Tag Archive: News

An Updated Guide to EPA’s Tier 3 Gasoline Sulfur Standards

January 5, 2020 , , , , ,

January 5, 2020 by Mike Leister and E.J. Ledet Effective January 1, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began requiring all U.S. gasoline to meet an annual 10 parts per million (ppm) average sulfur requirement as part of its new Tier 3 vehicle and fuel regulations. (Stillwater wrote a quick guide to Tier 3 back then, and it’s still...
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Another upset at the Torrance Refinery

November 17, 2016 , ,

November 16, 2016 The former ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, CA experienced an upset this week. As news helicopters circled above, the local fire department fought a fire that appeared to be in the alkylation unit. Thankfully, the media were reporting yesterday that there were no serious injuries. Today, OPIS reported that the refinery was back operating at full rates, although...
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Aging Pipelines Raise Concerns

November 11, 2016

November 2, 2016 Alison Sider and Nicole Friedman, The Wall Street Journal More than 60% of U.S. fuel pipelines were built before 1970, according to federal figures. Recent disruptions on Colonial Pipeline Co.’s fuel artery running up the East Coast show why some energy observers worry that this is a problem. The pipeline, which began operating fully in 1964, was...
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Subscribe to Stillwater’s LCFS Newsletter Today!

May 2, 2016

Is your company impacted by California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard? The LCFS is well underway, and it’s important that Covered Entities and the companies that support them have the right information to make smart Credit Market decisions. Stillwater’s LCFS Newsletter is a powerful tool for Covered Entities to use as they navigate the standard. This unique publication offers the latest...
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Oil train plans hit roadblocks in California

February 18, 2016

February 12, 2016 Tony Bizjak, The Sacramento Bee Two years ago, it appeared that milelong trains carrying crude oil to refineries would soon be a regular feature on the California landscape – including several a day rumbling through Sacramento. Now, amid safety concerns, the state’s two highest-profile crude-by-rail project proposals, one in the north and one in the south, have...
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Why California gasoline is so expensive

February 17, 2016

Feb. 3, 2016 Dan McSwain, The San Diego Union-Tribune Although oil markets are bankrupting producers and draining government coffers from Moscow to Riyadh, plummeting costs are filling the pockets of ordinary consumers this year, right? Um, wrong, at least in California, where state government helps the refining industry keep gasoline prices aloft for months at a time. On Monday, at...
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Stillwater Provides Research and Analysis to EIA PADD 5 Transportation Fuels Report

October 6, 2015

October 5, 2015 On September 30th, EIA released the PADD 5 Transportation Fuels Markets report, the first in a series of studies on U.S. regional fuels markets. Stillwater was privileged to provide our expertise for this study which examines U.S. West Coast petroleum product markets. Our research and analysis for this report covers: Demand, including in-region consumption, transfers of fuels...
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California could be PBF’s biggest refinery challenge yet

October 4, 2015 ,

October 1, 2015 by Kristen Hays, Reuters PBF Energy Inc.’s purchase of Exxon Mobil Corp.’s California refinery marks Chairman Tom O’Malley’s biggest bet yet on U.S. refining in the country’s toughest market. The $537.5 million deal to buy Exxon’s 155,000 barrels per day plant in Torrance with dock, storage and pipeline infrastructure will mark PBF’s entrance into the market in...
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Oil at $30 Is Not Problem for Some Bakken Drillers Cutting Costs

August 13, 2015

August 12, 2015 by Dan Murtaugh, Bloomberg The lowest crude prices in six years might not be enough to put the brakes on the U.S. energy renaissance. Some parts of North Dakota’s Bakken shale play are profitable at less than $30 a barrel as companies tap bigger wells and benefit from lower drilling costs, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence analysis....
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Gas prices to drop to lowest in six years this summer, agency predicts

