Occidental Petroleum Corp., Texas’s biggest producer of oil, has just increased its fortunes with a historic discovery in California. The company just discovered an enormous natural gas and oil field that holds the equivalent of 250 million barrels of crude, which makes it the largest discovery in the state in the last 35 years.
The field, which is located in California’s Kern County, belongs mostly to Occidental, and if the discovery pans out, it could boost Occidental’s California reserves by almost a third. Occidental decided last month to drill 20 exploratory wells last month, which means that this discovery has the …read more

If this trend continues until Tuesday, it will mark a month since gas prices began falling on June 21. According to AAA Auto Club South, gas prices have fallen every day since June 21, with the national average standing somewhere around $2.46 per gallon. Compared to this time last year, when the national average quickly approached $5.00 per gallon, gas has become relatively affordable.
 
The biggest culprit concerning falling gas prices is a lack of demand. Even though we are in the middle of summer, which is peak driving season, demand has only risen about 0.6 percent in the past month. …read more

If you were on the road this time last year, you surely remember the pain you felt each time you went to fill up at the gas station. Crude oil prices skyrocketed last year, reaching an astronomical $145.29 a barrel, but this year, oil prices remain relatively tame at $66.73 a barrel. Slackening demand for oil across the world has seen prices fall by almost $3 recently.
Oil prices have appeared to be on a rollercoaster ride over the past year. From the record-high prices reached last year, oil plummeted to about $34 per barrel in December as the economic crisis …read more

Most drivers probably breathed a sigh of relief when oil prices finally came down from the astronomical levels they reached during the summer of 2008, but analysts are starting to issue predictions that we could be seeing sky-high oil prices again. Oil prices are up to around $70 a barrel, signaling the potential for a situation very similar to 2008’s oil price rise.
If oil prices are going to reach the levels they reached last year, they still have a ways to go. Oil grew to $125 a barrel last summer, forcing consumers to try and save gasoline. This time, the rise …read more

According to the energy giant itself, Valero Energy Corp. is preparing to post a 50 cent per share loss in the second quarter of this year. This information comes from a report in which Valero also confirmed that it is mulling over an offer of 40 million shares of common stock.
 
Although the economic situation has hardly been friendly to anyone, Valero has been hit especially hard. Two of its most important refineries have seen extended downtime while the entire oil industry has been having trouble with lower sour crude discounts and smaller margins on diesel.
 
All in all, Valero is capable …read more

Today, BillShrink added a feature that allows you to figure out where to get the cheapest gas along your chosen route. This tool can be used to help you plot out your refueling stops on vacation, or help you decide the best place to fill up on your way home from work.