sg.biz.yahoo.com Tuesday March 11, 6:53 AM By Andrew Dowell Dow Jones Newswires

NEW YORK -- U.S. pump prices climbed higher yet again in the week ended Monday, with gasoline just missing an all-time high and diesel setting a new record, according to the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration.

Gasoline prices gained in every region of the country, pushing the U.S. average price of retail gas up 2.6 cents to $1.712 a gallon, 48.9 cents above the year-ago average and just shy of the $1.713 record set in May. California prices led the way, with that state's average up 7.2 cents to $2.084, 63 cents higher than a year earlier.

The U.S. average price of diesel set a record for the fourth-straight week, climbing 1.8 cents to $1.771 a gallon. Diesel prices are now up 55.5 cents from a year ago and have risen 29.3 cents, or 20%, in the past eight weeks.

The EIA has said it expects U.S. retail gasoline prices to set an all-time high in spring and peak in April at $1.76 a gallon. Soaring prices have already prompted several politicians to ask questions about market manipulation, as well as raising concerns additional pressure is being put on U.S. consumers as the economy struggles to mount a sustained recovery.

Industry analysts say pump prices have been pushed up by costly crude oil, which has risen 56% in the past year to near 12-year highs on concerns about supply disruptions in the event of war with Iraq, reduced output from Venezuela due to a strike and inventories that are running near the bottom of what are considered sustainable levels.

Crude-oil costs account for about half of the pump price of a gallon of gasoline or diesel, the EIA noted.

The agency has also said high prices are likely to persist, as there isn't enough crude flowing through the system to enable inventories of petroleum products and the crude from which they are produced to recover simultaneously.

While gasoline prices are up throughout the country, California's consumers have seen the sharpest spikes, a result of hiccups in the state's transition to gas blended with ethanol. The low-evaporation blend required for summer use is particularly difficult to get right, as the higher volatility of ethanol has to be counteracted, analysts have said.

California's pump prices are easily the highest in the country, running at least 40 cents a gallon over other regions. Prices on the West Coast as a whole increased 6.1 cents on the week at $1.993 a gallon.

Prices in the politically sensitive Midwest region rose 2.6 cents to $1.690 a gallon. Attorneys general in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa asked the Federal Trade Commission Friday to look into whether market manipulation has played a role in the rising prices.

Gasoline was cheapest on the Gulf Coast, the heart of the country's refining industry, where the average gained 1.3 cents to $1.592 a gallon.

Diesel prices climbed in every region but the Gulf Coast, where they fell 0.3 cent to $1.697 a gallon. Prices were highest on the West Coast, where they shot up 8.1 cents to $1.886 a gallon.

-By Andrew Dowell, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-4430; andrew.dowell@dowjones.com

ogj.pennnet.com By OGJ editors

WASHINGTON, DC, Mar. 10 -- US motorists will see higher gasoline prices this spring, averaging about $1.70/gal during the driving season of April through September, with prices peaking at about $1.76 in April, the US Energy Information Administration said.

According to its latest monthly analysis of the energy market, EIA expects pump prices to increase by 28¢/gal on an annual basis to more than $1.60/gal in 2003. But the agency expects prices to fall back toward historically lower levels in 2004. EIA said it expects gasoline to decline by about 13¢/gal over 2004, with a corresponding drop in crude oil prices of as much as $5/bbl. During that time, commercial petroleum inventories should increase to more normal levels.

But in the short term at least, EIA said that in much of 2003 motorists would be seeing much higher prices than they are accustomed to.

At the end of February, gasoline inventories moved toward the lower end of a 5 year range, which helped contribute to pump price increases, EIA said. The price of regular unleaded gasoline averaged about $1.55/gal in the last half of February, or only about 5¢/gal lower than the record nominal price set during the first half of May 2001. Adjusted for inflation, today's prices are still below the all-time record March 1981 price of nearly $2.90/gal, EIA stressed.

Uncertainty continues Even if the situations in Venezuela and Iraq are resolved without further oil disruptions, oil stocks are expected to remain low in the US and other western oil consuming countries through most of 2003. The agency estimates that spare world oil production capacity in March outside of Iraq and Venezuela could be as low as 1.5 million b/d. And that figure could drop further, depending on how much production Kuwait may shut down temporarily if war tensions spread to its borders.

In the months ahead, EIA said there is reason to expect what it calls "substantial price volatility" in oil markets during the coming months.

