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

To: Ron who wrote (5946)	6/4/2007 12:28:14 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 24206

westtexas' peak exports at work? Qatar imports diesel to meet rising demand Web posted at: 6/4/2007 2:23:52 Source ::: The Peninsula Doha • An unexpected demand for diesel triggered by an exploding vehicle population has prompted oil exporting Qatar to import the fuel to meet local consumption. Qatar Petroleum (QP), in fact, began importing diesel in June last year and the recent shortage was caused by a sudden import of 3,500 trucks last month, senior officials of Qatar Fuel (Woqod), sole distributors of petroleum products locally, said. The vehicle population in the country rose considerably last year to around 500,000, some half the number of them using diesel, Woqod’s Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mohamed Khalifa Turki Alsobai, told a news conference here yesterday. There was a tremendous strain on Woqod’s supplies as some 84,000 vehicles were imported last year as compared to 26,000 in 2005 and 18,000 in 2004. Half the number of the 84,000 automobiles were heavy vehicles which ran on diesel, stated Alsobai. “Already our supplies were at full capacity and the sudden import of 3,500 trucks last month led to a crisis,” he pointed out. There is only one multi-product pipeline which supplies petroleum products from the refinery in Messaieed to Woqod’s depot in Doha and it has been operating at full capacity. There was a shortage of ‘Super’ petrol for a day or two as more diesel was channeled from the Mesaieed refinery to Woqod’s depot to meet the shortfall. A new pipeline with larger capacity is under construction and is expected to be ready by next year. By then, the upcoming refinery in Ras Laffan would also be operational, Alsobai said. There is no shortage of diesel now as Woqod has set up three distribution centres to provide additional supplies to filling stations across the country. The centre in Doha will take care of supplies in the city as well as the suburbs while the one in Messaieed and Ras Laffan will be catering to those and surrounding areas. The distribution facility in Doha is already operational, while those in Mesaieed and Ras Laffan will begin supplies shortly. These will augment supplies by about 50 per cent. The three supply centres will take care of growing demand for the next two years and by that time the new pipeline and the new refinery in Ras Laffan will be ready, Alsobai said. QP is paying between $75 and $80 per barrel for the imports but is making the diesel available to petrol stations at a subsidised rate of $30 per barrel for retail sale as also for local companies. Foreign companies are being provided the fuel at international rates, disclosed Alsobai. Also present at the briefing was Nasser Ibrahim Fakhroo, Woqod’s operations director. Alsobai said that Woqod had not expected such a huge jump in demand for diesel before 2010. The company was, therefore, taken by surprise, he admitted. thepeninsulaqatar.com.

To: Ron who wrote (5946)	6/4/2007 12:39:05 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 24206

