Gasoline, diesel get pricier, natural gas unchanged

The Industry and Commerce Ministry posted overall increases in fuel prices for the week from August 24 to 30, except natural gas, which remains unchanged. Premium gasoline will cost RD$264.40, or RD$ 2.30 higher per gallon; regular will cost RD$246.60, or RD$ 2.40 more; premium diesel will cost RD$218.60 and regular RD$ 211.90, or RD$2.20 more per gallon on both. Avtur will cost RD$158.12, or RD$2.87 more; kerosene will cost RD$195.50, a RD$2.00 increase, while fuel oil will cost RD$142.60, or RD$2.80 more per gallon. Propane gas will cost RD$103.00 per gallon, an increase of RD$2.22, whereas natural gas remains unchanged RD$30.50 per cubic meter. The Central Bank’s average posted exchange rate of RD$42.44 per dollar was used to calculate fuel prices.

Oil and gas sector 'needs 120,000 new employees'

Baby boomers have been accused of stealing their children’s future, attaining their wealth at the next generation’s expense and leaving young people entering the world of work facing bleak prospects. Another is the Offshore Europe event running from September 3 to 6 in Aberdeen. This biennial conference discusses issues the industry faces but also offers those thinking about a career in the sector a chance to meet with future employers. One recent entrant to the industry is Mark Mallin, who spent four years as an engineering technician on Royal Navy submarines. He joined engineering group XPD8 Solutions in Aberdeen – the capital of the UK oil and gas industry – and sees the job as a career for life after leaving the military. “This is probably the one place that hasn’t been affected by the credit crunch and the lack of jobs,” says the 24-year-old. “The amount of jobs up here; it’s scary to be honest. If you go on to one of the careers websites there are literally hundreds if not a couple of thousand jobs every day. “There will always be a need for energy. In terms of pay you’ll be lucky to get anywhere near as much money as here. I don’t want to say it’s all about the money because it’s about the potential you have – you can really set up your life by working here.” Mr Mallin left the Navy without a degree and was surprised by the work available compared with his native Sunderland but admits he initially had trouble getting his foot in the door. “I thought with my experience in the Navy I’d have no trouble but it took nine or 10 months,” he says, adding that he was taken on because an employer who had been in the merchant Navy recognised his potential. “Companies ask for an experienced guy but a lot of the experienced guys are retiring or coming onshore to work so they need to widen it up a bit. They have got to think outside the box.” As a result Mr Mallin recommends potential recruits do all they can to make themselves stand out from the crowd. One way is to obtain the basic offshore safety and survival training (BOSIET) certification – the course that teaches a basic knowledge of safety issues for offshore installations and how to deal with events such as helicopter emergencies. “The course lasts three days and costs about £800, which is a lot for someone coming out of university but it’s good for four years and will give you a good foot in the door and see what the industry is about,” says Mr Mallin. “Companies will also see you are really interested and it’s another check in the book.” Those still in education but considering a career in the industry would do well to listen to the advice of Lyle Andrews, BP’s head of graduate recruitment, although he admits oil and gas as a sector might have had problems in the past. “The industry has been poor in talking about what we do and why it is exciting,” he says. “The reality is that some of the other industries are desperate for good STEM talent. They are very aggressively targeting these people and the reality is that they are selling them something in a lot of ways that is not as interesting a prospect as we have to offer.” While banking or consultancy might seem attractive, Mr Andrews warns that the reality is “sitting in front of a spreadsheet doing financial modelling”. BP, he adds, means “working with really exciting kit doing stuff that is important for the world as well as being at the cutting edge of technology”. The industry is now communicating this to students and as a result is luring what Mr Andrews terms “top tier” graduates. “We show people that it brings them back to the reason they decided to study science or engineering.” He encourages those still in education to get as much industry experience as they can while studying – BP runs internships and “Discovery Days”, offering a chance to learn about the sector, as well sending staff to campuses to talk to students. He adds that the responsibility quickly given to employees working with equipment worth tens of millions and the chance to advance rapidly also attracts those with adventurous personalities to the sector. Dominic Simpson, head of sales at rigzone.com, agrees. “What attracts people is the very steep learning curve and taking on some real responsibility. That’s the element that excites people. “They can very quickly be involved in some of the biggest projects in the world working in some very remote locations on exciting developments.” The industry isn’t without risk as the recent fatal helicopter crash in the North Sea and the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico show. But it’s not without excitement, says Mr Andrews. “It’s natural for more adventurous sorts to be attracted without any intervention from us to seek out a career [in the sector].” Mr Simpson agrees that those seeking a job out-of-the-ordinary would do well to look at oil and gas. “Ex-military personnel are in high demand, partly because they are adventurous but also because they are well-trained, safety conscious, disciplined and very dependable.” He adds that there are specialised courses available to turn those who have left the Armed Forces into attractive recruits for the sector. Starting salaries are £35,000 to £40,000, according to Mr Simpson. In fact, he sees such a long-term future for the industry that he’s intent on making it a family business. “There are tens of thousands of jobs in oil and gas worldwide and with fracking development in this country potentially many more,” he says. “I tell my 10-year-old to get an engineering degree so he can get into the business.”