Despite assurances from the Venezuela government that exports are moving quickly back to historical levels, EIA is less hopeful.

"Although the Venezuelan general strike has ended, the strike against the oil sector continues, and the recovery in production and exports of crude and products has been slow. If the oil strike is prolonged and tensions in the Middle East continue, the chance of a price spike will remain high," EIA said.

Noting that government and opposition sources "continue to cite widely varying figures for the country's current oil production," the agency said it estimates that Venezuela's oil production levels rose from a low of 300,000 b/d at the end of December to an average of 1.4 million b/d in February, and will reach 1.8 million b/d by the end of March.

EIA further assumes in its latest monthly report that the strike will be resolved by the end of April and that enough workers will be rehired to allow Venezuela to reach 2.3 million b/d of production by the end of June.

EIA also is growing increasingly concerned that the strike may have long-term production repercussions.

"It's possible that several hundred thousand barrels per dayd of production capacity will be lost on a long-term basis because of the shutdown and that Venezuela will not be able to attain its pre-strike production level of 2.9 million b/d," EIA said.

Policy implications EIA, as the independent statistical arm of the energy department, does not offer policy recommendations. But other government agencies within the Bush administration, most notably the Department of State, have said that the strike could have lasting trade and economic implications unless Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez seeks a compromise with opposition leaders.

"Until a sincere political compromise is achieved and the level of rhetoric lowered, world energy markets simply cannot view Venezuela with the same certainty that they once did, and, sadly, neither can the US. The damage done cannot be repaired overnight," Under-Secretary of State Alan Larson said Mar. 4 at New York University.

"When the Venezuelan parties show a commitment to seek reconciliation and restore their position as a reliable partner of the US, they will find a willing and ready partner in the US," he said.

www.quicken.com Monday, March 10, 2003 05:53 PM ET  Printer-friendly version Dow Jones Newswires

NEW YORK -- U.S. pump prices climbed higher yet again in the week ended Monday, with gasoline just missing an all-time high and diesel setting a new record, according to the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration.

Gasoline prices gained in every region of the country, pushing the U.S. average price of retail gas up 2.6 cents to $1.712 a gallon, 48.9 cents above the year-ago average and just shy of the $1.713 record set in May. California prices led the way, with that state's average up 7.2 cents to $2.084, 63 cents higher than a year earlier.

The U.S. average price of diesel set a record for the fourth-straight week, climbing 1.8 cents to $1.771 a gallon. Diesel prices are now up 55.5 cents from a year ago and have risen 29.3 cents, or 20%, in the past eight weeks.

The EIA has said it expects U.S. retail gasoline prices to set an all-time high in spring and peak in April at $1.76 a gallon. Soaring prices have already prompted several politicians to ask questions about market manipulation, as well as raising concerns additional pressure is being put on U.S. consumers as the economy struggles to mount a sustained recovery.

Industry analysts say pump prices have been pushed up by costly crude oil, which has risen 56% in the past year to near 12-year highs on concerns about supply disruptions in the event of war with Iraq, reduced output from Venezuela due to a strike and inventories that are running near the bottom of what are considered sustainable levels.

Crude-oil costs account for about half of the pump price of a gallon of gasoline or diesel, the EIA noted.

The agency has also said high prices are likely to persist, as there isn't enough crude flowing through the system to enable inventories of petroleum products and the crude from which they are produced to recover simultaneously.

While gasoline prices are up throughout the country, California's consumers have seen the sharpest spikes, a result of hiccups in the state's transition to gas blended with ethanol. The low-evaporation blend required for summer use is particularly difficult to get right, as the higher volatility of ethanol has to be counteracted, analysts have said.

California's pump prices are easily the highest in the country, running at least 40 cents a gallon over other regions. Prices on the West Coast as a whole increased 6.1 cents on the week at $1.993 a gallon.

Prices in the politically sensitive Midwest region rose 2.6 cents to $1.690 a gallon. Attorneys general in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa asked the Federal Trade Commission Friday to look into whether market manipulation has played a role in the rising prices.

Gasoline was cheapest on the Gulf Coast, the heart of the country's refining industry, where the average gained 1.3 cents to $1.592 a gallon.

Diesel prices climbed in every region but the Gulf Coast, where they fell 0.3 cent to $1.697 a gallon. Prices were highest on the West Coast, where they shot up 8.1 cents to $1.886 a gallon.

