Sonny ---the Government needs to be talking to the oil companies and refiners ---cannot believed they are taking refiner downtime now when we had such a warm winter ?
05/22 09:44 Crude Oil Falls as U.S. Pressures OPEC to Pump More in 3rd Qtr
By Josh P. Hamilton
New York, May 22 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell after a report
that the U.S. urged Arab producers to raise output by as much as
1.5 million barrels a day starting in July to keep prices under
$25 a barrel.
The U.S. wants the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries to raise its production ceiling By 1.3 million to 1.5
million barrels a day when it meets on June 21, the Middle East
Economic Survey reported, without naming sources. Saudi Arabia,
the world's top producer and OPEC's most influential member, has
said there's no justification for raising quotas.
``As soon as the story came out, prices came off a bit,''
said Nauman Barakat, vice president of global energy trading at
ABN Amro Inc. in New York. ``But the Saudis are going to resist
this because there is no shortage of crude. There is a possible
shortage of gasoline, but that's got nothing to do with crude.''
Crude oil for June delivery fell 24 cents to $29.65 a barrel
during electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The
contract was expected to trade at similar levels when floor
trading starts. Oil prices still are 74 percent higher than a year
ago. Prices fell from a nine-year high of $34.37 a barrel on March
8 after OPEC members signaled their intention to boost output.
In London, Brent crude oil for July settlement fell 36 cents
to $28.23 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange.
Petroleum futures prices have hinged on concern that gasoline
supplies, which lag year-ago levels, won't catch up before demand
begins its rise to an annual peak with this week's Memorial Day
weekend.
U.S. gasoline inventories are 8 percent lower than a year ago
at 201.34 million barrels, according to the American Petroleum
Institute. Even with U.S. refiners steadily boosting production,
traders are concerned about refinery outages and the possibility
that overseas refiners can't meet new, stricter clean-air
standards in the U.S.
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