GasBuddy Blog -- When it comes to taking a vacation, Americans may be feeling better about it than we did a year ago...

Eight-five percent of Americans taking vacations this summer will be traveling by car — and more than four in five (82 percent) will be stopping at convenience stores along the way, according to consumer responses captured in the May 2013 National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Consumer Fuels Survey.

According to NACS, vacationers plan to spend a fair amount of time on the road this summer. Nearly half (45 percent) of all consumers say that they plan to take trips outside of their state, and 63 percent will take at least 6 days of vacation this summer — including 10 percent who plan to travel at least 21 days...  (read more)

sgvtribune -- WHITTIER -- As travelers hit the road Friday for the Memorial Day weekend, some lucky Honda drivers received free gas courtesy of the Helpful Honda Guys in Blue.

They surprised unsuspecting drivers at the pumps at gas stations in more than 20 Southern California cities, including Whittier.

As part of the Honda's popular Guys in Blue campaign, the promotion shows how Honda lends a hand in the communities, officials said.

"It's awesome," said Patricia Ochoa, who pulled up to the gas pump at the Chevron at Greenleaf Avenue and Whittier Boulevard.

She was going to buy $10 of gas for her 2000 Honda Prelude.

Instead, one of the Honda employees filled up the tank with $46.03 worth of gas.

"I just started working again, and this is a great help," Ochoa said.
 (read more)

Daily Globe -- WORTHINGTON — After a winter of fairly steady prices, the cost of a gallon of gas has jumped as the Memorial Day holiday nears.

General Manager at Bob and Steve’s Shell Jesse Raudenbush said Friday that prices rose “close to 50 cents in less than a week.”

“It sounds like its affected a lot of people’s travel plans,” he said. “A lot of people are staying around home when maybe they wouldn’t have otherwise.”

The Casey’s General Store location on U.S. 59 near Interstate 90 has seen a steady stream of customers, assistant manager Carrie Helms said. But while people are still completing their necessary travel they need to, they seem to be reducing the extra road time that tends to increase as summer approaches.

“They aren’t really extending very much,” she said. “They are doing  (read more)

CNN -- The United States is investigating "a string of malicious" cyber incidents that appear to be focused on probing energy infrastructure, a U.S. official familiar with the latest intelligence tells CNN.

The official, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the information, said the suspected hacking did not appear to be intended to steal trade secrets or exploit technology for commercial reasons. It appeared to be aimed at identifying weaknesses in fuel and electrical systems in the United States.

While the official did not identify any suspected origins of the apparent hacking, a U.S. lawmaker raised suspicions about Iran.

The United States has over the past year become more concerned about Iran and cyber security.

American officials said last October that cyber attacks on U.S ..  (read more)

USA Today -- Six years after a Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people called attention to the state of the nation's bridges, there has been minimal improvement and insufficient funding to repair and replace aging spans.

The collapse Thursday of the Interstate Highway 5 in Washington state shined the spotlight once again on troubled bridges.

In 2012, the Federal Highway Administration said 67,000 — 11% — of the nation's 607,000 bridges were structurally deficient. That means the bridges are not unsafe but must be closely monitored and inspected or repaired.

That percentage is little changed since 2007 when 12% of the nation's bridges were listed as structurally deficient and the I-35 bridge collapsed in Minneapolis.  (read more)

San Jose Mercury News -- This may come as a shocker to many Californians, but fewer motorists appear to be using hand-held cellphones as they drive along state highways and city streets.

In a survey released Wednesday by the Office of Traffic Safety, the percentage of drivers using cellphones -- hand-held or hands free -- has fallen from 10.8 percent in 2012 to 7.4 percent this year. The largest drop, 33 percent, was from those holding a cellphone to their ear in violation of state law.

But at the same time, the number of motorists who take their eyes off the road when texting rose to 2.5 percent from 1.7 percent. While that may not seem like a lot, safety officials warn it is a troubling trend especially since it is harder to detect a texting driver who often will hold their phone in their lap and out of sight.  (read more)

AP -- The Detroit automakers are largely forgoing the traditional two-week summer break at their factories and speeding up production to meet buyers' growing demand for new cars and trucks.

Ford Motor said Wednesday that 21 of its North American factories will shut for only one week this summer. That includes the Chicago plant that makes the Ford Explorer SUV and the Mexican plant that makes the Fusion sedan.

General Motors won't idle its factories at all, while Chrysler plans a two-week break at just four of its ten North American assembly plants. Both GM and Chrysler are rolling out critical new models.

The three Detroit car makers traditionally shut factories for 14 days around July 4 to do maintenance and change the machinery for new models. But they don't have that luxury this year.

U.  (read more)

Eu observer -- EU energy policy must shift towards diversifying supply, with natural shale gas likely to be part of the mix, EU leaders said at a summit in Brussels on Wednesday (22 May).

UK Prime Minister David Cameron offered robust support for European exploitation of shale gas, telling journalists: "No regulation must get in the way."

