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March 03, 2004
PA Oil Prices Surging
It seems that crude oil prices have jumped in response to global market conditions. Yes this means more pressure to drill in Pennsylvania's wild habitats. Of course, this also points to the fact that oil is a global market which we cannot isolate ourselves from no matter how much we wish to. This is from the Oil City Derrick
PennGrade crude oil prices are sizzling, thanks to a hike in demand for fuel and fears that domestic supplies are too tight and oil imports will be curtailed.The price refiners will pay for a 42-gallon barrel of the paraffin-rich PennGrade crude jumped Tuesday to the highest level since the war with Iraq started in March 2003.
Ergon Oil Purchasing of Newell, W.Va., pegged its price per barrel to $33.50 on Tuesday. Although the jump was small at 75 cents, the new posted figure is the highest since March 13, 2003, when the onset of the war with Iraq sent the price to $34.25.
That hefty pricetag lasted only a week, dropping to $26.50 once the war started and supply interruption worries dissipated.
At the same time, American Refining Group of Bradford, the second major buyer of petroleum produced in the western Pennsylvania oil patch, posted a higher price at $32.25 a barrel on Tuesday. That's the highest ARG has listed in more than a year.
... PennGrade crude, the waxy petroleum found in the Appalachian Basin, is coming off a very good year, price-wise. The average per-barrel price paid to producers was $28 and change in 2003, a full $6 higher than the average in 2002 and the highest level in more than a decade.
...Several factors are pushing up the price of crude oil. U.S. petroleum supplies are tight at the same time that there is worry about looming cuts in production from OPEC, a disruption in the oil flow from Venezuela because of political turbulence, and projections for greater demand, especially for gasoline supplies this spring and summer.
And while high crude oil prices promise expensive gasoline at the pumps, the $30-plus range for oil is good news for producers in Pennsylvania's oil patch that runs through the northwestern counties.
Those are some excerpts. I'm not sure how long the Derrick keeps their links active so don't be surprised to find the link dead in a day or so.
Posted by jkleissler at March 3, 2004 06:36 PM
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