April 8, 2015

April 7, 2015 by Tiffany Hsu, LA Times An ongoing glut of crude oil will give U.S. drivers this summer the lowest seasonal gasoline prices in six years, the government predicts. Even in California – where prices recently surged a dollar above the national average, sparking accusations of collusion by oil refineries – analysts expect gasoline to be the cheapest...
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Gas Price Slide Will Boost Bay Area Consumer Spending

January 13, 2015

January 11, 2015 by Pete Carey, San Jose Mercury News Bay Area drivers are already celebrating the recent collapse in oil prices, but if it lasts it will have broader economic implications, putting billions of dollars a year directly into the wallets of residents and helping to stimulate the region’s already robust economy. And a lot of that money is...
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Oil Import Decline to U.S. Revealed by Louisiana as Truth

November 6, 2014

November 5, 2014 by Dan Murtaugh, Zain Shauk and Lynn Doan, Bloomberg Things are slowing down at the U.S.’s largest oil-import hub. Just six years after importing more than 1 million barrels a day from countries including Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Iraq, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port is receiving just half of that from overseas, highlighting a nationwide trend at...
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Alaska’s Oil Piles Up at Port as Barrels Wait for a Ride

October 27, 2014

October 21, 2014 by Lynn Doan and Dan Murtaugh, Bloomberg Stockpiles of oil from Alaska’s North Slope have surged to a five-year seasonal high as tanker maintenance slows loadings, forcing the grade to trade at a discount to U.S. crude for the first time since 2010. Inventories at the Valdez terminal, the northernmost ice-free port in North America and the...
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Shale Boom Helping American Consumers as Never Before

October 20, 2014

October 17, 2014 by Dan Murtaugh and Lynn Doan, Bloomberg Oil traders might see the 27 percent slide in global prices as a bear market. For U.S. consumers, it’s more like an early holiday gift. The drop in crude has pulled retail gasoline down more than 50 cents a gallon from the year’s high in April. That means annual savings...
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Pump Prices Fall to Lowest Since 2011 Amid Oil Slump

October 20, 2014

October 15, 2014 by Dan Murtaugh and Lynn Doan, Bloomberg Regular gasoline in the U.S. fell to the lowest level in more than three-and-a-half years as shale oil production and weak global demand spurred a four-month slump in oil prices. The average retail price fell 0.9 cents a gallon to $3.177, Heathrow Florida-based motoring group AAA said on its website...
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Orphaned Russian Oil Heads to U.S. West on Asia Overflow

October 8, 2014

October 3, 2014 by Lynn Doan, Bloomberg One of Russia’s prized oils, facing increased competition in Asia, is traveling to a rather unlikely destination: the U.S. West Coast. As the U.S. threatens President Vladimir Putin with further economic sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, light Sokol oil from Russia’s Far East is showing up in California for the first time...
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California Replaces Oil by Rail from Canada with Domestic

September 17, 2014

September 8, 2014 by Lynn Doan, Blooomberg California, the nation’s largest gasoline market, has cut its oil-by-rail volumes from Canada by 86 percent this year while buying more crude made in America. The most populous U.S. state received 3,142 barrels a day by rail from Canada in July, down from 6,669 in June and a peak of 22,871 in December,...
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Kern County mounts defense of oil train shipments

August 25, 2014

August 24, 2014 by Tony Bizjak and Curtis Tate, The Sacramento Bee KERN COUNTY – In Sacramento and the Bay Area, recent plans to run trains laden with crude oil through downtowns to coastal refineries have prompted fears and protests this summer. But, here in the southern San Joaquin Valley, where oil has served as economic lifeblood for more than...
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Why fracking boom isn’t driving down Seattle gas prices

August 25, 2014

August 23, 2014 Angel Gonzalez, The Seattle Times In Seattle, America’s energy boom can be seen but not felt. At least not at the gas pump. Trains bearing crude oil cross the city’s busy core every day, connecting North Dakota’s prolific oil fields to refineries on the coast. Yet gasoline prices here have remained stubbornly high, even as an abundance...
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Global Wins, Tesoro Waits on Bringing Bakken Oil West

