inDECATUR

Oil prices dip to 17-month low. OPEC cuts deemed inadequate.

Oil prices fell to their lowest point since May 2007 Friday after the world's largest oil cartel slashed production targets by a smaller-than-expected amount.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, whose member nations control about 40% of the world's oil, said it would cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day starting in November.

U.S. crude for December delivery fell $4.79 to $63.05 a barrel in electronic trading. Oil hit a low of $62.95 after the news of the cut broke at about 5:10 a.m. ET. It was the lowest level for oil prices in more than 17 months.

If oil sinks below $50, OPEC will be forced to act and cut production again.

DG | CNNMoney

Regular gas in Atlanta is approaching $2.50/gallon [see chart].

It's good to see gas prices get back to something reasonable, but it's taking a global recession to make it happen, which is not good.

Hopefully, people will continue their reduced gas consumption, even as the cost of gas goes down, and even after the economy recovers.

Cutting production to increase the price is a two-edged sword for oil producing countries. It reminds me of GT's AD reducing the seating at Grant Field back in the 80s, under the theory that would increase demand for the remaining seats. The only problem was the total revenue went down.

Sweet downward trend in ATL gas prices

ATL gas prices are usually equal to or slightly lower than the national average, so they should continue to drop, despite the apparent flattening over the past day.

Good news: ATL gas prices dropping like a rock

Like they say, a cloud often has a silver lining. The world economy is in the tank. As a result, the demand for gas is down. So, gas is getting cheaper.

We're already back to mid-April prices:

This old blogger still doesn't consider gas over $3 per gallon (or $2 for that matter) cheap, but it's better than over $4. I didn't think we'd ever pay over $4, and as it turned out, we only did for a short time, as a result of Ike.

Possibly two more weeks of gas shortages in ATL

Atlanta’s chaotic gasoline shortage should be back to normal by Columbus Day, Oct. 13, at the latest, said Randy Bly of AAA South. That means about two more weeks of uncertainty, desperate searches for stations with gasoline and long lines at stations that do.

Dom Grayson of Lithonia filled up his Volvo on Sunday in Decatur, but still planned to take MARTA today.

CR | AJC | 9/29/2008

A line of cars literally followed a fuel-filled truck Sunday as it pulled into a QuikTrip tucked between Lawrenceville Highway and the North DeKalb Mall around 11 a.m. And it wasn’t long before more motorists swooned, seemingly under the spell of some petro perfume.

Robert Maples, an audio-visual technician at the Georgia Aquarium, said he’ll probably take MARTA to work this week from his Decatur home.

CR | AJC | 9/29/2008

Twitter remains the best tool we have for near real time gas availability reporting. Better tools can be envisioned, but the need will be gone before development and implementation was complete. Perhaps they should be developed anyway, so they are there when needed.

inDECATUR has been criticized in the past for being "obsessed" with the subject of gas in a city which pushes car-less living, but the fact is MOST of us still need cars, because metro ATL doesn't have the infrastructure needed for car-less living, except for those who are willing to constrict their options.

Even if one can afford to rent a Zip car, or call a cab; that's not really solving the problem. That's just paying somebody else to buy gas for you. It does save a parking space, however. Those are becoming more precious in a rapidly developing downtown.

Hopefully, some will continue to use MARTA more often, even after this temporary situation passes. MARTA needs to encourage that by maximizng the trains on the tracks during peak hours and improving service. Most of us need to discard the perceived stigma of riding a bus. And, maybe those living in outlying counties will be more likely to vote for MARTA extensions in future.

Even the Batmobile is in search of gas.

Big Kroger was pumping gas at noon for $3.999

$3.8999 if you had a Kroger card and bought at least $100 groceries the month before.

The station at the so-called "big" Kroger at DeKalb Industrial Way and N. Decatur was pumping gas at noon.  About 3-5 cars were waiting for each pump.  [This station has been running out of gas by 4PM the past few days.]

The Shell station on the SW corner was also pumping [with a tanker in the lot], but the station on the NW corner was not.

Hopefully, now that the EPA has allowed a temporary waiving of the "Atlanta blend," we'll be out of the shortages in a few days. PLEASE don't top off your tanks every time it gets down by a quarter.

The ATL TV stations seem to be looking for the stations with the longest lines to cover, to make a bigger story out of this.

Live Apartment Fire and Mostly Media cover some coverage. Both note we don't have the tools needed to determine which stations have gas before heading toward them. If this were more than a temporary situation, they could be developed.

Don't top off those tanks! Cheaper gas on the way

Shortages of gasoline across metro Atlanta should abate this week, local suppliers say.

Still, they caution against a run on pumps to top off tanks.

