No bias in this partial list of excuses for high oil prices, either:
(They stopped adding new ones last year.)
2007:
Fears new problems at US refineries will constrict gasoline supplies already at unusually low pre-summer levels (May 2007)
A refinery fire in Sweden
Nigerians running wild again this year
Trouble at many of the nation's refineries
US inventory stockpiles at lowest level since 1956
Extended planned refinery maintenance programs
Excuses given in the two previous years (2005-2006) mirror what we are hearing in 2007:
Concern a storm in the Caribbean will become a hurricane and hit petroleum installations in the Gulf of Mexico
Fresh worries Iran will miss a deadline to halt its nuclear program (8-18-06)
Oil fell $2 to below $75 a barrel today after Britain said it had thwarted a plot to blow up aircraft in trans-Atlantic flight. (8-10-06)
BP Plc said it's shutting the Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska (8-06-06)
Depletion at some of the world's largest fields including Mexico's Cantarell
Three Filipino oil and gas workers were abducted in southern Nigeria (8-04-06)
Fears that the Israeli-Lebanese conflict could spread to Middle East oil producers = $78.40 per barrel
Fear of Nigerian spies (7-31-06)
Explosions on Nigerian pipelines, Israel's military action, and tensions with Iran = $76 per barrel (7-13-06)
Tension over problems with North Korea cause record high prices (7-10-06)
Strong demand and worries about Iran; record high above $75 a barrel (7-05-06)
Momentum from strong demand and geopolitical worries
World oil prices advanced further as the market focused on tight supplies of US gasoline (6-22-06)
Congress has resisted accessing the billions of barrels' worth of oil and natural gas in our (U.S.) offshore continental shelf (added 6-17-06)
Mixed signals from Iran over a package of incentives offered by the West for it to give up uranium enrichment (added 6-16-06)
Militants kidnapped five Koreans at a natural gas plant operated by Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria
Iran's supreme leader threatened to disrupt global supplies if the West punishes Tehran over its nuclear program
A refinery fire cut production at a Valero Energy Corp plant on June 1, 2006
An attack on a Nigerian oil rig which included kidnappings
Crude futures rose amid expectations of a spike in motor fuel demand during the summer driving season, and as forecasters warn of hurricane activity in the coming months. A barrel of light crude jumped $1.21 to $72.50 on the New York Mercantile Exchange on 30 May 2006.
President Bush's Blunders Add $15 to the price of each barrel of oil
Concern of new predictions of new hurricanes for 2006
A letter from Iran's president to President Bush failed to move the countries closer to an agreement
Rising resource nationalism in South America have added to oil-market worries
An expected decline in gasoline stocks (note that this excuse was reversed in 2 days as stocks increased)
Bullish buying by investors
A refinery outage in Italy
Supply disruptions in Africa
Tight petroleum supplies amid soaring demand could drive crude oil prices above $100 a barrel by this winter (2006-2007), energy experts warned yesterday.
Speculators and profit takers bid up the market
Bush stops filling oil reserves while experts say refining is the real issue
Changes from MTBE to Ethanol cause refining and delivery problems
Problems continue in Nigera
Concern about meeting demand for fuel as summer approaches (2006)
The Iranian government wants nuclear power, but purchased long range missiles while acting like loose cannons
-- Beginning of excuses for 2005 --
U.S. government reported in November an unexpected decline in oil supplies
Concern about meeting demand for fuel as winter approaches
Concern US refineries aren't recovering fast enough from the hurricane season
Tropical Storm Wilma - Oct 17 2005 - could move in to the Gulf of Mexico
Almost 19 percent of the U.S. total refining capacity is idle
French refiners might sit on the sidelines due to strikes
Fears of inadequate heating oil supplies this winter
Speculation about natural gas shortages
Debate about trade and budget deficits as US buys more fuel overseas
Are they stretching it with this one?
"Natural gas yesterday surged to a record on concern that a tropical storm system developing in the Caribbean Sea may develop into another hurricane that could cut production that has been crippled by two storms in the last month." - from September 28, 2005
And we continue...
