http://www.petroleumtraders.com/news.aspx Petroleum Traders news http://bit.ly/9zBwEi Oil climbed as the National Hurricane Center said the weather system over Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic has a 40% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone. The Gulf of Mexico makes up 31% of the U.S. output of oil. Oil supplies could lessen if the storm reaches the Gulf. http://bit.ly/bsJoaM Following is the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale: Category 1: Minimal Damage Winds 74-95 mph. Storm surge generally 4-5 ft. above normal. Category 2: Moderate Damage Winds 96-110 mph. Storm surge generally 6-8 ft. above normal. Category 3: Extensive Damage Winds 111-130 mph. Storm surge generally 9-12 ft. above normal. Category 4: Extreme Damage Winds 131-155 mph. Storm surge generally 13-18 ft. above normal. Category 5: Catastrophic Damage Winds greater than 155 mph. Storm surge generally greater than 18 ft. above normal. http://bit.ly/aCobYm Crude prices began to fall on May 4, 2010 as news of economic weakness in Greece and the need for a bailout circulated the media. Crude prices declined for four days. The weekend brought about news of a Greek bailout, and the market traded up strong Monday, May 10th. The rebound did not last long as news of a greater European problem was exposed. The market rolled back into a bearish decline that would last another 2 weeks. http://bit.ly/byMC2i In New Orleans, an enormous fire erupted on a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The rig, named Deepwater Horizon, was being operated by Transocean Ltd. The fire on the rig escalated quickly, forcing workers to flee. Eleven crew members were deemed missing. As the Coast Guard searched for the missing crew, which have yet to be found, the fire department struggled to squelch the thirsty flames. Deepwater Horizon burned for two days before sinking Thursday morning. Transocean said one reason for the fire could have been an uncontrolled burst of oil and/or natural gas from the well. This would explain the enormity and intensity of the fire. Now that the fire is out, authorities have shifted their focus on containment and cleanup of the spill. The incident left a massive 1 X 5 mile oil sheen, but fortunately, it was discovered that no oil was leaking from the well. BP is currently leading the charge in the oil cleanup. The incident comes at one of the worst times possible. As mentioned in a previous article, President Obama had proposed a plan to open up some of the American shoreline to drilling. One of the leading arguments proposed by advocates of the offshore drilling plan was that drilling had become much safer, but with the current situation, many fear that any plans to open the shoreline to drilling will be more restricted or possibly canceled. http://bit.ly/bkxjGY On April 14, 2010, one of Iceland’s volcanoes erupted for a second time in under a month. The current eruption proved to be 10 to 20 times stronger than the previous eruption, and added the danger of massive flooding. The eruption took place under a glacier, causing large scale melting and an increase in the water level in Iceland’s rivers by 10 feet. While this proved to be quite a disaster, the greater problem came from the amount of Ash that spewed forth from the volcano. The ash has been seen all around the world, causing especially big problems for the airlines. France, Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Finland have all reported differing degrees of airspace visibility due to the ash. Many flights were canceled, and some airports even grounded all planes. Air travel has begun to pickup in these countries with plans of returning to normal flying patterns. http://bit.ly/bstElC A bomb attack on a major pipeline in northern Iraq occurred Thursday. Officials reported that the attack disrupted oil exports that are sent through Turkey. The pipeline will need to be repaired, and it may take several days before pumping will start again. Interestingly enough, Iran reported their desire for oil prices to be higher. They claimed that the increasing costs of oil extraction needs to be reflected in oil prices. http://bit.ly/cZl0Qi Good Friday brought some good news as the U.S. Department of Labor reported an increase of 162,000 new jobs for the month of March. Along with the jobs report, manufacturing and pending home sales data all came back better than expected. The futures market was closed for Good Friday, however, oil futures made up for it Monday as Crude oil set a new 18-month high of $86.90. http://bit.ly/d1okMu For the last several months, investors have watched carefully as Greece has made known its struggling solvency as a nation. The weekend proved favorable for Greece as a bailout plan was set in motion offering Greece ?45Billion EUR ($61 Billion USD). While this asset infusion could solve Greece’s cash flow problems, the larger question of their future solvency remains. In accordance with this news, euro equity rallies have occurred and many investors are paying close attention to the euro-dollar relationship, as they believe there to be a connection with the strength of the euro and the growth in the price of crude oil. Many are asking themselves, “will future strength in the euro be paralleled by price appreciation in crude oil and resulting petroleum products?” http://bit.ly/dxLe5l Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, one of the world’s largest oil producers, raised the price of crude oil for the U.S. and Asia, while cutting prices on crude to Europe. