-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">
</A> -Cui Bono?-
Gas Prices, Timelines, Pipelines, Mergers, and World Politics:
The Question: Are crude oil and gasoline prices determined purely by
world market conditions of supply and demand, or are
other factors such as world politics involved?
You decide.
TIMELINE:
January 1, 1999:
U.S. retail gasoline prices have decreased 15% since June.
Even though Crude oil prices were up 10.2%, the price levels for the refined
petroleum products continued to decline in January (-1.6%) and stands
18.1% lower than in January 1998 and 31.7% lower than in January 1997.
February 10, 1999:
U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson visits Saudi Arabia to discuss
potential U.S. investment in the Kingdom's oil and gas sectors. Following his
visit, Richardson says the Saudis are primarily interested in foreign
investment in the natural gas sector and in the oil refining and marketing
sectors, rather than in the upstream crude oil sector. Secretary Richardson's
visit comes several months after a September 1998 meeting between several
U.S. oil companies, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and Saudi Oil Minister Ali
Naimi, in which Abdullah requested proposals from the companies on the
development of Saudi oil reserves. (DJ), (USA), (WSJ)
February 12 1999:
Bill Clinton acquitted of Impeachment charges by the U.S. Senate.
The U.S. Department of Energy reports the all-time low retail price
for gasoline (inflation adjusted dollars).
National average price for a gallon of unleaded regular 90.7 cents.
March 23 1999:
U.S. retail gasoline prices have increased an average of 18 cents per gallon
since Bill Clinton was acquitted 27 days ago. U.S. average retail price per
gallon of unleaded regular is $1.08 (U.S. Dept. of Energy Report)
The members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
voted in Vienna to cut output by 2.1 million barrels of
oil a day through March 2000. Non-OPEC nations, including Norway,
Mexico, Russia and Oman, followed with the announcement that they
would cut production by an additional 388,000 barrels a day.
During 1998, due mainly to low oil prices, OPEC crude oil export revenues
fell 30 percent (to $100 billion) from the previous year. (DJ, NYT)
March 31, 1999 British Petroleum Company and Amoco Corporation
complete their $53 billion merger. Chicago-based Amoco is the United States'
fifth-largest oil company with roughly 9,300 gasoline stations. London-based
British Petroleum, the world's third largest oil company, sells its products
through a network of about 17,900 stations. (DJ)
The deal marks the fourth largest oil company merger since the onset of low
oil prices in late 1997. (DJ), (WSJ)
April 17, 1999
U.S. average retail price per gallon of unleaded regular is $1.14.
This is a 26% price increase since Bill Clinton was acquitted 2 months ago.
An oil pipeline that transports oil from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Suspa, Georgia,
is officially opened. This is the second pipeline dedicated to exporting
Caspian Sea oil, but the first built since the Soviet Union disbanded in
1991. The other Caspian Sea oil pipeline, which runs through the Russian
breakaway republic of Chechnya to the Russian port of Novorossisk, is often
shut down. The new pipeline to Georgia has a capacity of 100,000 barrels per
day. (DJ)
May 12, 1999
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) begins construction of a 981-mile
pipeline that will carry crude oil from the Caspian Sea to the Russian port
of Novorossisk for export to foreign markets. The pipeline's planned capacity
is about 1.3 million barrels per day, and the CPC is expecting to load the
first tanker in mid-2001. (DJ)
May 27, 1999:
Exxon and Mobil shareholders approve an $81.2 billion merger, in which Exxon
will issue 1.32 shares for each share of Mobil's approximately 780.2 million
shares outstanding. The merger still must receive regulatory approval from
the U.S. government and the European Union. The chairmen of both companies
state that they expect regulatory approvals to be obtained by the end of the
third quarter of 1999. (DJ)
August 9, 1999:
The United States Department of Commerce dismisses a petition filed by Save
Domestic Oil, Inc. under anti-dumping statutes. The petition alleged that Saud
i Arabia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Iraq had sold crude oil to the United States
at artificially low prices.
September 14, 1999:
French oil companies Total Fina and Elf Aquitaine agree to merge, after a
lengthy takeover battle, in a deal which will form the world's fourth largest
oil company. The deal will give Elf Aquitaine shareholders 19 shares of Total
Fina for every 13 shares of Elf Aquitaine. According to Total Fina's
management, the merger will result in annual cost savings for the combined
firm of $1.56 billion. (WP, WSJ)
September 22, 1999:
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), at a meeting of its
member states' oil ministers, decides to maintain current production cuts
until March 2000, despite the fact the crude oil prices have doubled since
early 1999.
November 18, 1999:
The heads of state of Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia sign an agreement to
build a pipeline for the export of crude oil from the Caspian Basin. The
1,080-mile pipeline will begin at the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, and run
through Georgia and Turkey to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The project is
expected to cost $2.4 billion, and the government of Turkey has offered
guarantees that the cost of the Turkish segment of the pipeline will not
exceed $1.4 billion. The signing ceremony took place during a visit to
Istanbul by U.S. President Clinton for a summit of the Organization for
Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE). (WP, NYT)
November 30, 1999:
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) grants approval for the proposed merger
between oil giants Exxon and Mobil. The $80 billion merger was approved
by the FTC .
December 21, 1999:
The Export-Import Bank drops a proposed $500 million loan to Russia's Tyumen
Oil after Secretary of State Madeleine Albright exercises her statutory
authority to block the transaction. The loan had been controversial in part
because of Tyumen Oil's dispute with BP Amoco over the bankruptcy of Russian
oil firm Sidanko, in which BP Amoco owns a major stake. BP Amoco and Tyumen
Oil later settled the dispute on December 23. (DJ)
December 31, 1999:
The average U.S. price per gallon for unleaded regular is $1.30,
up 40 cents per gallon since Clinton was acquitted in February.
The Panama Canal Zone reverts to Panamanian sovereignty at noon,
after nearly a century of American control. More than a half-million barrels
of crude oil and petroleum products transit the Canal each day. (DJ)
December 31, 1999:
Russian President Boris Yeltsin makes a surprise announcement that he is
resigning immediately. Vladimir Putin becomes Acting President, and
presidential elections will be held within 90 days, with a date to be set by
the State Duma.
Russia is the largest exporter of energy in the world. (DJ)
February 28, 2000:
The U.S. average retail price per gallon of unleaded regular is $1.42
This is an increase of 52 cents in the year since Clinton was acquitted.
March 13, 2000:
The U.S. average retail price per gallon of unleaded regular is $1.52
This is an increase of 10 cents per gallon in the past 2 weeks.
U.S. gasoline prices have increased 69% since Bill Clinton was
acquitted 13 months ago.
Gasoline prices are reported at an all time high in California.
Regular $1.74 Midgrade $1.84 Premium $1.93 Prices include all taxes.
Regards to All
Nakano
(Sources: Form EIA-878 "Motor Gasoline Price Survey" )
http://www.energy.ca.gov/fuels/gasoline/world_gasoline_prices.html
http://www.energy.ca.gov/fuels/weekly/gasoline.html
FromCalif. Energy Commission andU.S. Dept. of Energy's Energy Information
Administration
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