"Europe has 75 percent as much shale gas as the US, yet the Americans are drilling 10,000 wells per year while we in Europe are drilling less than 100," he noted.

He added it is "no surprise that over the last decade Americans have increased their energy from shale from just 1 percent to 30 percent, and here in Europe we are now paying twice what the US pays for wholesale gas."

For his part, European Council President Herman van Rompuy said the summit was the "right  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- As Memorial Day rolls around, GasBuddy receives dozens of inquiries from the press asking how motorists can save money at the pump. Sure there are things that can make minor differences, but every one wants to know- what's the easiest way to save?

Enter GasBuddy.com. GasBuddy, as you may well know, has been around since 2000, powered by millions of volunteer spotters who report prices and help each other save. ABC Nightline recently approached GasBuddy for several tips they could tell motorists about, and loved the GasBuddy app so much, did an entire story!

Remember to follow local laws and ordinances when using the app, and don't drive distracted! Gas prices matter to us too, but your life is more important!

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The Star Online -- A commodities trader filed suit against BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Statoil in a U.S. federal court, accusing the companies of colluding to fix prices in North Sea Brent crude oil.

Prime International Trading Ltd, in a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in the courthouse in White Plains, New York on Wednesday, accused the oil companies of misreporting prices of trades in the North Sea benchmark, which sets the price of about 70 percent of the world's oil.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a European Commission probe into potential market abuse involving the reporting of false prices to price-setting agency Platts, a unit of McGraw-Hill. Authorities last week raided the London bureau of Platts and the offices of the three oil majors named in the lawsuit.  (read more)

Natural News -- Practically everything you have been told by the mainstream scientific community and the media about the alleged detriments of greenhouse gases, and particularly carbon dioxide, appears to be false, according to new data compiled by NASA's Langley Research Center. As it turns out, all those atmospheric greenhouse gases that Al Gore and all the other global warming hoaxers have long claimed are overheating and destroying our planet are actually cooling it, based on the latest evidence.

As reported by Principia Scientific International (PSI), Martin Mlynczak and his colleagues over at NASA tracked infrared emissions from the earth's upper atmosphere during and following a recent solar storm that took place between March 8-10. (Cont)  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- 'Milennials' (everyone born between 1980 and 2000) are having a significant impact on transportation these days because researchers are intrigued by their attitudes toward driving and other things too.

If you listen to this group, the “driving boom is over,” or so says a new study of American attitudes towards the automobile.

After decades of adding more cars to their household fleet while moving further and further out into the suburbs, Americans are waiting longer to get licensed, driving less and increasingly turning to alternatives such as mass transit or car-sharing programs, according to a new study by the U.S. Public Research Interest Group, or PIRG.

A recent report from the Detroit Bureau says that...  (read more)

Business Insider -- "While this is not a free lunch, it should not be feared," they say. But the potential is staggering. Significant domestic job growth and economic expansion has begun."

No longer will a handful of energy producers be able to control markets. That's because other countries are discovering that they too possess large shale deposits.

 (read more)

Edmonton Journal -- Alberta could green its image and add plenty of new turbines over the next few years with the right government incentives, the Canadian Wind Energy Association said in a report released Wednesday.  (read more)

NPR -- Three years ago President Obama's green energy loan program gave a $455 million federal loan to electric car maker Tesla. Critics bashed the loan as risky. On Wednesday, Tesla announced it had paid that loan back in full – and early.  (read more)

WXIA Atlanta, GA -- Whether it is precious metals or gasoline, thieves are coming up with deviously creative ways to steal them. They have figured out how to get inside pumps to get the gas out free.

It is a relatively new crime but a Union City gas station is finding out about it the hard way. In the past two months thieves have stolen gas from the Mobil gas station on Flat Shoals Road four times.

The convenience store has surveillance video showing how the suspects broke into gas pumps and disconnected the meters inside. The video shows one of the suspects using a tool to pry open a door on the pump. Once inside he cuts wires to the meter that logs the purchase. Then with a swipe of a credit card, he can pump unlimited gas for free.

..11 cars pulled up to the pump and filled up for free. Over 180 gallons  (read more)

San Francisco Chronicle -- The last of five defendants charged with defrauding investors of more than $4 million by promoting non-existent wind farm projects in Wyoming and South Dakota pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony charges.

Robert Arthur Reed, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty in federal court in Casper to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money. Four other co-defendants have entered earlier guilty pleas to various charges.

Prosecutors charged that Reed and the others used personal aliases as well as the company names of Mountain State Power Group, Mountain State Power and Sovereign Energy Partners.

An indictment alleges that they hired phone solicitors to make cold calls to investors, urging them to invest in wind farms by falsely claiming they were being constructed jointly  (read more)

Science Daily -- Duke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications.

While hydrogen is ubiquitous in the environment, producing and collecting molecular hydrogen for transportation and industrial uses is expensive and complicated. Just as importantly, a byproduct of most current methods of producing hydrogen is carbon monoxide, which is toxic to humans and animals.