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Saudi Arabia ranks as the fourth largest exporter of crude oil to the U.S. (http://www.eia.doe.gov). http://bit.ly/biGzXv President Obama has announced a plan to open areas of the American coastline to offshore "exploration". The opened areas will include parts of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic coastline from Delaware to central Florida, and some of the northern banks of Alaska. While opening certain areas, President Obama has blocked off others. The major areas blocked from offshore drilling include the Atlantic coast north of Delaware, the Pacific coast from Mexico to Canada, and Bristol Bay in Alaska. http://bit.ly/cSSwBF Spring has arrived, and with the warm weather comes the need to check your bulk fuel storage tank bottoms for the presence of water. As temperatures rise, there is a higher probability of water entering your tanks via condensation. If water gets into a storage tank holding ethanol blended gasoline, phase separation can occur. The water in the tank can pull the ethanol to the bottom of the tank, leaving you with a lower octane gasoline at the top of the tank and a water/ethanol layer at the bottom. This is a hazard with expensive consequences, including loss of fuel and serious vehicle problems. Prevent such problems by checking your tanks for water weekly. Also, remember to assert proper tank maintenance at least once a year. This will assist in preventing problems and keeping your fleet running properly. http://bit.ly/4WDzec 2010 Gas Prices - Will they hit $4.00 a gallon? Let us know your opinion http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Wayne-IN/Petroleum-Traders-Corporation/210212361392 Petroleum Traders @ Facebook http://bit.ly/cWboFo Without the $1 credit, bio plants have been closing or stopped producing. With the pending re-instatement of the dollar credit, will bio plants start up again? Crude has been range bound between $74 to $84. The marketplace appears poised to lock up firm prices the next time crude goes below $75. Follow our discussion on Facebook. http://bit.ly/36kssQ Do you want to turn your sales talent into a six figure income? We are in need of talented sales individuals to join our team at Petroleum Traders Corporation. Our firm is a high energy, rapidly growing leader within the oil industry. The ideal candidates will have a minimum of 2 years recent SALES experience with proven success, excellent organizational skills, a demanding work ethic and the ability to quickly close sales to new customers. We want individuals with the ability to overcome customer objections, and to convert buyers into Petroleum Traders customers. This position is primarily inside sales, though some travel and outside sales will be required. Email your resume to jobs@petroleumtraders.com. http://www.twitter.com/petroleumtrader Petroleum Traders @ Twitter http://bit.ly/aqmDfm Fuel costs have doubled in the last year, and the impact has been severe on available credit balances. As credit lines become strained, customers seek alternatives to increase their ability to buy more product. A letter of credit is an easy way for you to achieve or increase a credit line. For qualified customers, Petroleum Traders may pay a portion or all of the financing fee associated with a letter of credit. Contact a sales representative today to learn more about this and other alternative credit solutions. http://bit.ly/cWMeG3 Petroleum prices continue to fall. Distributors' exposure to both accounts receivable and aggregate bad debt dollar potential are also falling. Conversely, bad debt exposure in the overall market place continues to rise. SemFuels, Flying J and Lyondell are three large oil industry bankruptcy filings. Interest rates in theory are down, unless you have come to the end of an expiring term loan, in which case the rates are rising significantly. Unemployment continues to rise. The amount of quality unemployed is also rising. The opportunity to add new staff for significant growth is present. Fuel supply, fuel sales, fuel paper management (Trading) positions are available within our firm. Petroleum Traders remains a growth company. Contact us if you recognize yourself as a talented and productive professional in any of these areas. http://bit.ly/bwyjtC Down seems to be the prevailing direction of most markets. Oil and gas prices continue down. The Dow continues down. The global economy figures