Recent Gas News/GasBuddy Blog

Forbes -- The Keystone XL pipeline may have kicked off the presidential race but it’s also setting the stage for a Battle Royale in Congress. Not only are senior House Republican preparing to link its construction to key spending bills but they are also playing up the Obama administration’s apparent hypocrisy.

When news spread on Friday that the U.S. Department of State had approved two years ago a similar oil sands pipeline, even members of the president’s party were caught off guard. That approval, which paved the way for the 326-mile “Alberta Clipper” stretching from Canada to Wisconsin and began operations in October 2010, was made with the president’s blessings.

That news is now giving even more fodder to Republican members, who have argued strenuously that the Keystone pipeline is not...  (go to article)

MarketWatch Pulse --
Crude-oil futures traded lower Monday as investors were concerned about the threat of a default in Greece and its impact on the global economy, and the dollar traded higher. Crude for March delivery declined 70 cents, or 0.7%, to $97.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Greece is seen as running out of time to work out a deal for a second bailout package as party leaders have resisted more austerity measures.

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foxbusiness.com -- Representative Alcee Hastings, (D-FL), introduced a bill that would abolish write-offs oil companies take on their tax returns for the costs of cleaning up their oil spills.

Taxpayers have footed oil companies’ cleanup costs for decades. For instance, BP can deduct on its tax returns cleanup costs and settlements for its massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Estimates already show those costs may amount to $32 billion, which could translate into a $10 billion tax write-off for the oil major.

But these deductions are meant for the "ordinary costs of doing business," reads the tax law.

Are oil spills “business as usual’? Or should taxpayers foot the bill for oil companies’ own negligence?

...slamming this loophole shut would save taxpayers an average $1.3 billion annually.  (go to article)

Wall Street Journal -- Not everyone in Canada supports the proposed oil pipeline from Alberta to the U.S. and to the British Columbia coast.

Claude Gravelle, vice chair of the Canadian Parliament's Natural Resources Committee, spoke about how the exporting of Canadian oil could translate into oil spills, environmental costs and lost Canadian jobs.

Gravelle, talked about his controversial meetings with U.S. lawmakers, problems with China's human rights record and his dispute with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's take on how to bring financial security to Canadians.

[Harper] is giving [the oil industry] billions of dollars in subsidies. How does that assure our financial security? We're giving money away and we're giving jobs away. We want to do it differently.

More and more Canadians are in opposition  (go to article)

The Detroit Free Press -- Clint Eastwood’s appearance in Chrysler’s Super Bowl commercial was not intended as a political statement or endorsement of President Barack Obama, the actor’s production company said today.
“The ad is not intended to have a political message, but rather one of American pride and job growth,” a representative from Malpaso Productions of Burbank, Calif., told the Free Press today..
Earlier today, Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne also said that the company’s two-minute Super Bowl ad is not a political message.
“It has zero political content,” Marchionne said in an interview this morning with Paul. W. Smith on WJR-AM 760. “The message is sufficiently universal and neutral that it should be appealing to everybody in this country and I sincerely hope that it doesn’t get utilized as  (go to article)

The Detroit News By David Shepardson and Serena Maria Daniels -- Las Vegas— Chrysler Group aired a poignant Super Bowl ad that drew praises for pairing a Motor City turnaround to a U.S. economic rebound.

"The people of Detroit almost lost everything," said the two-minute Chrysler spot narrated by Clint Eastwood that featured autoworkers, an abandoned building and a city flag.

"We find a way through tough times … Detroit's showing it can be done. And what's true about them is true about all of us."

For a second year, Chrysler took a chance, skipping traditional auto marketing to focus on a broader message to generate buzz and stand out in a Super Bowl jammed with ads from a dozen automakers.

The halftime ad showed Eastwood talking about the challenges the United States faces — a follow-up to last year's "Born of Fire" ad that featured Eminem, seen mo  (go to article)

Reuters -- Republicans in the House of Representatives will try to force quick approval of the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline using a highway funding bill, but the plan's author said on Monday there may be more than one avenue for advancing the project.