The Duke engineers, using a new catalytic approach, have shown in the laboratory that they can reduce carbon monoxide levels to nearly zero in the presence of hydrogen and the harmless byproducts of carbon dioxide and water. They also demonstrated that they could produce hydrogen by reforming fuel at much l  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- The Energy Information Administration released its weekly report on the status of petroleum inventories in the United States today.

Here are some highlights:

CRUDE INVENTORIES:
Crude oil inventories decreased by 0.3 million barrels to a total of 394.6 million barrels. At 394.6 million barrels, inventories are 12.0 million barrels above last year (3.1%) and are well above the upper limit of the average range.

GASOLINE INVENTORIES:
Gasoline inventories increased by 3.0 million barrels to 220.7 million barrels. At 220.7 million barrels, inventories are up 19.7 million barrels, or 9.8% more than last year. Here's how individual regions and their gasoline inventory fared last week: East Coast (+0.3mb); Midwest...  (read more)

WSJ -- -- The new U.S. energy secretary raised the possibility of delaying further approvals for U.S. companies seeking to export natural gas, saying he wants to review whether the government's studies of the issue are adequate.

The comments by Ernest Moniz, who was sworn in as energy secretary Tuesday, came as industry executives urged the Department of Energy to move quickly on export applications, some of which have been waiting for more than a year.

Sempra Energy SRE -0.92% executive Octavio Simoes, who is in charge of the company's bid to export liquefied natural gas, told lawmakers Tuesday that time is running short for the U.S. because other natural-gas producers around the world are stepping up efforts.

"Potential customers, including some of America's most important trading partners, wil  (read more)

FORBES -- Overshadowed by the debate over natural gas exports, a battle is brewing in the Western United States over exports of coal to Europe and, especially, to the booming economies of Asia. Buoyed by rising overseas demand for American coal, big coal producers including Arch Coal and Peabody are seeking to build new ports and new shipping facilities, particularly along the West Coast, to send U.S. coal from the Powder River Basin, in Montana and Wyoming, across the Pacific.

Those plans have met with fierce resistance from local residents and environmental groups. ”I want to make it absolutely clear: I am vehemently opposed for a private, for-profit corporation to use eminent domain to condemn my private land for a rail line to export coal to China,” Clint McRae, a rancher whose family has...  (read more)

The Oil & Gas Journal -- Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. said it is using natural gas from the Marcellus shale in Susquehanna County, Pa., to fracture wells via dual-fuel technology in a process that can displace as much as 70% of the diesel fuel traditionally used to operate hydraulic fracturing equipment.

The dual-fuel technology involves engines operating on a mixture of natural gas and diesel. The effort was a partnership with FTS International (FTSI) and Caterpillar Global Petroleum, Cabot said. Benefits are said to include:

• Reduced air emissions for a cleaner environment, due to a reduction in diesel usage.

• Reduced truck traffic when field gas at or near the well site is used due to a reduction in the transportation of diesel fuel to site.

• Reduced costs, as natural gas can be a less expensive fuel option...  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- Has the time finally come? Well, it may be too early to blow the final whistle, but gasoline spot values have eroded today, and that may pave the way for some price decreases that could show up beginning next week or even sooner.

The nation's hottest gas price markets, the Mid-continent region and Great Lakes should see some relief ahead as spot gasoline prices take a nose dive today. However, as indicated earlier, while the party may be over, tomorrow's pivotal Energy Information Administration report could upend the predicted drop in retail prices.

While every region appears ripe to see declining wholesale gasoline prices later today, some regions are certainly in line for more of a break than others. The Great Lakes...  (read more)

U-T San Diego -- The mystery behind a fallen turbine blade at the Ocotillo Wind power plant east of San Diego has led the manufacturer to curtail operations at select wind farms around the world.

Siemens, a global leader in wind-turbine manufacturing, confirmed Monday that it has convened a team of experts at a wind farm outside the desert town of Ocotillo, where a 170-foot blade broke loose and fell to the ground. Residents of Ocotillo noticed the fallen blade on Thursday morning.

"Siemens does not yet know the root cause of this incident and is working to determine if and how this is related to a recent similar incident in Iowa," the company said in a written statement. "Out of an abundance of caution, Siemens is taking the step of curtailing all turbines with the B53 blade type globally."

On April 5,  (read more)

Bloomberg -- Canadian energy producers lobbying for U.S. approval of the Keystone XL pipeline are targeting undecided Democratic lawmakers in Washington in advance of a decision on the $5.3 billion project.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, which represents more than 100 energy producers including Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. (COS) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)’s Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO), will travel to the U.S. capital next month to promote TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s plan to carry Alberta oil-sands crude to Gulf Coast refineries. A decision by U.S. President Barack Obama on the pipeline is expected this year.

The association’s focus is “primarily on what I would characterize as moderate Democrats, those who are perhaps on the fence, who are perhaps looking for more information as to what will.  (read more)