Dingell's energy committee proposes increase in fuel-economy standards June 4, 2007 BY JUSTIN HYDE FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. John Dingell’s committee has proposed an increase in fuel-economy standards for cars and trucks, a sign that the U.S. auto industry would rather bargain with Congress than flatly oppose tougher efficiency rules. Under the draft proposal by a subcommittee of the Dearborn Democrat’s House Energy and Commerce Committee, automakers would have to meet standards of at least 36 miles per gallon for cars after 2021 and 30 m.p.g. for trucks after 2024, or roughly 32.5 m.p.g. overall. Advertisement The leading proposal in the Senate would force the industry to average 35 m.p.g. by 2020, an increase automakers call unreasonable. Detroit automakers, especially General Motors Corp., have railed against the entire system of federal fuel-economy rules for decades, saying they forced them to build vehicles that consumers didn’t want. Yet the broad support of the Senate bill — thanks to global warming concerns, rising gasoline prices and energy independence worries — has forced the auto industry to either find an increase it could support or risk getting sidelined in the debate. Last week, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., sent a proposal around Capitol Hill with similar fuel-economy targets, including a clause that could allow automakers to avoid federal fuel-economy rules entirely. Automakers have been in discussions with lawmakers for weeks over fuel-economy issues, and executives have acknowledged the need to tackle the debate head-on and acknowledge the move to raise standards rather than fight any increase, as they have in the past. With its two top defenders on Capitol Hill now proposing similar standards that include eventual increases, the industry has an outline of ideas it can pitch to other lawmakers. The draft proposal issued by subcommittee Chairman Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., contains several provisions automakers will gladly support. It would prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from limiting greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, reversing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month granting the agency that power. It also would block California and other states from setting their own fuel-economy standards as part of their fight against global warming. California officials have threatened to sue the EPA if it doesn’t grant, by October, permission for California’s standards, which would essentially force automakers to hit a target of 43 m.p.g. by 2016. The draft bill provides incentives for any U.S. manufacturers of advanced battery technology necessary for high-tech vehicles such as plug-in hybrids, and gives automakers grants to retool closed plants for building hybrids and flexible-fuel vehicles. Dingell, the industry’s chief champion on Capitol Hill, has said that the Senate proposals stood little chance in the House. He and Boucher plan to hold a hearing on the proposal Thursday and have said they would prefer to replace fuel-economy rules for automakers with broader proposals aimed at reducing emissions of carbon dioxide across the economy. The draft would force fuel providers to lower the carbon content of their fuels, and requires automakers to estimate the lifetime carbon emissions of their vehicles and set targets for enabling new models to burn alternative fuels such as ethanol. The proposal “moves towards an eventual economy-wide greenhouse gas control program,” Boucher said in a letter accompanying the draft. Dingell has been driving committee members to meet a deadline set by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to craft energy proposals by July 4. Boucher said in his letter that the draft would be part of the package of bills the whole committee will consider later this month. The heads of Detroit’s three automakers, along with United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger, are scheduled to visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday, where they plan to lobby lawmakers in person. freep.com

To: Ron who wrote (5946)	6/4/2007 4:36:34 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24206

Category 5 Cyclone Aimed at Strait of Hormuz June 04, 2007 18 29 GMT A Category 5 cyclone with winds of up to 195 miles per hour is heading toward one of the world's most productive energy basins, threatening local devastation and global disruption at a point at which oil prices are already flirting with record highs. For once, the region in question is not the Gulf of Mexico. There is cause for concern; Cyclone Gonu is headed directly for the Strait of Hormuz. The cyclone is rotating counterclockwise -- as it would in the Gulf of Mexico -- meaning that, should it enter the Persian Gulf, the gulf's west coast would suffer the most serious damage. Along the west coast, low-lying areas are the norm, and there are few barrier islands like the ones that line the Gulf of Mexico to absorb much of the storm surge that could therefore penetrate miles inland. Like all weather phenomena, hurricanes and cyclones are notoriously fickle, so there is (thankfully) no guarantee Gonu will enter the Persian Gulf, much less wreck it. But there are two facilities that bear specific mention: the Ras Tanura and Ras al-Juaymah oil loading platforms in Saudi Arabia. So far, the chances of either of these facilities suffering a direct hit are very slim -- Gonu is still 750 miles away from those export points -- but they collectively pump nearly 10 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude. These facilities, while critical to global energy supplies and -- due to their size -- largely immune to terrorist attacks, are not particularly hurricane resistant. After all, they were built in an area where such storms are almost unheard of. Other (hardly insignificant) energy installations dot the region in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates -- most of them on the west coast. Luckily, there is little offshore production in the Persian Gulf -- unlike in the Gulf of Mexico -- so there is unlikely to be much permanent damage to the oil production facilities themselves. More likely is shipping disruption. Right now, Gonu is on a collision course with the Strait of Hormuz, a major chokepoint that transits some 17 million bpd of crude. Within the next few hours, the tankers and supertankers -- not to mention the massive container ships that often visit regional hubs in the United Arab Emirates -- that ply that route will be scurrying out of the storm's way. In the Gulf of Mexico, such storm-dodging is an annual ritual that is no major concern, but in the world's "Cradle of Oil," this is a completely new sport, and even a short disruption with minimal damage is sure to send the price of a barrel of crude sharply upward. Currently the "best guess" indicates Gonu will slowly lose force to be "only" Category 3 when it makes initial landfall in Oman, forecast for June 5 at 6 p.m. local time. stratfor.com more theoildrum.com