President Barack Obama's administration blocked TransCanada's $7 billion project last month.

A key House panel is set to vote on Tuesday to attach a plan to speed approval for the project into the highway bill, but a must-pass payroll tax cut legislation provides another option, said Lee Terry, a Republican from Nebraska.

"We'll keep swinging," Terry told reporters.

"Maybe we'll use both."

Terry's plan is slated for a vote by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday.  (go to article)

Forbes -- If you thought just about every other commercial during the Super Bowl was a car commercial, you were right.

Including pre-game, 52 auto spots appeared during NBC’s telecast, pitching everything from Hyundais and Toyotas to Volkswagens and Dodge Ram trucks. And if there was any doubt about GM spending on the Super Bowl again, it’s been erased by the 11 spots the company bought (most were pre-game ads, though Chevy rolled out spots for the Silverado, Sonic and Camaro during the game).

That’s a lot of car clutter. So which companies did the best job breaking through? Sales will ultimately tell. But one early metric is page activity on popular car sight Edmunds.com, the first place some viewers go to check out a car after their interest has been piqued. “There’s a whole movement around...  (go to article)

ABC News -- Fisker Automotive, the maker of an exotic electric sports car that is being built with help from a $529 million federal government loan guarantee, has announced layoffs at its Delaware plant as it tries to persuade the Department of Energy to send it more public funds.

The company says 26 Fisker employees have been let go from the Delaware factory where renowned automotive engineer Henrik Fisker promised to one day begin producing affordable electric sedans. A Delaware newspaper also reported that subcontractors working on the car venture have been let go.Fisker was one of a handful of auto companies to receive sizeable federal loans to help support the birth of an electric car industry in the United States. As ABC News reported in October, Fisker's efforts have been beset by delays. A  (go to article)

CNN iReport video -- ScottCannon shares with us this video from Dimock, Pennsylvania. He shot the video on January 31. The video includes an interview with Susan Roos, a resident of Dimock who claims her water supply has been contaminated by gas extraction practices. This video package also includes an interview with EPA spokesperson Trish Taylor, who is part of a team investigating claims in the area.

ScottCannon says: 'Call me crazy, but this information is needed to preserve our environment, clear water, and clean air for future generations, as promised in our state constitution. For me, it’s a moral obligation. Our mission is to educate the public on the negative effects of gas drilling.' He is on the executive board of the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition, Inc. of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.  (go to article)

drudge -- But Saudi Arabia has already said it will not let the price of oil, which closed Monday around $97 a barrel, go above $100, bin Talal said.  (go to article)

The Street -- For the second year in a row it appears Chrysler has the dominant ad of the Super Bowl, passing the role of spokesman from Eminem to Clint Eastwood.

Last year the automaker topped most tabulations of the best Super Bowl ads with its "Made in Detroit," featuring Eminem extolling the city's virtues. The ad is credited with helping Chrysler achieve a 26% sales gain last year. It was so successful, in fact, that initially Chrysler could not keep up with the demand it stimulated.

This year, Chrysler turned to another crusty, tough-talking superstar, Clint Eastwood, who seemed to continue his role from the 2008 movie Gran Torino, which was set in Detroit. Or perhaps we should just say Eastwood played himself, as he has always done.
 (go to article)

WJXT Jacksonville? - -- rivers paid more for a gallon of gas this past January than ever before.According to a new report from AAA, January's monthly average was $3.37, 28 cents more than January 2011, and 66 cents more than in 2010, when the monthly average was $2.71.

Gas prices in Jacksonville reached as high as $3.69 a gallon last month, according to the report.

The group says things won't be getting better anytime soon.

The national average is expected to surpass $3.50 a gallon this week, while Florida's average already hit $3.60. Prices could go up 60 more cents by May.

The price of gasoline continues to rise even as oil prices trade below $100 a barrel for the fourth consecutive week.

