Is Cushing even relevant anymore?

Unfortunate smelting accident? Breach of proper protocols for welding? What does Putin say?

Our Captain. #RepBX

Another way to look at oil prices. Measured against the price of gold ($4049/ounce) a barrel of WTI costs just 0.15 troy ounces or 0.47 grams of gold. It's probably the cheapest price (based on gold's value) of any living person's lifetime.

Or perhaps a better rubric. In July 2008, one ounce of gold would get you 6.713 barrels of WTI. With gold at $4049 currently, it can purchase 65.3 barrels of domestic crude. Quite stunning.

EIA: 3.7m build in crude is above consensus; gasoline draw of 1.6m bbl and distillate draw of 2-mil bbl also. US gasoline demand 401k on the week but trails '24 by 734,000 b/d. Dist demand surges by 730k and is 315k above last year. Overall, lots of funky statistics.

Another EIA item: All signs point to October as bringing the peak of US refinery maintenance. So it's surprising that utilization perked by 173,000 b/d last week, thanks to some restored output at Gulf Coast. PADD 5 interesting with lower runs & stocks; CVX downtime post survey.

Oil-on-the-water inventory continues to be story of 2H2025. Citi cites Vortexa data which calculated a 44-million bbl increase last week to 1258.6-million bbl. September saw those same stocks swell by 61.3-million barrels.

First US refiner to reveal 3Q earnings is Monroe Energy, with results bundled in Delta disclosure. Execs claim Delta got a 5cts benefit from refining, reducing jet costs to $2.25/gal (from $2.53/gal last year). More data on the Phila. refining complex may come in a 10-Q filing.

Last week's spectacular fire at Chevron El Segundo ignited multiple predictions of an impending price spike. One week later, that is the "dog that hasn't barked." Wholesale prices for Los Angeles are down ~2cts/gal while the Bay Area has slumped 20cts/gal since October 2.

Move over Bucee's. Midwestern retailer Wally's will open a $40-million travel center in Independence, MO with 54,000 sq. feet of store space, 84 gasoline pumps, and 1 electric vehicle charging stations. It will be the fourth site for the growing company.

Lowest US pump price average so far this year is the $3.061/gal witnessed in first week of January. With wholesale gasoline (down 2-20cts/gal) and ethanol prices (down 15-20cts/gal) slipping this week, we'll probably slip to lowest 2025 price next week and test 2021 lows as well.

Just in time for the NACS' show (Oct. 14-17), the price of gasoline - a typical C-store top category -- is dropping like a rock. Before next week is over, most US states will see the lowest pump prices since 2021. Enjoy your jerky snacks and energy drinks fellas!

NJ candidates for Governor, Republican Jack Ciattaarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill, clashed on numerous issues last night (and preempted JEOPARDY!) but they agreed that the Garden State would continue to go it alone as the only state that bans self-service fueling at the pump.

NOAA declared this morning that “La Nina” has arrived, delivering ocean water temperatures as much as 9 degrees F. above average. Could portend a milder heating season, good news with heating oil stocks very low. Cold winter could usher in the little-used "El Kabong" designation.

This week's slow motion slide for crude (WTI now <$60/bbl) & RBOB makes room for some $1.99/gal pump prices in portions of the country. The 2025 retail low of $3.06/gal (1st week of January) will be bettered in the next week. Plenty of oil price deflation or disinflation on tap.

Delta gave a bit more color on the 200k/day Monroe Energy refinery in a 10-Q filing. 3Q saw $53-million of operating income for the Trainer PA facility. Refinery is virtually ignored in earnings what with Delta owning 867 very expensive aircraft.

Congratulations to Maria Corina Machado but some advice . . . . wise to avoid Venezuelan boat rides for a while, given what might be sore loser syndrome with President Trump and Sneaky Pete Hegseth.

Very shaky prices in Western Canada for crude oil. Discount for Western Canadian Select versus WTI is fairly narrow at $10.50/bbl (In Hardisty, Alberta). But that pushes the price down to $48-$48.50/bbl - - by far the lowest of 2025.

Punishment for Vladdy gloating about the Yankees!