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SOME RACES STILL YET TO BE
DECIDED
One week after the November 4 elections, there are still some races that
are too close to call. In Alaska, Democratic challenger Mark Begich
holds an 814 – vote lead over Republican incumbent Senator Ted Stevens
who was convicted last month on seven felony counts for failing to
report expensive home renovations. There are still several thousand
absentee ballots to be counted which means that the race remains
undecided. If Stevens wins the election, his future in the Senate is
unclear. Several Republican members have called for his resignation and
some have said that if he returns that he would be banned from
participating in weekly Republican caucus meetings.
In Minnesota, first term Republican Senator Norm Coleman has a 206-vote
lead against Democratic challenger Al Franken. Secretary of State Mark
Ritchie has indicated that he expects an automatic recount to occur and
that the target date is December 5 for local recount centers to report
the results.
In Georgia, Republican incumbent Senator Saxby Chambliss and Democratic
challenger Jim Martin will head to a December 2 runoff. Chambliss will
probably hold the advantage in the runoff, but the Democratic Senatorial
Campaign Committee plans to send financial resources to the state to
challenge Chambliss.
On the whole, Democrats have expanded their Senate majority to 57 seats
which is three seats short of the sixty needed to have a
filibuster-proof majority.
On the other side of the Hill, five races remain undecided. In
California, Republican Tom McClintock maintained a 928-vote lead over
Democrat Charlie Brown. Officials of both campaigns have indicated they
will wait until all ballots are counted before taking further action.
Ohio Republican state Senator Steve Stivers leads Democratic county
commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy by 149 votes. Both candidates aim to replace
retiring Representative Deborah Pryce (R).
Another race yet to be decided is in Virginia’s 5th district between
Democrat Tom Perriello and Republican incumbent Representative Virgil
Goode, Jr., who is trailing by 745. Goode may ask for a recount.
The last two races yet to be decided are general elections to be held
December 6 in two Louisiana districts. Democrat Paul Carmouche and
Republican John Fleming are in a close race to succeed retiring
Republican Representative Jim McCrery in Louisiana’s 4th district.
Democrat incumbent William Jefferson is heavily favored to defeat
Republican challenger Joseph Cao in Louisiana’s 2nd.
Two close House races were decided last weekend. In Maryland’s 1st
Congressional District, Democrat Frank Kratovil defeated Republican
state Senator Andy Harris for the seat vacated by incumbent Wayne T.
Gilchrest (R), who lost the Republican Primary. In Washington State,
Republican incumbent Representative Dave Reichert defeated Democratic
challenger Darcy Burner.
Overall, the Democrats are ensured of at least 255 of the 435 seats,
with their net gain in this election now at 20 seats.
TENNESSEE EXECUTIVE TO
RETIRE, SUCCESSOR NAMED
PMAA congratulates Marylee Booth, Executive
Director of the Tennessee Oil Marketers
Association (TOMA), who plans to retire
December 31, 2008. She has had a
distinguished career leading and managing
TOMA for over 23 years. Marylee has been a
great supporter of PMAA and we appreciate
all the work she has done on behalf of
independent petroleum marketers nationally.
Emily LeRoy, TOMA's Associate Director, has
been selected by the search committee to
become the new Executive Director. Emily has
been active in PMAA initiatives for over
twelve years and we very much look forward
to continuing to work with her. Having
worked for Congressmen Ed Jones and John
Tanner, Emily has good insight into the
workings of Capitol Hill.
HOUSE SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE TO HAVE GREATER ROLE IN
CLEAN ENERGY INITIATIVES
The 2008 elections have shaken up leadership
posts in two of the House Science and
Technology Subcommittees. Representative
Nick Lampson (D-TX), chairman of the Energy
and Environment Subcommittee, lost his
re-election bid to Republican Pete Olson
which was one of the rare victories
Republicans were able to capture last week.
Furthermore, Representative Mark Udall
(D-CO), chairman of the Space and
Aeronautics Subcommittee, captured a Senate
seat. The vacant spots could provide the new
leadership an opportunity to advance
President-elect Barack Obama’s clean energy
technology initiatives.
Replacements for the subcommittee
chairmanships include Representatives David
Wu (D-OR), Brian Baird (D-WA), Brad Miller
(D-NC), Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Gabrielle
Giffords (D-AZ), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), and
Laura Richardson (D-CA). The future chairman
of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee
will have a tough decision on how to handle
FutureGen, which is the clean coal project
started by President Bush in 2003 to
demonstrate carbon capture and sequestration
and hydrogen production technologies. The
Department of Energy announced earlier this
year that FutureGen would be on hold after
costs continued to escalate. The future
chair will have to work closely with the
Obama administration to decide the best way
to go forward with the program, to either
focus on the original single demonstration
of clean coal technology in Matton, Illinois
or follow the DOE’s path which aims to
create multiple clean coal technology
commercial sites.