Closed refineries are being blamed for the rise in retail gas prices after multiple refineries shut down in the Nort  (go to article)

U.S. News & World Report -- Now that the unemployment rate is marching downward, the GOP might have to find another economic woe to harangue President Obama about. If they look to their local gas pump, they could be in luck.

Thanks to tensions in the Middle East and refinery closures stateside, experts are projecting gasoline prices to jump 60 cents by Memorial Day. That's on top of an 11-cent spike over the past four weeks on the already sky-high gas prices Americans saw in January, the highest on record.

Experts say prices could even jump to $5 per gallon in cities such as New York and Chicago, and that pain at the pump could translate into some pain at the polls for Obama.
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Associated Press -- Chemicals giant Solvay hailed Monday the successful entry into service in Flanders of what it said was the largest fuel cell of its type in the world.

A super-battery that produces enough electricity to power nearly 1,400 homes, the Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell has been producing clean electricity at a "steady rate" for weeks at a SolVin plant part-owned by Germany's BASF in Antwerp, northern Dutch-speaking Belgium.

SolVin is a market leader in vinyl, or PVC production.

The fuel cell converts the chemical energy from hydrogen into clean electricity through an electrochemical reaction with oxygen, and "has generated over 500 MWh in about 800 hours of operation," Solvay said in a news release.

The company said this equates to the electricity consumption of 1,370 families over  (go to article)

msnbc.com -- Just three years after the automaker drove into government-run bankruptcy, requiring a massive taxpayer-funded bailout to keep it in business, General Motors is setting its sights on making over $10 billion a year, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reports that GM is already on track to achieve that goal, citing company sources that the Journal said have seen the company’s 2011 fourth-quarter results, which are due to be reported next week. GM is set to report net income of about $8 billion, its highest ever, and nearly twice the
 (go to article)

Msnbc.com -- ExxonMobil Corp. posted fourth-quarter net income Tuesday of $9.4 billion, up 2 percent from the same quarter a year ago and slightly above market expectations, helped by rising crude oil prices.

It's also more money than The Bahamas' annual GDP, according to the CIA Factbook.

The net income (excluding special items) equates to $1.97 a share, up from $1.85 per share in the comparable quarter. Revenue for the largest U.S. oil company rose 16 percent to $121.61 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $1.96 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

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GasBuddy Blog -- California has the most expensive red-light camera tickets in the world; and the tickets are so steep, according to Kevin Fagan, reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, that one camera in Oakland generates more than $3 million annually.

According to Fagan and the traffic-watch site TheNewspaper.com, anyone in California photographed violating a red light pays a fine of $480 and no other jurisdiction in the U.S. has a tab that high. The second-highest fine in the U.S. is $250, Fagan says.

California's Dept. of Finance estimates that red-light cameras bring in more than $80 million annually to the state and $50 million to cities and counties. Not all $480 from each ticket goes to the cities or counties that authorize...  (go to article)

autoblog -- Chinese automakers imitating Ford F-150  (go to article)

Anchorage Daily News online -- YINKA IBUKUN
The Associated Press

Published: February 6th, 2012 01:52 AM
Last Modified: February 6th, 2012 02:31 AM

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - The burning inferno of what used to be a Chevron Corp. natural gas rig still stains the night's sky orange more than two weeks after the rig caught fire, and no one can say when it will end as swarms of dead fish surface.

The environmental damage is hitting a region whose poor still rely on the delta's muddy waters for survival. A nearby clinic remains overrun with patients who are showing up with skin irritations and gastrointestinal problems.

"The community here has no other source of water apart from the river water, which on its own isn't even safe enough to drink, but the pollution has made the water even worse," said Dr. Oladipo Folorunso, the  (go to article)

Anchorage Daily News online -- CHUKCHI SEA: Regulatory hurdles have to be cleared; machinery is being upgraded.

By DAN JOLING
Associated Press

Published: February 5th, 2012 10:48 PM
Last Modified: February 5th, 2012 10:49 PM

It's the billion-dollar question in Alaska for 2012: Will this be the year Shell Oil begins large-scale offshore exploratory drilling in Arctic waters?

