Gas goin up again..

[Ron]

I expect it to get higher sooner then I thought.. just seen a news article this morning alaska pipe line is shutting down which cuts off 8% of the supply

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Aug. 7) - Oil company BP scrambled Monday to assess suspected pipeline corrosion that will shut shipments from the nation's biggest oil field, removing about 8 percent of daily U.S. crude production and driving oil prices sharply higher.


AP
The Prudhoe Bay oil field, source of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, represents about eight percent of U.S. oil production. BP, which is already facing a criminal investigation over a large spill in March at the same Prudhoe Bay oil field, said it did not know how long the field would be offline. "I don't even know how long it's going to take to shut it down," said Tom Williams, BP's senior tax and royalty counsel.

While BP suspects corrosion in both damaged lines, it can't say for sure until further tests are complete. Workers also found a small spill of about 4 to 5 barrels, which has been contained and is being cleaned up, BP said.

The news sent the price of light, sweet crude oil up $1.53 to $74.57 a barrel in electronic trading Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Steve Marshall, president of BP Exploration Alaska Inc., said Sunday night that the eastern side of the Prudhoe Bay oil field would be shut down first, an operation anticipated to take 24 to 36 hours. The company will then move to shut down the west side, a move that could close more than 1,000 Prudhoe Bay wells.

Once the field is shut down, BP said oil production will be reduced by 400,000 barrels a day. That's close to 8 percent of U.S. oil production or about 2.6 percent of U.S. supply including imports, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The shutdown comes at an already worrisome time for the oil industry, with supply concerns stemming both from the hurricane season and instability in the Middle East.

A 400,000-barrel per day reduction in output would have a major impact on oil prices, said Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo. A barrel contains 42 gallons of crude oil.

"Oil prices could increase by as much as $10 per barrel given the current environment," Emori said. "But we can't really say for sure how big an effect this is going to have until we have more exact figures about how much production is going to be reduced."

But Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore, said he expected the impact to be minimal since crude inventories are high.

"So while this won't have any immediate impact on U.S. supplies, the market is in very high anxiety. So any significant disruption, traders will take that into account, even though there is no threat of a supply shortage."

Marshall said tests Friday indicated that there were 16 anomalies in 12 areas in an oil transit line on the eastern side of Prudhoe Bay. Tests found losses in wall thickness of between 70 and 81 percent. Repair or replacement is required if there is more than an 80 percent loss.

"The results were absolutely unexpected," Marshall said.

BP America Chairman and President Bob Malone said Prudhoe Bay will not resume operating until the company and government regulators are satisfied it can run safely without threatening the environment.

"We regret that it is necessary to take this action and we apologize to the nation and the State of Alaska for the adverse impacts it will cause," Malone said in a statement.

The troubles at the Alaskan oil field add to other problems for BP in the United States, where the company is the largest oil producer, following an explosion at its Texas City refinery that killed 15 workers in March 2005 and a trading scandal.

The shutdown comes six months after the North Slope's biggest ever oil spill was discovered on a Prudhoe Bay transit line. Some 267,000 gallons of oil spilled. BP installed a bypass on that line in April with plans to replace the pipe. Only one of BP's three transit lines is now operating.

BP puts millions of gallons of corrosion inhibitor into the Prudhoe Bay lines each year. It also examines pipes by taking X-rays and ultrasound images.

BP has a 26 percent stake in the Prudhoe Bay field, meaning its own production would be cut by 100,000 barrels a day, or around 2.5 percent of the company's worldwide production, said spokesman David Nicholas. He declined to provide any forecast on the impact of the shutdown on earnings.

BP shares dropped 2 percent to 623 pence ($11.89) on the London Stock Exchange.

A prolonged Prudhoe Bay shutdown would be a major blow to domestic oil production, but even a short one could be crippling to Alaska's economy.

Alaska House Speaker John Harris said it was admirable that BP took immediate action, although it's sure to hurt state coffers. "This state cannot afford to have another Exxon Valdez," said Harris, R-Valdez.

The Exxon Valdez tanker emptied 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound in 1989, killing hundreds of thousands of birds and marine animals and soiling more than 1,200 miles of rocky beach in nation's largest oil spill.

Gas is already costing me about 600 a month my truck takes over 100 to fill up and my car... dont ask running 93 octane is all itll run on, anything lower then 89 and it runs like crap. Everywhere I go is a 60-70 mile round trip living in the middle of no where doesn't help. I havent had it out for a couple months now truck gets better gas milage of course but takes so much to fill it up.. 36 gallon tank sucks. Higher gas prices just means everything else will go up along with it. Kinda scary how this looks when you break it all down

[Louvit]

thanks goodness, i was getting board with the 3.09 price, good to see a change....lol

[pmr253]

wow, I really get to cry now, as I always fill up with 93+

[Art Vandaley]

ya just heard on the news, yuck!

[Night Sta|ker]

lOL i pay 3.15 alright here I come 4.00 a gallon ALRIGHT. Screw it im selling both my cars and getting a bike. What yall think GT or haro, huffy??

[Fire Chicken of Doom]

yeah... wow... thanks for posting the most depressing thread ever.

[96 Z-Ragtop]

Lou you are crazy

I think me and my Z are going to move to Venezuela. Gas is .17 a gallon.

[Fire Chicken of Doom]

not uh.... youre crazy. Venezuela is 17 cents a gallon?

in that case, finding a quarter in the parking lot must be really cool!

[squirrelishere]

Dang.. time to work overtime..

[Mase]

And that is while I live a half mile from where I work.

[94greenbandit]

I have heard that they are expecting gas to rise to $4/gal by X-mas

[Ron]

Originally Posted by 94greenbandit

I have heard that they are expecting gas to rise to $4/gal by X-mas

I been hearing that for over a year now i think thats just due to mass rumor, these companies are gonna get a whiff of whats going around and raise it anyway.. i mean im sure in due time it will go up that high but probably sooner then expected because the general population is already expecting it.

[FANTA-Z]

The worse thing about that is we dont see any of that gas from Alaska It all goes overseas so tell me why it effects us???????

[94greenbandit]

What really sucks is these oil companies making a killing. I think it was on MSN that I saw Chevron made $10 billion dollars last quarter. This is ridiculus, should have bought stock in oil

[leper84]

Originally Posted by FANTA-Z

The worse thing about that is we dont see any of that gas from Alaska It all goes overseas so tell me why it effects us???????

Gives em enough excuse to take more of our money. I can already see people losing jobs and families if prices keep getting out of control, and because of which, snapping and deciding to take their own action against oil companies. Not right at all, but its something that happens, you can only push the public so far before certain unstable individuals lash back.

There is something extremely bothering about $3 a gallon, while oil CEOs are giving themselves outragous retirement checks and seeing record profits.