-By Andrew Dowell, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-4430; andrew.dowell@ dowjones.com

www.tryondailybulletin.com Web posted: 3/7/03 by Bretta Smith

Record high gasoline prices hit Polk County and North and South Carolina in general during the month of February, and prices are expected to continue rising.

On Feb. 27, local self-serve regular unleaded gasoline ranged in price from $1.49 in Landrum to $1.63 in Tryon.

North Carolina’s average price per gallon of regular self-serve gasoline reached $1.591 on Feb. 12, the highest recorded average for the state in 20 years, according to AAA Carolinas.

This breaks the state’s record of $1.589, set on May 8, 2001, and is an increase of almost 50 cents from a year earlier in 2002.

Also on Feb. 12, South Carolina came close to breaking its old record. During February, South Carolina’s average reached $1.589, less than a cent from the record set in 2001.

Like those in the state of South Carolina, gas prices in the Asheville area in February reached one cent less than the record set in May 2001.

However, in February, the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson area broke its previous record of $1.518 per gallon. The average price for gas in the market reached $1.531 on Feb. 12.

“We expect prices to continue to increase and to set new records,” said David E. Parsons, president and chief executive officer of AAA Carolinas. “We urge everyone to search your area for the lowest pump price, look for ways to cut down on fuel consumption and keep your vehicle properly maintained to increase its fuel economy.”

Heating oil has also been affected by the price increase. Pack’s Quality Fuel in Campobello has seen a steady rise in oil price. The price of heating oil was $1.099 in December and $1.219 in January, according to Ronnie Pack.

On Feb. 27, Pack said that he had to raise the price to $1.499 because of the rising price of fuel. “It’s been jumping like crazy,” he said.

Prince Oil Company in Landrum was priced at $1.599 at the end of February.

The February gas price increase in North Carolina follows another in January.

On January 1, 2003, North Carolina implemented a legislative-mandated 1.3 cent sales tax increase to fund highway improvement, maintenance, and construction.

The record high price of gasoline is not just a local problem. Nationally, the price of gasoline has also risen rapidly.

Between mid-January and mid-February, the national average of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline increased 14.7 cents to $1.618, according to AAA Carolinas.

The continuing loss of oil and gasoline exports from Venezuela and recent cold weather in much of the country has affected fuel inventories, but this does not justify the rapid increase in fuel prices, according to AAA Carolinas.

“The fuel industry is simply unsure of what is going to happen in the future,” Parsons said.

www.forbes.com Reuters, 03.10.03, 2:04 PM ET   WASHINGTON, March 10 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips (nyse: COP - news - people) and CITGO Petroleum Corp. told federal energy markets regulator they longer opposed Dynegy Inc's (nyse: COP - news - people) plan to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in Louisiana after the company agreed to take steps to limit shipping traffic congestion near the facility. ConocoPhillips and CITGO had protested the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision last December to give preliminary approval to Dynegy's proposal to build the first LNG terminal in the United States in almost 25 years. CITGO is owned by Venezuela's state oil company. The companies were worried that the LNG plant, which would be located in Hackberry, Louisiana, would impact shipping traffic on the Calcasieu ship channel. The companies told FERC last Friday that they were withdrawing their protest, because Dynegy agreed to have a dedicated tug service to handle tankers delivering LNG, improve navigation aids in the channel and adopt procedures for LNG deliveries at night. The steps to ease shipping traffic are similar to what CMSEnergy (nyse: CMS - news - people) has adopted for expanding its LNG facility. Dynegy's terminal would receive and process 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from tankers, then transport the vaporized LNG to the natural gas pipeline grid. FERC must still review the environmental impact of Dynegy's terminal before deciding whether to give final approval. Dynegy hopes to have the terminal operating by the end of 2006. ConocoPhillips and CITGO said they hoped that by withdrawing their protest FERC would speed up its review of Dynegy's plant. U.S. demand for natural gas is forecast to soar to 30 trillion cubic feet by 2015, up from 22.8 Tcf in 2000, according to the Energy Information Administration. LNG, a super-cooled and compressed form of natural gas, is used to fuel electricity generating plants. It would take 600 ships carrying natural gas in its conventional form to equal the cargo contained on just one LNG tanker, which makes it practical and economical to import natural gas from overseas. LNG, which begins as natural gas in a vapor form, is kept at ultra-cold temperatures and compressed for transport aboard special tankers. The manufacturing process cools the gas to minus-259 degrees Fahrenheit, changing the gas into liquid and shrinking it to less than 1/600 of its original volume.