Two months into 2012, the oil giant is beyond the lead time it said it needed to assemble the flotilla of support vessels that must accompany drill ships to leases in the remote Chukchi and Beaufort seas. But Shell Alaska Vice President Pete Slaiby remains hopeful drilling can begin when Arctic Ocean ice melts this summer, even as he awaits a green light from regulators.

"There is clearly more certainty with the regulatory process than we've had  (go to article)

KMSP -- Gasbuddy.com predicts gas prices will hit $3.55 per gallon by the end of February and $4 by Memorial Day weekend.  (go to article)

GasBuddy Blog -- Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed this morning SB965, giving the City of Chicago new authority to use its extensive network of red light running cameras as speed cameras. The law becomes active on July 1, so motorists should be prepared.

This new law, authorities say, has always been for the protection of children and not about revenue. However, the same authorities argue that red light cameras also are only for safety, even while many studies have shown this is not the case. Such studies as a 2008 University of Florida study, or a 2007 Virginia Department of Transportation study that showed "the cameras were associated with an increase in total crashes... The aggregate EB results suggested that this increase was 29%... The cameras...  (go to article)

Gant Daily -- Lawmakers in Pennsylvania have reached an agreement on a bill charging companies an “impact fee” for drilling natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, legislation that is expected to be part of Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget address on Tuesday.

Compromise legislation reconciling differences between House Bill 1950 and Senate Bill 1100 is said to have been drafted over the weekend by top legislative aides.

Corbett, a Republican at the end of his first year in office, and the GOP-controlled legislature have not released details on the tentative measure. The Post-Gazette reports that the impact fee would be between $190,000 and $355,000 per drilling well depending on the price of natural gas.

Debate on the legislation centers on whether to tax energy producers for operations in the Marcellus Shal  (go to article)

CNET -- If solar startups Alta Devices and Semprius were in the server business, one would be developing a deluxe high-powered server while the other would be stringing thousands of Linux boxes together. Both approaches, though, are showing promise at bringing the cost of solar power down.

Alta Devices today said it set the record for the most efficient solar cell, able to convert 23.5 percent of sunlight into electricity. The University of California at Berkeley spin-out said the efficiency mark, verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is a step toward commercializing its novel solar technology.

The company is making solar cells from gallium arsenide, a very efficient material typically used on high-end concentrating photovoltaic collectors or solar panels in space.  (go to article)

Wired Magazine -- The object, vaguely pink, sits on the shoulder of the freeway, slowly shimmering into view. Is it roadkill? A weird kind of sagebrush? No, wait, it’s … a puffy chunk of foam insulation! “The laser almost certainly got returns off of it,” says Chris Urmson, sitting behind the wheel of the Prius he is not driving. A note is made (FOD: foreign object or debris, lane 1) as we drive past, to help our computerized car understand the curious flotsam it has just seen.

It’s a Monday, midday, and we are heading north on California Highway 85 in a Google autonomous vehicle. In October 2010, when The New York Times reported that Google had built a fleet of self-driving cars that had already collectively traversed some 140,000 miles of California asphalt, it came as a shock, a terrestrial Sputnik.  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- European gasoline rose to the highest in more than four months as Mercuria Energy Trading SA bought on the barge market. The motor fuel’s premium to Brent crude, or crack, declined.
 (go to article)

San Francisco Cronicle -- California has the most expensive red-light camera tickets in the world - the fine is so steep that one camera in Oakland generates more than $3 million a year  (go to article)

The Telegraph -- Oil prices could fall to $70 a barrel during 2012, from current levels above $110, as high volatility in the economy and energy markets becomes "a fact of life", Royal Dutch Shell executives said.

 (go to article)

CNNMoney -- Once again, Chrysler's Super Bowl ad won the hearts and minds of football fans, this time with a little help from Clint Eastwood and, of course, Detroit.

