Texas Energy Boom Goes Bust

(NEWSER) - It doesn't pay to drill, baby, drill anymore. Falling world prices have brought an end to the boom in domestic drilling for oil and natural gas, the New York Times reports. Last summer, 2,400 gas and oil rigs were deployed in the hunt for energy. Today, that figure is 1,200 and still dropping. “The big bonanza is over,” said one Texas driller whose company has gone from 35 rigs to 8. “Everyone is really shocked how fast everything has turned.” More»

(NEWSER) - OPEC today decided to take 1.5 million barrels of oil per day off the markets to boost prices flirting with 16-month lows, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deep cut will take effect next month. “This slowdown in oil demand is serving to exacerbate the situation in a market which has been oversupplied for some time,” OPEC said in a statement. More»

Demand and recession drive price down

(NEWSER) - The Dow isn't the only thing plummeting. Amid falling demand, the average price of a gallon of gasoline has dropped over 35 cents in the last two weeks. The nationwide Lundberg Survey of 5,000 gas stations shows the cost of gas has slid more than 80 cents since March—the biggest drop ever recorded. More»

High supply, falling demand will ease prices, say experts

(NEWSER) - Gas prices are holding steady at $3.92 a gallon, and that could be on the verge of coming down, reports USA Today . With a key benchmark falling to a two-month low yesterday and growing signs of a global economic slowdown, experts think pump prices will fall short of the most dire predictions , as well as short of last year's $3.99 high and the all-time record of $4.11 set in 2008. Already in pricier markets, such as Chicago and Los Angeles, prices have dropped as much as 20 cents per gallon. More»

With crude oil so expensive, they can't make money

(NEWSER) - Add one more victim to the soaring price of petroleum—refineries. Yes, despite gas prices rising another 6% in February, refineries in the US Northeast are shutting down because they're losing money, reports Wall Street Journal . And with Philadelphia-based Sunoco set to close the largest refinery in the region in July, expect gas prices to keep going higher. "Our Northeast refining business has lost nearly a billion dollars in the past three years, and those losses have threatened Sunoco's very existence as a company," said a Sunoco spokesman. More»