continue to fall. In the opposite direction but with equal negative impact, unemployment continues to rise. The number of countries that initiate and re-initiate hundreds of billions in currency support for failing banks and industries is increasing on a weekly basis. The fact that we have a new president elect and reduced interests rates seemingly has no immediate impact. If the downstream oil industry previously believed there was little if any connection between rising oil prices and supply and demand, they are now witnessing a true demand relationship with oil prices. Both are down significantly and prospecting to fall farther. The oil industry has a production and distribution system that fails to recognize first, that it does not sell product, and secondly, that it cannot create consumption in this falling economy regardless of the price of oil. Looking at the logistical reality of refining and production, it is illogical to assume the industry will truly curtail the volume of product in the marketplace fast enough to prevent the price from continuing to fall. The last and most difficult for all of us in the industry (both buyers and sellers) is the growing and extreme volatility of intra-day prices. Price management has become a daily requirement. http://bit.ly/bWXLup The ripples from rapidly increasing fuels costs are being felt by every major industry in the United States. Trucking companies are among those getting hit the hardest, as historically successful companies search for solutions to stay profitable. Firm prices allow you to take the volatility out of the market while giving you a price protection and guaranteed supply. Inquire today about how price management can work for your company. http://bit.ly/bSC7Gy As the Dow Jones rebounds from approximately 6,500 to 8,200, many Americans ask themselves “has the economy really improved?” Unemployment rates do not suggest so, as they continue to rise. Many financial experts suggest that the worst is yet to come, and that the 3rd quarter of 2009 will be the real proving ground for which companies will pull through this recession. Big automotive may set the tone for other industries poised for downfall, to include the manufacturers, distributors, and carriers that support those industries. As the number of unknown economic variables grow, you have the ability to have absolute control over one critical variable – your price. In 2008, Southwest Airlines was one of the most noted Airlines in news articles because of their decision to control their fuel costs long before the peak we saw in the summer of 2008. Hedging fuel prices is not about knowing what will happen, it’s about knowing what has happened in the past (combined with what could happen), and taking action on that knowledge. Contact us at 260-207-6338 to learn more about price management. http://bit.ly/9SYCFb There are 15 refineries in Texas and Louisiana with a capacity of 3.9 million barrels per day (22% of US capacity) that remain closed due to issues related to the hurricane. The major problem in these refineries resuming operation will be dependent on when electricity is restored. This could be anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks depending on the area. Since these refineries first shut down ahead of the first storm, Gustav, there has been approximately 24 million barrels of refined products that have not been produced. This breaks down into about 11 million barrels of gasoline and 8 million barrels of distillate. The gulf coast, to include the greater Houston area, is the largest supply point for liquid barrels in the U.S. Currently there are roughly 3,000,000 people without power. Additionally, because of reduced refinery capacity, Colonial,Plantation, and Teppco pipelines are running at reduced rates. As product remains in short supply in the deep southern states, carriers are heading farther north to pull product. This puts extra supply burden on those terminals, and suggests things may get worse before they get better. http://bit.ly/9PCBr6 •Crude Oil descends from $147/barrel high to a low of $116/barrel in less than one month. • Refinery margins reflect crack spreads falling from over $26/barrel one year ago, to a low of $2/barrel recently. ◦Western Refining reports that refining profits are down 92% from the same quarter last year. ◦Sunoco reports refining profits down 80% from same quarter last year. ◦ Delek reports net profits down 86%. •Sem Crude LP files bankruptcy and send shockwaves of credit fears relating to the SemGroup. Marketplace rumors abound that speculative trading in derivatives is suspected as the cause for the meltdown. The US Government is pursuing, attempting to limit speculative trading even as Funds participate in record high volumes of oil trading. Funds prospered dramatically in a market that reflected stories of $250/barrel and possibly $300/barrel crude oil in the event of a Mid East war. Many of these same funds experienced huge losses when the market abruptly turned down.