"This country can't be knocked out in one punch," Eastwood, said. "We get right back up again, and when we do, the world will hear the roar of our engines. It's half time, America."

 (go to article)

The Christian Science Monitor -- Oil prices, which fell below $97 a barrel on Monday, are not poised to surge in the long run because long-term production is declining. Better technology and, if needed, higher oil prices mean the long predicted peak in oil production is a long way off. Most commodity prices are collapsing. Copper is down 18 percent from its February 2011 peak. Corn prices are off by a quarter since last summer. Natural-gas prices are half the level of six months ago. Yet crude oil, down from its April peak of $114 per barrel, has risen by a third from its October low of $76 to again flirt with the $100 mark.

On Monday, they dropped below $97 on concerns about the lack of a deal on Greek debt.

 (go to article)

The Financial Post -- Between the fallout from the Fukushima disaster and the glut of natural gas hitting markets, the future of the nuclear industry in North America is in limbo.

Boosters used to talk of a resurgence in the market for nuclear energy as concerns about reliance on fossil fuels and the harmful effects of greenhouse gases mounted, but recent events have put a decided damper on that enthusiasm.

“Just looking at the economics, the renaissance is definitely on hold,” says Bryne Purchase, former Ontario deputy minister of energy and adjunct professor at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.  (go to article)

ESSEN, Germany -(Dow Jones) -- The European Union is working on plans to ensure security of energy supply--including opening member states' strategic oil reserves--if deliveries from Iran were to suddenly cease amid an ongoing dispute over the country's nuclear weapons program, said the EU's energy chief Guenther Oettinger at an industry conference here Monday.

We are working on plans that would help us ensure security of supply, if Iran were to stop delivering oil before the EU embargo against the country kicks in July," said Oettinger.

Asked if these plans also include tapping emergency stocks, Oettinger said that such a move couldn't be ruled out.

However, he also said that the EU believes that any supply disruptions could also be mitigated by channeling oil through the EU's existing pipeline network  (go to article)

Central Florida Future -- Last Wednesday, Josh Fox, the director of the documentary Gasland, was arrested during a House meeting with the EPA on the issue of contaminated drinking water due to a natural gas extraction process known as hydraulic fracturing."

Fox said in a statement, "I was not expecting to be arrested for practicing journalism. Today's hearing in the House Energy and Environment subcommittee was called to examine EPA's findings that hydraulic fracturing fluids contaminated groundwater in the town of Pavillion, Wyoming."

The residents of Pavillion have maintained since 2008 that fracking has contaminated their water supply.

Fracking is a toxic extraction process set up in the name of progress that is hurting the health of many Americans.  (go to article)

Business Week -- Ford Motor Co.’s global marketing chief says the automaker is focused on high “real world” fuel efficiency in its vehicles after a California woman won a case against Honda Motor Co. for failing to meet mileage claims.

Heather Peters, owner of a 2006 Civic Hybrid, won $9,867 in small claims court in Los Angeles last week, alleging Tokyo- based Honda overstated the model’s fuel economy. Honda has said it will appeal the ruling, and that the car’s efficiency rating was determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“As fuel economy becomes more important, all the manufacturers are looking to be more dramatic in their advertising claims,” Jim Farley, told reporters today in Las Vegas at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention.  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Oil fell from the highest price in three days in New York on speculation Greece’s steps to avert a financial collapse may fall short, threatening Europe’s economy and demand for fuel.

Futures dropped as much as 0.9 percent before political leaders in Greece meet today to discuss a detailed agreement for meeting the terms of an international financial rescue. The premium of London-traded Brent oil to New York contracts rose for an eighth day after militants in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude producer, attacked and damaged a pipeline.

“The potential now is for disappointment out of Europe,” said Michael McCarthy, a chief market strategist at CMC Markets Asia Pacific Pty in Sydney. “I suspect this one is going to drag on a fair bit. This echoes the very disappointing rhetoric we’ve he  (go to article)

Reuters -- Oil slipped under $114 a barrel on Monday as traders and investors worried that a failure to agree a deal with Greece for a second bailout would suppress demand in the euro zone, but renewed tensions with Iran kept a floor under prices.

