Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (3778)	4/2/2006 2:14:24 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 24213

US faces possible petrol shortages this summer, says UK bank London, April 1, IRNA UK-Bank-Oil report Motorists in the US face a difficult time this summer as tight refining capacity as well as new regulations and mandates could disrupt the flow of petrol, according to a UK bank. "If supply fails to meet demand in America, the repercussions will be felt in Europe and Asia as well, given that petrol is a globally traded commodity," the Royal Bank of Scotland warned in its latest monthly Oil and Gas Index. Commenting on the oil market, the bank said that the focus was switching to petrol due to the start of the main driving season in th US being little over a month away. The run-up in petrol prices, it said, has been even more dramatic than the increase in crude prices following recent draws in petrol inventories. "Although commercial inventories remain ample by historical standards, strong expected demand growth has investors worried that supply glitches may lead to temporary shortages and price spikes," the report warned. It referred to the imposition of a new ethanol mandate in America, which it said would not only increase the cost of petrol but even more important "pose logistical challenges for refiners." This was because petrol and ethanol must be shipped separately and blended just before final delivery in addition to refiners having to meet different local fuel specifications, increasing costs further. The Scottish bank also said that the phasing out of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) as an oxygenate will reduce available supplies of petrol by some 1.5 percent. "These factors are aggravated by the fact that US refining capacity remains tight to begin with due to stringent environmental regulations and a resulting lack of new investment," it said. For other countries, the danger was that "motorists around the world will feel the importance of the American market as the US has to import petrol, driving up prices around the globe in the process." The monthly index also reports continued falls in Britain's oil production from the North Sea, with January's output of 1.7 million barrels down by a further 8 percent compared with a year ago despite a two percent increase in December. irna.ir