Page 81 - Refining Capacity News Today

>> i heard its be the blend. were getting ready to switch to the summer blend and this is why. is that a legitimate reason here? >> you know, normally in past years it would. theres a certain time of year where thats happening. but whats really happening here, the refining industry is doing what the airline industry is doing and thats reducing capacity really massively. we lost over a million barrels of refining capacity just to shutdowns over the last year now. >> why would they voluntarily do ...

Thought this is it. they spike for a little bit. 24, 48 hours and then come back to where they were before. >> brenda: jonas? do you have any concerns about this? hurricane isaac when it hit, caused the biggest jump in gas prices in 18 months. >> and in this case, no, in connecticut i couldnt drive because there were trees down and your mobility goes down to the point where fuel consumption will drop as much as refining capacity unless it freakingly hits the refinery because you cant get to work...

All. gasoline prices are too high, even though theyve come down recently theyre too high and we dont have any slack in this economy so this thing would be kicking our compli eco hat a time were not circling the drain, but on the edge of the toilet. i dont think that consumers can afford the increase in the gasoline prices, nor can they afford the economic hit that they would take in that region, rebuilding at a time, again, where things are difficult in the first place. >> gary b, are you worrie...

Refineries to shut down. our guest has seen this time and time again. and it could be particularly acute. explain. >>guest: it could be a disaster, a trick or a treat. right now, northeast refineries and supplies of gasoline are at historic lows. they depend on imports and refining capacity. we have 6.1 percent of the refining capacity along the northeast right now that is in jeopardy so if that shut down we can see a 25 to 50 cent rally. and now or side of the equation, if we miss it, the sell ...

Sources and improving our own energy efficiency to save money, i think those are legitimate ways. >> greta: so i suppose if that green energy comes to mind but there are problems weve had with green energy in this administration. its sort of i think... >> yes. there have been some. it hasnt been as bad if you look at totality as if you take one that failed but the fuel side is slightly different. i hi on fuel side discoveries of natural gas and possibilities that open truck fleets in those areas...

Sources and improving our own energy efficiency to save money, i think those are legitimate ways. >> greta: so i suppose if that green energy comes to mind but there are problems weve had with green energy in this administration. its sort of i think... >> yes. there have been some. it hasnt been as bad if you look at totality as if you take one that failed but the fuel side is slightly different. i hi on fuel side discoveries of natural gas and possibilities that open truck fleets in those areas...

Can take some of the blame but not all. reporter: isaac still dumping some heavy rains along the gulf coast region. many refineries are still shut down right now. some of them are operating at reduced rates. but about 1.3 barrels, i should say million barrels of refining capacity, have been affected by this storm. that is what is driving up as prices at the pump. in fact, aaa reporting that national average jumped another 2 cents of $22.83 is a national average. that is up 30 cents from just one...

All of us live from washington. peter, what can you tell us? >> the gulf accounts for 20% of total u.s. oil production and about 7% of natural gas. the government says that isaac has disrupted about 93% of oil and 67% of natural gas production. as for that critical refining capacity, the government estimates the storm has cut production by more than 900,000 barrels per day. about 12% of total capacity. all of this did send the prices a bit. but fortunately, isaak largely missed the production pl...

>> a lot of people watch weather coverage like this, even in the middle of the night because they like to watch weather. but really, even if you are not in this area, this is a storm that could affect all of us. let me just start with gas prices. food prices. power prices. whap do you think about the platforms that are out there right now and the ability to continue to provide fuel that we will need, the rest of us, after this storm. hows it looking? >> well, first of all, we need to recognize t...

>> the cost of fuel goes up and the cost of what we deliver goes up because we have to try to cover it and then the stores charge more and the people are the ones losing out. >> reporter: demand is up but there are other factors as well. for example the drought in the midwest has meant that the corn crop has been reduced and ethanol prices are going up. refining capacity is down. two refineries offline in the midwest. a third caught fire on the west coast. still tensions in the middle east and m...