Bob van der Valk

Energy Trends: Crude Oil, Products and the Refining Sector

Your article does leave out the political anti-capatalist atmosphere running rampant in this country as a factor on the future trends in the petroleum industry. They have been painted with a broad brush by the current administration as being greedy and not out for the public good. Alternative energy is being taunted as the panacea to have the US become energy independent by 2020. It will become so with federal support and the carbon cap and trade tax being placed on the refiners. That does not give an incentive to build or improve refineries with the downside being that their products may not have a market. Presiden Obama expects to have that in place by 2012—and he's got high expectations. Obama's administration projects that $645 billion in cap and trade revenue from the likes of oil and electric companies would flow in over the next ten years. That cost cannot be absorbed by the oil refiners and will be passed along to the consumer in higher fuel prices depressing demand even more.