Oil prices crashing??????
Could have fooled me. Gas station prices have held steddy or gone up a little in the past few weeks.
Could it be they are “gouging” the public???
Not just oil...but coal and LNG...coupled with some of the lowest costs of energy on the planet...huge infrastructure investment in plants to produce petrochemicals...raw materials for the global plastic industry(s)
The Baytown Olefins Plant in Texas is ExxonMobil's largest ethylene production facility in the world. The firm’s new ethane steam cracker, scheduled to start up in 2017, will increase the site’s ethylene capacity by 70 percent. Photo courtesy of ExxonMobil
In the ongoing race to land the largest chemical manufacturing projects in the US, Texas and Louisiana stand out as the veritable Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps of the competition. They don’t just beat their opponents; they win by a mile.
Consider the evidence of the recent past:
From 2007 through 2015, Texas ranks first in total plastics exports. During that same time period, Texas ranks first in chemical exports.
From 2011 through 2015, Texas ranks first in total corporate facility investment projects in plastics and chemicals, with 256. Louisiana ranks third with 150.
Fueled mostly by large-scale investments into new chemical manufacturing plants, Texas led all states in total business capital investment last year with $48.3 billion, while Louisiana ranked second with $33.9 billion. The next highest-ranking state, California, had $7 billion.
Net exporter of oil?
Why do people keep claiming that?
We consume in the range of 19 million barrels a day.
We produce less than 12 million barrels per day.
Average Historical Annual Gasoline Pump Price, 1929-2015
| Year |
Retail Gasoline Price
(Current dollars/gallon) |
Retail Gasoline Price
(Constant 2015 dollars/gallon) |
| 1929 |
0.21 |
2.38 |
| 1930 |
0.20 |
2.30 |
| 1931 |
0.17 |
2.18 |
| 1932 |
0.18 |
2.61 |
| 1933 |
0.18 |
2.66 |
| 1934 |
0.19 |
2.67 |
| 1935 |
0.19 |
2.62 |
| 1936 |
0.19 |
2.67 |
| 1937 |
0.20 |
2.63 |
| 1938 |
0.20 |
2.64 |
| 1939 |
0.19 |
2.56 |
| 1940 |
0.18 |
2.49 |
| 1941 |
0.19 |
2.43 |
| 1942 |
0.20 |
2.39 |
| 1943 |
0.21 |
2.30 |
| 1944 |
0.21 |
2.25 |
| 1945 |
0.21 |
2.19 |
| 1946 |
0.21 |
1.96 |
| 1947 |
0.23 |
1.97 |
| 1948 |
0.26 |
2.09 |
| 1949 |
0.27 |
2.17 |
| 1950 |
0.27 |
2.14 |
| 1951 |
0.27 |
2.03 |
| 1952 |
0.27 |
2.01 |
| 1953 |
0.29 |
2.08 |
| 1954 |
0.29 |
2.08 |
| 1955 |
0.29 |
2.05 |
| 1956 |
0.30 |
2.04 |
| 1957 |
0.31 |
2.05 |
| 1958 |
0.30 |
1.96 |
| 1959 |
0.31 |
1.94 |
| 1960 |
0.31 |
1.95 |
| 1961 |
0.31 |
1.91 |
| 1962 |
0.31 |
1.88 |
| 1963 |
0.30 |
1.84 |
| 1964 |
0.30 |
1.82 |
| 1965 |
0.31 |
1.83 |
| 1966 |
0.32 |
1.83 |
| 1967 |
0.33 |
1.84 |
| 1968 |
0.34 |
1.79 |
| 1969 |
0.35 |
1.77 |
| 1970 |
0.36 |
1.72 |
| 1971 |
0.36 |
1.67 |
| 1972 |
0.36 |
1.59 |
| 1973 |
0.39 |
1.62 |
| 1974 |
0.53 |
2.03 |
| 1975 |
0.57 |
1.98 |
| 1976 |
0.59 |
1.96 |
| 1977 |
0.62 |
1.94 |
| 1978 |
0.63 |
1.83 |
| 1979 |
0.86 |
2.31 |
| 1980 |
1.19 |
2.95 |
| 1981 |
1.31 |
2.97 |
| 1982 |
1.22 |
2.60 |
| 1983 |
1.16 |
2.37 |
| 1984 |
1.13 |
2.23 |
| 1985 |
1.12 |
2.14 |
| 1986 |
0.86 |
1.61 |
| 1987 |
0.90 |
1.64 |
| 1988 |
0.90 |
1.59 |
| 1989 |
1.00 |
1.70 |
| 1990 |
1.15 |
1.89 |
| 1991 |
1.14 |
1.81 |
| 1992 |
1.13 |
1.75 |
| 1993 |
1.11 |
1.68 |
| 1994 |
1.11 |
1.65 |
| 1995 |
1.15 |
1.67 |
| 1996 |
1.23 |
1.76 |
| 1997 |
1.23 |
1.74 |
| 1998 |
1.06 |
1.47 |
| 1999 |
1.17 |
1.60 |
| 2000 |
1.51 |
2.02 |
| 2001 |
1.46 |
1.91 |
| 2002 |
1.36 |
1.75 |
| 2003 |
1.59 |
2.01 |
| 2004 |
1.88 |
2.32 |
| 2005 |
2.30 |
2.74 |
| 2006 |
2.59 |
3.00 |
| 2007 |
2.80 |
3.16 |
| 2008 |
3.27 |
3.61 |
| 2009 |
2.35 |
2.58 |
| 2010 |
2.79 |
3.02 |
| 2011 |
3.53 |
3.75 |
| 2012 |
3.64 |
3.80 |
| 2013 |
3.53 |
3.62 |
| 2014 |
3.37 |
3.40 |
| 2015 |
2.45 |
2.45 |
|
Sources:
Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, Table 9.4. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product Accounts, Table 1.1.9. Implicit Price Deflators for Gross Domestic Product, February 2016. |
Return to 2016 Facts of the Week
Gasoline prices in New Mexico are higher in the oil producing areas, likely because marketers know that the demand is high for diesel and gasoline in drilling and moving crude by truck (pipelines are inadequate at the present time.
I drove from ABQ to Hobbs yesterday and filled up at Moriarty and Roswell for $2.45 at both locations. Prices in Hobbs are $2.95 to $3.05, 50 cents or higher than other areas of the state.