“There’s still not much confidence over the euro zone economies, and that is limiting upside from strong U.S. data and the tensions in Iran,” said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives manager with Newedge Brokerage in Tokyo.

Front-month Brent crude[LCOCV1 114.06 -0.52 (-0.45%)], was down 43 cents to $114.15 a barrel this morning, ending four straight days of gains.

Brent rose 2.8 percent last week to settle near a three-month peak on Friday, after a positive U.S. jobs report fueled hopes of stronger demand in the world's biggest economy.
 (go to article)

Commodityonline.com -- Crude Oil prices could soar to $160 if tensions in Iran blow out of proportion, an executive at the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said. KPC is the state-owned entity responsible for Kuwait's hydrocarbon interests throughout the world.
In an interview with the local Al-Seyassah newspaper, the board member of the KPC, Ali al-Hajeri said that "If the embargo on Iranian oil persists, or in case of a military move over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices are expected to soar to around $150 to $160”. He also went on to add that such a price will not be sustainable and will drop as the reasons for the price rise disappear.

Hajeri believes that $100-$105 level is a fair and acceptable
 (go to article)

Commodityonline.com -- Iran has once again issued a strong statement justifying its right to develop nuclear technology while also asking the European Union (EU) to rethink its decision to ban oil imports from Iran starting July 01, 2012.
"We will not abandon our just nuclear course, even if we cannot sell one drop of oil”.Iran's oil minister Rostam Qasemi was quoted by the IRNA news agency.
The oil minister also asked the EU to reconsider its decision to ban oil imports from Iran. "Unfortunately the EU has succumbed to America's pressure. I hope they would review their decision on sanctioning Iran's oil exports. The international crude market will experience turmoil in the absence of Iranian oil with unforeseen consequences on oil prices”, he said.
The oil minister added that the loss of EU market will  (go to article)

LONDON -(Dow Jones) -- Crude futures were lower Monday, falling with the euro and equities as investors sought to lock in profits following steep gains Friday.

There is a general spout of long liquidation across commodities," said Glen Ward, head of retail derivatives at London Capital Group, adding that gold and silver were also weaker.

At 0917 GMT, the front-month March Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange was 73 cents, or 0.6%, lower at $113.85 a barrel.

The front-month March contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading down $1.18, or 1.2%, at $96.66 a barrel.

 (go to article)

Huffington -- NEW YORK -- Instead of complaining about clean air rules, maybe utilities should cheer them.

Sometimes, the rules lead to big gains.

First Energy, a utility based in Ohio, got such a boost Thursday, a week after the company announced it would close six coal-fired plants, blaming new federal rules aimed at slowing emissions of mercury and other toxins.

Without these plants, electricity prices in parts of Ohio dominated by First Energy are expected to nearly double at a power auction scheduled for May.

The reason: There will now be a smaller fleet of power plants available to meet potential power needs. This smaller supply means the price to coax companies like First Energy to make their plants available will rise.
 (go to article)

SNL -- Amid falling natural gas prices, power prices have become less sensitive to load. And as mild weather tempered demand, January average power prices in regions that rely more heavily on gas fired generation saw the largest year-on-year declines. But the soft power market isn't bad news for all generators.

At 11.3 million MW, ISO New England saw a 4.7% year-on-year decline in electric demand in January 2012. During the same period, NYISO demand declined 3.1% to 13.7 million MW. Reduced load and lower natural gas prices made both on-peak and off-peak power prices much lower and much less volatile in the Northeast year-on-year, according to the SNL Energy Commodities Market Month.
 (go to article)

The Huffington Post -- Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline are taking a well-deserved victory lap. The Obama administration's decision to reject TransCanada's pipeline proposal -- at least for now -- represents an historic win for the environmental movement, and reveals the potency of the emerging alignment between the environmental, anti-corporate, Occupy and other movements.  (go to article)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-smith/green-jobs_b_1249491.html -- Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline are taking a well-deserved victory lap. The Obama administration's decision to reject TransCanada's pipeline proposal -- at least for now -- represents an historic win for the environmental movement, and reveals the potency of the emerging alignment between the environmental, anti-corporate, Occupy and other movements.  (go to article)

MLIVE -- SAGINAW TWP. — On her lunch break more than two years ago, Kristi L. Fritz saw “one of the worst” and dramatic crashes she’s witnessed in her life.