Major Surge Is Unlikely for Prices of U.S. Gas

But energy experts say that a major jump is unlikely for the 29.2 million Americans whom AAA expects to travel 50 miles or more on the road this weekend — up from 28 million last year — despite the summer of unrest across the Middle East and North Africa. In fact, Americans will pay considerably less for gasoline than they did last Labor Day weekend, when refinery shutdowns and Hurricane Isaac, which hit the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, heightened fears of gasoline shortages. “Gasoline prices are going to be surprisingly temperate,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at GasBuddy.com. “In California drivers will be spending 30 to 40 cents less than last Labor Day weekend for a gallon of regular and much of the rest of the country will be between 5 and 15 cents lower than last year.” According to the AAA daily fuel gauge report, the national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline on Friday was just over $3.58, still only 5 cents higher than a week ago and 4 cents cheaper than a month ago. Gasoline prices are just beginning to catch up with the rise in global crude oil prices, which had climbed roughly $6 a barrel in just a few days as the United States and allies prepared to attack Syria in retaliation for what they suspect was a government chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians. Oil prices retreated by about $2 a barrel on Thursday and slumped a bit more on Friday. Experts said prices could easily jump back up after an expected attack on Syria. Oil experts say gasoline prices could rise as much as 10 cents a gallon over the next week or two, as higher oil prices gradually push up wholesale and retail prices. But few expect a big, lasting jump unless there is a major expansion of conflict across the Middle East that seriously threatens oil production and shipments. The Energy Information Administration projects that the national average price for a regular gallon of gasoline will be $3.59 during the third quarter and $3.52 for the entire year, 11 cents below the average 2012 price. It expects an even lower 2014 annual price of $3.37 a gallon. “Gas prices are probably going to be spiking over the next few days,” said Michael Green, a spokesman for AAA. But he added: “It’s not horrendous. We’re looking at the lowest Labor Day gas prices since 2010.” One reason, according to a report by the Energy Department on Wednesday, is a surprise weekly jump of three million barrels in national oil inventories. The report also showed a much lower-than-expected drop in inventories of gasoline, which remained particularly well supplied on the heavily populated East Coast. Several East Coast refineries that curtailed operations last week for unplanned maintenance are expected to be back up in the next few days, which should further increase supplies. Summer driving normally tapers off after the Labor Day weekend, and that should help keep a lid on prices. Demand for gasoline should drop by about 15 million gallons a day in September from August levels, according to government statistics. Most important, the country is better prepared for any shocks if the instability in the Middle East and North Africa escalates much further. United States gasoline inventories are up nearly 10 percent from a year ago, while demand is up by only about 1 percent. Mostly because of a frenzy of shale drilling and expansion of oil sands production, the United States and Canada are producing two million barrels of oil a day more than when the turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa broke out two years ago. That, along with the decline in consumption since 2007, has meant that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and other inventories now have the capacity to replace about nine months of imports, about 40 percent more than only five years ago.