During his campaign for the presidency,
Obama pledged $150 billion over the next ten
years to develop advanced plug-in hybrid
vehicles, cellulosic biofuels, clean coal,
carbon capture and sequestration, and other
energy initiatives. Currently, cellulosic
biofuels is at its beginning stages and it
not yet ready for commercial production.
Obama and the next chairman of the Energy
and Environment subcommittee will have tough
challenges to overcome given the energy
crisis this nation faces.
PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK
OBAMA PLANS TO STOP SOME BUSH ADMINISTRATION EXECUTIVE ORDERS ON OIL AND
GAS DRILLING
Earlier this week, key advisors to
President-elect Barack Obama said he plans
to use his executive authority to roll back
some Bush Administration executive orders on
oil and gas drilling on public lands. Obama
plans to review all of President Bush’s
executive orders and will repeal or amend
some of them. Obama takes office on January
20 and he plans to act immediately on Bush’s
decisions which may include stopping the
Bureau of Land Management from opening
nearly 11 million acres in Utah for oil and
gas leasing. Since those decisions on oil
and gas drilling in Utah were executive
branch decisions and not directed by
Congress, Obama could decide to revisit
those decisions and change them.
SENATOR ROBERT BYRD (D-WV)
TO STEP DOWN AS APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
Today, the longest serving Senator in
history announced that he would step down as
Chairman of the Senate Appropriations
Committee. Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) will
give up his gavel to Senator Daniel Inouye
(D-HI) on January 6, 2009, at the start of
the new Congress. Byrd was the Senate
Majority Leader for 12 years and has been
Senator for 50 years. He also chaired the
Appropriations Committee for 10 years
funneling billions of dollars to the state
of West Virginia.
Over the last few years, Byrd’s health has
deteriorated putting pressure on Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to remove
him from his chair. Byrd’s departure will
also lead to some other committee changes.
FTC HOLDS HEARING ON
PROPOSED ENERGY MARKET MANIPULATION RULEMAKING
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held an
all day hearing last week in Washington,
D.C. on a proposed rulemaking designed to
address potential energy market
manipulation. PMAA General Counsel Bob
Bassman represented PMAA at the hearing. The
rulemaking is mandated pursuant to The
Energy Independence and Security Act of
2007, which gives the FTC expanded authority
to investigate wholesale petroleum markets.
This matter is important to everyone in the
petroleum industry because it would not only
create closer FTC oversight of upstream
wholesale pricing practices but also give
the commission broad powers to regulate
energy futures trading. The rule is
controversial because it would give the FTC
some duplicate regulatory jurisdiction of
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC),
which many critics claim has failed to
conduct necessary oversight of energy
futures trading. Interested parties from the
petroleum refining, distribution and
marketing industries along with commodity
futures traders participated in the hearing.
Another key aspect of the proposed rule is
the effort to define the scope of the
petroleum “wholesale market” that the FTC
seeks to regulate. The FTC is focusing its
attention on market sectors located above
the terminal rack. Most participants agreed
that the FTC should focus on refining and
the futures markets since this is where
wholesale prices are largely determined.
Energy market traders told the FTC that they
oppose any expansion of the Commission’s
power into an area where the CFTC already
operates. Consumer advocacy groups urged the
FTC to regulate broadly in order to prevent
any potential for market manipulation. The
FTC would not reveal much detail about the
rulemaking other than to say that the rule
would almost certainly include FTC energy
futures trading oversight. PMAA believes the
FTC would like to finalize this rule before
President Bush leaves the White House.
BIOFUELS INDUSTRY SEEKS
DELAY IN EPA RULE SETTING RENEWABLE FUEL MANDATE
Last week a group representing biotechnology
and renewable fuel industries asked the U.S.
EPA to delay a final rulemaking that
implements ambitious new annual renewable
fuel quotas under the federal renewable fuel
standard (RFS). The Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2007 requires the nation's
fuel supply to include nine billion gallons
of renewable fuel in 2008 and 36 billion
gallons in 2022. The law also requires that
the EPA only count renewable fuels that
provide a minimum 20 percent reduction in
lifetime greenhouse gas emissions when
compared with gasoline for calculating the
annual quotas. EPA is drafting rules to
enforce the act.
