground natural gas storage facilities that urges field operators to implement industry best practices developed by API and other organizations. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA):
Operators must adhere to applicable State regulations for the permitting, drilling, completion, and operation of storage wells. In developing, implementing, and updating their safety and integrity programs, we encourage underground gas storage facility operators to … voluntarily implement American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practices (RP) … and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) standards entitled “Natural Gas Storage in Salt Caverns – A Guide for State Regulators” (IOGCC Guide), as applicable. … API has an accredited process to develop recommended practices and standards that involves industry, manufacturers, engineering firms, construction contractors, the public, academia, and government.
API worked with other trade associations and PHMSA to develop two recommended practices (RPs) last year – one focused on safe practices for designing, storing and operating natural gas in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and another detailing how to safely design, store and operate natural gas in salt caverns. Both RPs discuss proper construction methods, materials and maintenance practices to ensure safe operations.
Taking Stock of America’s Energy Revolution
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Mark Green
Posted May 26, 2015
Reuters: U.S. Republicans have had to watch from the sidelines as the Obama White House has taken political credit for America's unexpected energy boom and tumbling gas prices. Now it has left their presidential candidates scrambling for a way to reclaim leadership on an issue the party once seemed to own.
Their apparent answer: calling time on a 40-year-old federal ban on crude oil exports and using the newfound energy bounty to strategic advantage.
"We've got an abundance of supply," Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said this week in Oklahoma at a gathering of putative Republican candidates for next year's presidential election. Lifting the ban, he said, would allow exports to "our allies in Europe, where, instead of being dependent on (President) Vladimir Putin and the Russians, they could be dependent on Americans."
Maritime System Delivers Energy for America
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Mark Green
Posted May 26, 2015
Thinking about American energy, one underappreciated component is our national maritime system – connecting sources of oil with U.S. destinations and also exported domestic resources that help make the U.S. an energy superpower. National Maritime Day last week reminds us of the vital link this system provides in the energy supply chain.
Noteable: America’s marine highway system consists of more than 29,000 nautical miles of navigable waterways – the most extensive system in the world – infrastructure that’s vital to our economy, about 42 percent of all waterborne trade in the U.S. in 2012 was comprised of crude or petroleum products, reflecting the fact the U.S. imports about 10 million barrels of oil per day and more.
U.S. Energy – It’s All About Supply
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Mark Green
Posted May 19, 2015
Solid bipartisan support for important energy legislation is on display in the U.S. Senate, with members of a key committee considering a number of ways to increase access to domestic supplies of oil and natural gas – as well as bills ending 1970s-era restrictions on U.S. crude oil exports.
Energy security is about having secure, reliable energy supplies to fuel broad economic expansion and create opportunity for individual Americans. When we remove outdated export restrictions, allowing U.S. energy to reach global markets, studies have detailed how domestic production will be stimulated – again, creating jobs and economic growth here at home. API Executive Vice President Louis Finkel talks about new legislation offered by Democrat Heidi Heitkamp, similar to legislation offered last week by Republican Lisa Murkowski, that would lift the crude export ban and boost U.S. energy:
“Bipartisan leadership on this issue keeps the focus on the consumers and workers that will benefit from free trade in crude oil. … Study after study shows that lifting outdated limits on crude exports will allow America to create more jobs, cut the trade deficit, grow the economy, and put downward pressure on fuel costs. Exports will help keep U.S. production strong in a tough market, and they will provide our allies with an important alternative to energy from less friendly regimes.”