Storms have exposed the soft underbelly of the U.S. energy system
U.S. Gulf of Mexico production remained completely shut because of Hurricane Rita
Four refineries remain shut because of damage caused by Katrina
Tropical Storm Rita will impede efforts to restore production in the Gulf of Mexico
Department of Energy said energy costs in the United States for the upcoming winter would be the highest in a decade
Gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange sent prices 25 percent higher in less than a week - Sep 1, 2005
US production recovered more slowly than expected after Katrina
Eight major refineries are shut down squeezing U.S. refining capacity
Hurricane Katrina appears to be gathering power, causing big problems
Hurricane Katrina damaged platforms and ports
A fire broke out at a Tesoro refinery in Martinez, California
Oil is effected by a superhot, panic-ridden California market
Iran parliament rejects president's choice of oil minister
Tropical Storm Katrina could threaten oil production in the Gulf of Mexico
A fire at a massive refining complex in Venezuela
In Nigeria villagers closed down a pumping facility
A 2 percent slump in US supplies signaled a thirsty market
In Ecuador protesters forced a halt to production
The oil market has not fully convinced itself that more than $60 is sustainable
US stockpile data expected to show a drop in gasoline inventories
Events in the oil-rich Middle East conspire to keep prices high
Nippon Oil Corp. suspended operations after a strong earthquake in Japan
Chevron Corp.'s refinery in El Segundo, California, shutdown for 25 days following a fire
The hot summer helped keep natural gas inventories at worrisomely low levels
ConocoPhillips' Wood River, Ill., refinery, was shut after a thunderstorm caused a power failure
Premcor Inc.'s refinery in Memphis, Tenn., was closed due to a power outage
If sanctioned by the U.S. and U.N., Iran would cut back on oil producing
The hot Chinese economy
Fear of a supply disruption
Rumours of terrorist threats to Saudi refineries
US embassy in Saudi Arabia closed for two days
Iran's decision to restart its nuclear program
Summer is the peak driving season in the US
Bombings in London
Diplomatic showdown over Iran's nuclear program
The recent death of King Fahd
Refinery outages in the United States
It is a product of trading strategies
Dicey conditions in oil producing nations
Weather related problems
Continued worldwide high demand
Strong economic growth in the US, which consumes a quarter of the world's fuel
Excessive fuel use by the US military, which use a third of US supplies
An explosion at the BP plant in Texas City, near Houston
Aging plants that are having difficulty maintaining output at high levels
Major oil reserves are becoming harder to find
Major oil reserves are more expensive to exploit
Strong demand from India
Lack of OPEC to increase oil production
Canada, which supplies oil to the US, recently signed a deal with China
Insurgents have not halted their attacks against the US military in Iraq
Insurgents have not halted their attacks against the new government in Baghdad
Anxiety over terrorism and the Iraq war
Some refineries have had to cut back production because they've been running so hard
Decreasing production in the North Sea
There are only about 1.5 million barrels of spare daily production that can be used in case of emergency
Rebel attacks on pipelines in India
A Sunoco refinery fire in Philadelphia
The threat of hurricanes
A provision in the energy bill signed by President Bush removes protections relative to MTBE
Without MTBE refiners have less flexibility in reformulating gasoline, which could drive prices up
The dollar is declining in relation to other benchmark currencies
No giant new oil fields have been found in twenty years
Critical items such as steel casing and tubing are now in short supply and expensive
Drilling and operating costs have soared
Hurricane Dennis, July 11, 2005
Hurricane Emily
Concerns that demand was straining the world's capacity to pump and refine crude oil
Nigerian rebels have warned oil companies to shut down production in the Niger delta
If Chinese demand were comparable to US demand China would consume more than what is currently being produced
Yukos bankruptcy where Yukos is a major supplier of upwards of 2% of the world's oil supply
Chavez recall vote in unstable Venezuela
Darfur's rebels and supposedly Khartoum backed militias, where the real prize is the oil wealth of the Sudan
Fear of lower US petroleum reserves
OPEC's lack of spare capacity means they can no longer control the market
Sabotaged pipelines in Iraq have added to the escalating price of oil
Fear of cold weather in the winter of 2005 - 2006
Fear that global oil reserves will be entirely depleted by 2038
Concerns over Iran’s decision to resume uranium-conversion activities