The group of industries led by the
Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) is
concerned that the analysis used in the
rulemaking process by the EPA of the
indirect greenhouse gas emissions due to
land-use changes from increased renewable
fuel production would severely limit the
future of the industry. The analysis
conducted by the German Marshall Fund
concludes that increased ethanol production
will lead to greater demand for food crops,
which will result in new land cleared for
crop production, the destruction of which
will result in greater carbon dioxide
emissions. The group told the EPA that the
analysis is not based on sound scientific
evidence because there are no generally
accepted methods for determining indirect
land-use change in greenhouse gas emissions
due to increased renewable fuel production.
In addition, the group says the EPA’s
reliance on an analysis that concludes
renewable fuels are responsible for
increased greenhouse gas emissions could
kill investment in the next generation of
biofuels derived from cellulosic materials
and would erode public confidence in ethanol
and biodiesel in general.
Environmental groups responding to the
group’s concerns said if additional time is
needed to assess the effects of indirect
land-use changes, EPA should refrain from
certifying that any biofuel meets the
life-cycle greenhouse gas reduction
thresholds required in the 2007 energy bill.
To do otherwise would be unlawful, say
environmentalists. According to the EPA, the
RFS rule is not complete and is not expected
to be published any time soon.
FEDERAL ALTERNATIVE FUELS
VEHICLE INCENTIVE
The U.S. Department of Energy announced last
week that it is accepting applications from
automobile manufacturers for $25 billion in
loans for retooling factories to produce
fuel-efficient cars. The Advanced Technology
Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program was
authorized under the Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2007 and is supported by the
nation’s automobile manufacturers. To
qualify for a DOE loan, automakers must
demonstrate that the vehicle it intends to
make has a fuel economy performance of at
least 125 percent of the average fuel
economy of model-year 2005 vehicles in the
same class.
NTSB SUPPORTS NEW
LOADING/UNLOADING RULE
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) last week called for a
new DOT rulemaking that would regulate the loading and unloading of
petroleum products from cargo tank vehicles. According to the NTSB,
loading and unloading incidents accounted for 27 percent of all serious
HAZMAT incidents between 2004 and 2006. Such incidents have been the
result of inadequate inspection of equipment, inadequate measures to
protect workers, and failure to monitor the process, NTSB said. The NTSB
cited an incident where a truck driver delivering a load of gasoline to
a service station tried to fill an already partially filled tank.
Approximately 500 gallons of gasoline flowed in the street, starting a
fire that killed five people.
Last January, the DOT proposed recommended practices for the bulk
loading and unloading of hazardous materials that included safety
procedure analyses, emergency response practices, equipment maintenance
schedules, and driver training. However, the NTSB said while these
practices would help prevent incidents, they are voluntary and not
enforceable. Instead the DOT should consider rulemaking mandating the
recommended practices, according to the NTSB.
EPA RECORD FINE FOR
UNREGISTERED ADDITIVE SALE
The U.S. EPA announced last week that Biofriendly Corp. of Covina, CA
agreed to pay a $1.25 million penalty for selling an unregistered fuel
additive. The agency charged Biofriendly with violating Section 211(d)
of the Clean Air Act that requires motor vehicle fuels and fuel
additives to meet stringent emission standards. Before fuels and fuel
additives may be marketed, companies must provide EPA with information
on the chemical composition and structure of the additive, and provide
test results demonstrating no adverse effect on automobile emission
control systems before obtaining agency registration.
According to the EPA, Biofriendly sold “Green Plus, a fuel additive
designed to reduce emissions in diesel fuel.” The EPA said the company
registered Green Plus in 2001 but failed to properly disclose key
constituents of the additive. Despite the record fine, the EPA has since
approved new product registrations for Green Plus.
FHWA REPORTS RECORD DROP
IN MILES DRIVEN
Driving on U.S. roads declined for the tenth straight month in August
and posted the largest monthly drop in the 66-year history of the
records, according to new estimates just released from the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA). Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fell 15
billion in August, the largest monthly decline since records began in
1942, the FHWA's Traffic Volume Trends reports says. The record decline
is a 5.6 decrease, from 268.7 billion VMT in August 2007 to 253.7
billion in 2008. The cumulative VMT total for 2008 is 3.3 percent below
the same point in 2007.
The three largest VMT drops ever seen all occurred in 2008. June saw a
drop of 12.2 billion VMT, beating the 11 billion VMT decline in March
when the ten-month slide began. There have been 78.1 billion fewer VMT
than in the same timeframe the year earlier. In those ten months, rural
Interstate travel has been hit twice as hard as urban travel posting a
four percent decline to urban travel's two percent drop. August VMT
declined in all 50 states, with Florida posting the largest loss of 9.7
percent, but the District of Columbia saw a 3.2 percent increase.
PMAA MEMBER SERVICES
SPOTLIGHT FEATURING: STAPLES BUSINESS ADVANTAGE
Plan ahead. Order your 2009 calendars and planners now. Staples offers
the very best selection of calendars and day planners to help you get
ready for the upcoming year. You'll find everything from appointment
books to desk and wall calendars all right here. Order today to get
exactly what you need.
