{ "id": "RL32343", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL32343", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 104314, "date": "2004-12-23", "retrieved": "2016-04-07T20:01:03.757310", "title": "Gasoline Price Surge Revisited: Crude Oil and Refinery Issues", "summary": "Since late 2002, gasoline prices have been extremely volatile, with the national average spiking\nabove $1.70 three times. Most recently, the nationwide pump price for regular fuel set a new record\nas momentum carried it over $2.00 per gallon. Prices in some states -- reaching a high of $2.45 per\ngallon in California -- are much above the national average. In addition to the market forces affecting\npump prices in the United States, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)\nannounced a production cut effective in January 2005. At a minimum, this is likely to support crude\nprices; crude prices have significant impact on prices at the pump.\n Apart from higher crude oil prices, gasoline prices are strongly influenced by the supply and\ndemand situation at the pump. Since 1999, the only growth in U.S. oil consumption has been\nincreased gasoline demand, which has risen by 600,000 barrels per day to a current annual average\nof 9.0 million barrels per day. While this might seem to be a relatively small amount, it has directly\nincreased demand for imports of foreign gasoline, since U.S. refineries have not added capacity as\ngasoline demand has grown. Demand for imported gasoline now exceeds one million barrels per day. \n In addition to the high demand for imported gasoline, the quality of gasoline sought from\nforeign refiners has become a factor. As the specifications for environmentally acceptable fuel have\nbecome more stringent, the complexity of manufacturing \"U.S. spec\" gasoline has increased. Not\nall refiners can economically make fuel that meets domestic requirements. U.S. gasoline marketers\nseeking imports must shop world markets for a scarce commodity; accordingly, prices are high.\nThese high-priced incremental supplies play an important role in determining prices at the pump,\nbecause all gasoline tends to be priced by the market at the cost of the last units supplied.\n Other factors contributing to the pump price situation include the state of gasoline and crude\noil inventories at U.S. refineries. Both are recovering from low levels. Gasoline inventories available\nfor consumption amount to less than two days of supply. Crude oil stocks -- from which gasoline\nconsumed is replaced -- are still at low levels, although rebounding somewhat from last winter's\nrecord lows. Petroleum inventories are low because global oil supplies are tight, in part due to strong\ndemand, especially in Asia. OPEC production policy is a consideration as well.\n As gasoline prices rise, so does interest in finding some sort of public policy remedy that would\nreturn lower and more stable prices. Among the options generally discussed are a release of crude\nfrom the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the relaxation of Environmental Protection Agency rules\nregarding gasoline composition. Both are controversial, with the wisdom and effectiveness of each\nchallenged by some.\n This report will be updated to reflect significant changes in the factors impacting gasoline\nmarkets and prices.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL32343", "sha1": "0a7bdd0bfd072f8f0f963481d1825f60e5171a4b", "filename": "files/20041223_RL32343_0a7bdd0bfd072f8f0f963481d1825f60e5171a4b.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL32343", "sha1": "50a251e580affb0d38e2982114d12ce720c94c48", "filename": "files/20041223_RL32343_50a251e580affb0d38e2982114d12ce720c94c48.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs10078/", "id": "RL32343_2004May17", "date": "2004-05-17", "retrieved": "2007-06-20T14:41:25", "title": "Gasoline Price Surge Revisited: Crude Oil and Refingery Issues", "summary": "Gasoline prices have been extremely volatile for well over a year, with three significant price spikes focusing the attention of consumers and policy makers on the gas pump. This report discusses the issue of gas price fluctuations, focusing on crude oil inventory and other factors.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20040517_RL32343_16d7220558f57b226f4d1443fa8b226d2ff2d271.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20040517_RL32343_16d7220558f57b226f4d1443fa8b226d2ff2d271.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy", "name": "Energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Petroleum", "name": "Petroleum" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Petroleum prices", "name": "Petroleum prices" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs5880/", "id": "RL32343 2004-04-08", "date": "2004-04-08", "retrieved": "2005-06-11T07:45:03", "title": "Gasoline Price Surge Revisited: Crude Oil and Refinery Issues", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20040408_RL32343_2f4e26bdc657f5c3ce46923960d2fd59fb819f84.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20040408_RL32343_2f4e26bdc657f5c3ce46923960d2fd59fb819f84.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy", "name": "Energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Petroleum prices", "name": "Petroleum prices" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Energy Policy" ] }