“We’re not out of gas,” said Tex Pitfield, president and chief executive officer of Saraguay Petroleum Corp. The Atlanta-based distributor operates 20 tankers that deliver gas across the metro area and beyond. He blamed spotty outages on the “insane run” on stations during the weekend, when motorists feared Ike would shut off supplies.

“We believe the situation is temporary,” read a statement from Pilot Travel Centers, which operates 25 outlets in Georgia. “While we are still waiting to hear about all of the impacts to refineries and pipelines from Ike, we expect the daily (or spot) market for fuel to start coming down this week.”

So does Jim Tudor, president of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores. Gas is here, he said, and more is on the way. “It will take us a few days to catch up,” he said.

Meantime, he said, if the tank isn’t empty, leave the gas for someone whose car is.

AJC

The situation should improve with every passing day. Fill up only when your tank is below 1/4 full.

5PM update: In seeming contradiction to the above, the station at the big Kroger was not open around 4PM. Perhaps too many are topping off their tanks.

If you were wise enough to fill up earlier in the week when you saw Ike was headed toward Galveston, pat yourself on the back.

Notice ATL and GA were below the national average, but jumped way above it after Ike.  In large part, that was due to panic buying, which encourages price gouging.

You can see this chart updated anytime simply by clicking on "ATL/GA/US gas prices" under PAGES in the sidebar. You can also select different time ranges, from one month to six years.

Crude oil futures dropped to $95.71, about where they were back in February, so once the effects of Ike are corrected, we should see prices continue to drop. Reduced demand and a weakening global economy are driving the price down.

Turn off that computer when not in use

Today is Power IT (Internet technology) Down Day. County Commissioner Jeff Rader requested all of the county’s employees participate by turning off their computers, monitors and printers as they leave work tonight.

It's a good idea for all of us to power down our computers when we're not going to be using them for several hours.

ATL/GA/US Gas price chart

This chart (updated daily) is now available under Pages in the right sidebar, since gas prices impact so many aspects of our lives, whether we drive much or not. You can check it anytime you like.

Click on the top row to change the time frame.

Atlanta Historical Gas Price Charts Provided by GasBuddy.com

As of this post (8/9/08): After 5 months of steadily increasing prices, we've seen almost a month of dropping prices. We can only hope this trend continues. It would help if Nancy Pelosi would stop blocking a simple up/down vote on drilling, and let the representatives of we, the people, decide.

Despite the warfare between Russia and Georgia, oil futures closed at $115.XX/barrel Friday.

Supply & Demand forces finally get the attention of oil speculators

Oil prices dropped below $124 a barrel Wednesday and after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled that inflation had become a more prominent concern.

By midday in Europe, light, sweet crude for July delivery was down 52 cents at $123.79 a barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $3.45 to settle at $124.31 a barrel in the previous session.

That was oil's lowest settlement price for a front-month contract on Nymex since May 15. Prices are now more than $11 below the trading record of $135.09 a barrel hit on May 22.

"The stars for a significant correction in crude oil are lining up," U.S. analyst and trader Stephen Schork said in a research note.

In London, July Brent crude dropped 97 cents to $123.61 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Bernanke's comments about rising prices sent the dollar higher and diminished the chance that oil would exceed the record highs of last month in the short term. Bernanke signaled the Fed is inclined to leave rates where they are for now, but some analysts said he might be taking a step toward an eventual rise in rates later this year, or early next year.

Evidence continues to mount that oil prices, nearly twice what they were a year ago, have finally cut into demand.

PG | AP

Oil is not a completely inelastic commodity. We need the products made from it, but we can change our behaviors to reduce our consumption, if the price gets TOO HIGH, as it has.

Yes, demand is increasing in China, were more people are driving, but that demand has not gone up enough to explain the dramatic jump in gas prices over the past five years.

The Ford F-150 is no longer the best selling single vehicle in the US, for the first time in decades. Yesterday, GM announced it will shut down some truck and SUV plants, and may sell off the Hummer brand. Airlines are reducing routes and planes and laying people off, as Americans cut out unnecessary flights. An AP article in the AJC notes MARTA ridership is up dramatically. We are adjusting.

Some speculators who have driven the price so high may get severely burned, and deservedly so.

MARTA idling buses overnight at Laredo garage

While Atlantans are concerned about air quality and gas prices, MARTA continues to idle hundreds of MARTA buses for hours overnight at the Laredo garage just north of Avondale and not far east of Decatur.

200-300 buses may idle for as much as 6 hours.

Many do run on natural gas, but NG engines pollute as well, and we should not waste our NG resources.

Avondale residents have recorded this activity with their camcorders, and WSB Ch. 2 news has picked up on the story.

The only explanation imaginable is MARTA is concerned some of the buses will not crank when needed in the AM. If so, it should improve maintenance. A well-maintained bus will crank, even in cold weather.

North Avondale Neighborhood Association