Check out our 2009
Calendars and Day Planners Flyer or go to
StaplesLink.com ® to view the
entire selection. To learn more, please contact your Staples®
representative, Gail Harrison.
PMAA MEMBER SERVICES
SPOTLIGHT FEATURING: MERIDIAN ASSOCIATES
Meridian offers Seminars on Key Issues to Marketers in January 2009
Betsi Bixby and her
company Meridian Associates, Inc., a PMAA National Partner, currently
assist over 3,300 of this country's petroleum marketers increase cash
flow and profits through education, strategic planning facilitation,
merger mediation, business valuation and brokerage services. Her message
is one of executable steps and core competencies that every petroleum
marketer needs to know.
Focus
on Acquisitions, January 19-20, 2009 in Arlington, Texas
Strategies for
Successfully Buying or Selling a Petro Business
·
The
latest valuation trend (value a business properly to make the best
buying or selling decision while avoiding common and very costly
mistakes!)
·
Power
Negotiation – Techniques and Strategies to Make More Successful Deals
·
Meridian’s proprietary checklists to guide you A-Z through the business
buy/sell process
·
Petroleum specific samples, documentation and more
Focus on Credit –
January 21-22, 2009 in Arlington, Texas
Proven Methods for
virtually
eliminating bad debt!
·
Discover a simple game plan for making the right credit decisions every
time
·
How to
do technical credit analysis the right way so you can easily identify,
set and utilize appropriate credit limits, risk rating systems, etc.
·
Stop
losing money by anticipating and avoiding bad debts
Focus on Practical
Technology – January 21-22, 2009 in Arlington, Texas
·
A
panel of experts answer your most pressing IT questions
·
Secrets to successfully manage all of your tech projects
·
Get
more ROI from the software and systems you already own
·
Unbiased and uncensored reviews on the most common petro systems from
actual users
·
The
tough questions you should ask all of you vendors during a purchase
process to make sure you are not making a mistake
For
more information or to register to these popular events, please call
800.728.9005.
FROM THE U.S. ENERGY
INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
U.S. Average Retail Gasoline Prices - The U.S. average price for
regular gasoline fell another 25.6 cents to hit 240 cents per gallon.
Over the past seven weeks, the U.S. average has plunged 143.5 cents and
has dropped 171.4 cents from the all-time high set on July 7. As a
result, the price is now 61.3 cents below the price a year ago and is
also the lowest since February 26, 2007. Prices fell by more than 20
cents in each of the major regions. While the average price on the East
Coast slumped 23.5 cents to 244.9 cents per gallon, the New England
portion of the region was the only area where the average price drop did
not exceed 20 cents. The average price in New England dropped 19.2 cents
to 244.8 cents per gallon, still 52.1 cents lower than the price last
year at this time. In the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions, prices sank
below $2.25. In the Midwest, the price tumbled 26 cents to 223.7 cents a
gallon. Dropping 23.2 to 222.8 cents per gallon, the price in the Gulf
Coast remained the lowest among the regions. The price in the Rocky
Mountains dropped 28 cents to 248.2 cents per gallon, the first time it
has been below $2.50 a gallon since March 19 of last year. The price on
the West Coast not only fell for the nineteenth week in a row, it
dropped the most among the regions plummeting 31 cents to reach 274
cents per gallon slipping below three dollars for the first time since
October 15, 2007. The price in California fell 34.7 cents to 278.3 cents
per gallon.
U.S. Average Retail Diesel Fuel Prices - Diesel prices throughout
the country also continued their downward slide. The U.S. average
dropped 20 cents to hit 308.8 cents per gallon, the lowest since October
15 of last year. The all-time high price for diesel was set at 476.4
cents per gallon 16 weeks ago on July 14. Since then the price has
fallen for 15 of the 16 weeks, plunging a total of 167.6 cents. As
prices continued to spiral downward, the average prices were lower than
last year at this time in all regions except the New England portion of
the East Coast, which was 4.5 cents above last year’s price. On the East
Coast as a whole, the average dropped 17.8 cents to 321.9 cents per
gallon. Tumbling the most among the five regions, the price in the
Midwest fell 22.6 cents. At 301.8 cents per gallon, the price was also
the lowest of any region. The average price in the Gulf Coast slipped
18.6 cents to 303.3 cents per gallon. The price in the Rocky Mountains
sank to 315.7 cents per gallon, a drop of 21.8 cents. On the West Coast,
the price fell 18.1 cents to 305.2 cents per gallon. In California, the
average price shrank by 22.9 cents to 305.7 cents per gallon. |