August 20, 2014

August 20, 2014 by Lynn Doan, Bloomberg Just as Global Partners LP (GLP) gained approval to unload more oil from rail cars at a marine terminal in Oregon, Tesoro Corp. (TSO) learned its plans for a similar project in neighboring Washington will have to wait. The projects are among several oil-by-rail proposals facing rising opposition after a series of derailments...
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San Francisco Gets Fuel from Los Angeles as Gap Widens

August 19, 2014

August 18, 2014 by Lynn Doan, Bloomberg Spot gasoline in San Francisco at the highest premium to Los Angeles in two weeks has opened an arbitrage for fuel to flow north. Spot California-blend gasoline in the San Francisco Bay area gained 1 cent a gallon versus the same fuel in Los Angeles to a premium of 8 cents, its highest...
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Exclusive: Oil-by-rail project for shut California refinery nears approval

August 15, 2014

August 15, 2014 By Kristen Hays, Reuters The first new crude-by-rail project at a California refinery is likely to win approval next month after more than a year of scrutiny, the head of the Kern County planning division told Reuters, and it could help reopen the shuttered plant. The facility at independent refiner Alon USA Energy Inc.’s Bakersfield plant would...
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Permian’s Newest Gusher Creating Wave of Investments

August 7, 2014

August 6, 2014 by Dan Murtaugh, Bloomberg The gusher of crude from the Permian Basin has spurred new investments from refinery and pipeline companies trying to take advantage of low prices caused by rising supplies. Delek US Holdings Inc. (DK) expects to expand its refinery in Tyler, Texas, by 25 percent in early 2015, and Sunoco Logistics Partners LP (SXL)...
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California Takes Record Volumes of Oil by Rail from Utah

August 7, 2014

August 6, 2014 by Lynn Doan, Bloomberg California, home to two-thirds of refining capacity in the western U.S., brought in a record volume of waxy oil by rail from Utah in June as crude imports from Canada and North Dakota slid. The state, the biggest gasoline market in the U.S., received 2,737 barrels a day of oil by rail from...
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Obama’s Safer Oil Train Plan Faces Rule Making Hurdles

July 29, 2014

It could take more than three years to fully halt the shipment of them most flammable liquids in the most dangerous rail cars. By Elizabeth Douglass, Inside Climate News The Obama Administration’s proposal Wednesday for making oil-laden railcars safer runs 203 pages and includes a host of new rules for carrying flammable fuels by train – but they come with...
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California’s Oil Refiners Double Crude-by-Rail Volumes

May 5, 2014

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 on the state Energy Commission’s...
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Occidental’s California Spawn to Dominate Oil Drive

April 11, 2014

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 producer drilling the vast Monterey...
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Dave Hackett Speaks to KGET about Crude by Rail

March 24, 2014

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 series.

California Getting Record Volume of Canadian Oil by Rail

February 28, 2014

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 in December, a 4.9 percent...
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Wall St. Exploits Ethanol Credits, and Prices Spike

February 28, 2014

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 years ago when it required...
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Stillwater Co-Authors Study on New and Existing Refining Markets for Canadian Crude

November 15, 2013

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 on global supply and...
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The California Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the Innovation Gap

November 15, 2013

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 predicting the severe negative impacts...
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The Emperor’s Reach into Canada (and Will He Pull Anything Back?)

November 15, 2013

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 get built to the West,...
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State Energy Assurance Plans: Is Your State Ready?

November 15, 2013

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 federal and Michigan weekly hours...
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Effects of Strategic Petroleum Reserve Sales

November 15, 2013

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 the amount of commercial crude...
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An Update on California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard

November 15, 2013

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 US Constitution that limits states...
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Wall St. Exploits Ethanol Credits, and Prices Spike

November 15, 2013

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 to ethanol eight years ago...
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