June 24, 2014 by David Hackett The success of drilling technology in North America’s Mid Continent has lead to a huge increase in crude oil production. In 2010, crude oil production in North Dakota was about 310 thousand barrels per day (kbd). This year, production is expected to reach 1 million barrels per day. Light...
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May 2, 2014 By Lynn Doan, Bloomberg California, the most-populous U.S. state and biggest gasoline market, more than doubled the volume of oil it received by train in the first quarter as deliveries from Canada surged. The third-largest oil-refining state unloaded 1.41 million barrels in the first quarter, up from 693,457 a year ago, data...
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February 14, 2014 by Bradley Olson, Bloomberg The new California crude explorer planned by Occidental (OXY) Petroleum Corp. will emerge as the leading player in the state’s drive to dominate the U.S. oil boom. Believers in a revival of California’s former status as the nation’s biggest producer will find the ideal investment vehicle: a high-growth...
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April 9, 2014 by Lynn Doan, Bloomberg Gasoline output in the western U.S. jumped to a record as refiners and blenders boosted production to meet stricter environmental regulations and tankers were seen exporting fuel from the region. Finished gasoline on the U.S. West Coast, known as the PADD 5 region rose 6.7 percent to 1.7...
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On April 25th, Dave Hackett delivered a presentation at the 2014 AFPM Annual Meeting entitled The Effect of Crude-by-Rail on Refining and Logistics. Everyone in the crude oil supply chain is interested in crude-by-rail (CBR), but there are problems that have to be solved. Crude oil production in the Mid Continent has run way ahead...
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March 24, 2014 by Michael W. Bloch Often when Upstream projects are under development, it maybe difficult for design engineers to see beyond a specific set of capital investment goals. It is important that new Upstream projects be reviewed with a Downstream perspective in advance of making decisions, reviewing draft development plans and commercial agreements,...
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February 12, 2014 Dave Hackett spoke with KGET News Channel 17 about crude by rail projects in Bakersfield, CA. The two part series, entitled Tracking in Oil, investigates proposed crude by rail projects and discusses the benefits and challenges crude by rail projects bring to Bakersfield. Watch Part 1 and Part 2 of this informative...
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March 23, 2014 by Mark Pilcher LNG has been in the news a lot lately. Political opponents have been waging a propaganda war over the economic benefits and the environmental impact of LNG exports from the U.S. LNG has been described as a clean transportation fuel alternative to diesel, and as an environmental Trojan Horse. ...
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March 23, 2014 The latest Bubble Map shows the Bakken discount has narrowed considerably since we last checked in. On March 20th Bakken at Clearbrook, MN was posted at $4 under WTI. The WCS discount has also narrowed to $19 under WTI. On the Gulf Coast, the LLS premium to WTI has shrunk to...
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February 4, 2014 As part of an effort to foster constructive dialogue and action on reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) Energy Project has released three of five commissioned background papers on the RFS. Stillwater Associates is proud to be part of this conversation by providing a white paper entitled...
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December 12, 2013 by David Hackett For a long time I’ve been concerned about the barriers that have been created to stifle industrial development in the United States. Here in California it is virtually impossible to create new industrial facilities. For example, we have a client who has been working for years to develop a...
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January 31, 2014 By Lynn Doan and Dan Murtaugh, Bloomberg.com California, the third-largest oil-refining state in the U.S., is bringing in a record volume of oil from Canada by rail as it faces shrinking supplies from Alaska and within the state. The most populous U.S. state received 709,014 barrels of crude from Canada by rail...
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By Gretchen Morenson and Robert Gebeloff, NY Times It was supposed to help clean the air, reduce dependence on foreign oil and bolster agriculture. But a little known market in ethanol credits has also become a hot new game on Wall Street. The federal government created the market in special credits tied to ethanol eight...
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Update April 23, 2012: BP has continued to be tight-lipped about the Carson Refinery Sale. Keep checking in with Stillwater to stay up-to-date on the latest refinery sale news. Refer to our April Newsletter to find out about East Coast refinery sales. Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter to get in-depth downstream...
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By Dennis Gannaway The distribution of gasoline and diesel from refineries and import points to sales terminal loading racks is a complex activity. Supply programs are often buffeted by shifting economics and a variety of intrusive factors. Most product supply groups have developed operating practices that prevent supply chain problems from affecting tankwagon customers, but...
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Because we want to make a new client’s experience as efficient and productive as possible, we thought it would be helpful to explain the problem solving process Stillwater uses when we first meet a client. Clients come to Stillwater for two main purposes: Companies see opportunities they want to explore and evaluate. Stillwater has long...
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June 5, 2013 by David Hackett Who would have thought three or four years ago that natural gas and crude oil production in the U.S. would grow to the point of tipping the energy supply balance around the globe? According to the Wall Street Journal, cheap natural gas in the U.S. has resulted in lower...
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On December 15th the University of Calgary School of Public Policy released a comprehensive analysis of the effects of new pipeline capacity from Canada into the U.S. entitled “Catching the Brass Ring: Oil Market Diversification Potential for Canada”Catching the Brass Ring: Oil Market Diversification Potential for Canada”. Stillwater Associates’ contribution to the paper included information...
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August 1, 2012 by Megan Boutwell California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard remains controversial. Obligated parties to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard continue to study the regulation and wonder if it is even feasible. A study commissioned by Western States Petroleum Association and authored by the Boston Consulting Group is the latest to make headlines by...
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August 1, 2012 By Leigh Noda Stillwater Associates has been closely following the Mid Continent Crude Oil Bubble which is being fed by the growing volumes of Bakken and Canadian crudes. Although almost all of the exported crude from Western Canada is destined for the United States, if either or both of the proposed pipelines...
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September 18, 2012 By Megan Boutwell When Buckeye Partners’ West Shore Pipeline had to be shut down this summer due to a leak, threatening gasoline shortages, Michigan’s governor Rick Snyder triggered provisions in the state’s energy assurance plan by declaring and energy emergency. This emergency declaration allowed drivers of gasoline trucks to be exempted from...
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September 18, 2012 By Megan Boutwell As we mentioned in our August 23rd blog, last month the Obama Administration stated that they were considering a sale from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in the event of a crude oil price spike or supply interruption. Currently the SPR contains 694.9 million barrels of crude oil, twice...
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October 24, 2012 by Leigh Noda On October 16th, oral arguments were heard before three justices of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the California Air Resources (CARB) appeal. The District Court for the Eastern District of California in December found that California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) violated the Commerce Clause of the...
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September 14, 2013 By Gretchen Morenson and Robert Gebeloff, NY Times It was supposed to help clean the air, reduce dependence on foreign oil and bolster agriculture. But a little known market in ethanol credits has also become a hot new game on Wall Street. The federal government created the market in special credits tied...
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August 15, 2012 The price of Bakken is nearly in line with WTI this week, to just $0.50 under. The price of WTI remained about the same, closing at $93 on August 14th. The spread between WTI and WCS has tightened to $14 under, from $16 under WTI on August 7th. The spreads between WTI...
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