A blue Chevy GMT400 pickup plowed into the passenger side of a much smaller Pontiac Sunfire driven by a 16-year-old Saginaw Township girl.

The teen, police say, was text-messaging when her car pulled into oncoming traffic less than a mile from her home.  (go to article)

USA TODAY -- After rising 19 cents a gallon in the past four weeks, regular unleaded gasoline now averages $3.48 a gallon, vs. $3.12 a year ago and $2.67 in February 2010.

Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service expects average prices to peak at $4.05, although he and other industry trackers say prices could be sharply higher in some markets.  (go to article)

Motor Trend -- Update: Apparently, the folks over at Ford have taken issue with the Chevy Silverado Super Bowl ad that takes a swipe at Ford as a truck that wouldn’t be able to survive an apocalypse. GM has run out a press release in response, quoting GM marketing chief Joel Ewanick. The quote is below:

“We stand by our claims in the commercial, that the Silverado is the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickup on the road. The ad is a fun way of putting this claim in the context of the apocalypse,” said General Motors Global Chief Marketing Officer Joel Ewanick. “We can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize. In the meantime, people who are really worried about the Mayan calendar coming true should buy a Silverado right away.

(with videos)  (go to article)

The Globe & Mail -- General Motors Canada and Bullfrog Power Inc. are teaming up to sell a renewable-energy branded edition of the Chevrolet Volt electric powered car.

The new version of the Volt, which has been on sale in Canada since September, will require buyers to pay $198 to get Bullfrog to inject enough electricity from renewable sources into the grid to power the vehicle for two years.  (go to article)

FT.com -- Iran has indicated that its threat to cut oil supplies to European states in order to pre-empt a European Union oil embargo that comes into effect in July may be only a symbolic one.

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Rostam Ghasemi, Iran’s oil minister, on Saturday said that any cut-off in Iranian oil supplies would target “hostile states” and should not harm European people in winter. “We will certainly cut [oil exports] to some European states,” Mr Ghasemi said, but gave no indication on timi  (go to article)

nationaljournal.com -- As unemployment continues to tick downward, Republicans are searching for messages other than joblessness with which to bludgeon President Obama. On Sunday, GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich hinted at such a new line of attack: Gas prices.

In appearances on both NBC’s Meet the Press and CBS’s Face the Nation, Gingrich cited pain at the pump to make the case against Obama – even if the unemployment rate, which dipped to 8.3 percent in January, continues to drop.

Asked how he would campaign against the incumbent in an improving economy, Gingrich replied: “If it is combined with the highest-priced gasoline in American history because of his anti-American energy policies, he's still going to have a challenge.” He went on to attack an upcoming Environmental Protection Agency rule  (go to article)

Huffington Post -- A final framework is at hand on sweeping legislation to impose an impact fee and update safety regulations on Pennsylvania's booming natural gas industry, top Republican state lawmakers say.

Republicans notified rank-and-file lawmakers Saturday night that they hope to hold votes this week on a framework reached by negotiators from the House, Senate and Gov. Tom Corbett's office during closed-door negotiations over the past six weeks. Pennsylvania is the only major gas-producing state that doesn't tax natural gas production.

"These discussions have progressed rapidly over the course of the last two weeks," House Speaker Sam Smith and House Majority Leader Mike Turzai said in a letter to lawmakers. "In fact, staff have been working throughout the weekend and will be working tomorrow in ord  (go to article)