This was in today's Oklahoma paper. They are predicting gas lines. I don't know how to do the link.

http://www.oklahoman.com/cgi-bin/shart?ID=340069&TP=getbusiness

-- Shannon (Teacherof3@aol.com), July 01, 1999

Answers

Thank you Charles.

-- Shannon (Teacherof3@aol.com), July 01, 1999.

Oil is the basis of all energy supplies, it seems to me. Oil to the refinery to make diesel for trains that carry coal; and for trucks to deliver propane,etc,etc,etc. Lack of oil=lack of power= lack of commerce=lack of food=disaster. (not to mention all the other "lack of" things that can be thought of in a logical sequence) That's why I'm scared - I just can't find a stopping place when I start thinking of what a lack of oil/energy will really mean.

-- jeanne (jeanne@hurry.now), July 01, 1999.

Jeanne -

I'm thinking along those same lines. Doesn't the making of plastic involve oil? Aren't prices going to soar for anything put into plastic? From milk to laundry softener - assuming these things are being maunufactured and delivered! Where does it end?

getting it more and more-

-- Shannon (Teacherof3@aol.com), July 01, 1999.

Some Oklahoma oil industry officials this week said they don't expect significant problems. But there are observers who are less confident.

Many computer systems originally were designed to identify a year by only two digits. Unless that problem is fixed, the concern is computers might interpret the rollover to 01/01/00 as an error that could cause programs to stop running or give bad data.

A U.S. General Accounting Office report issued in May said, "All phases of operations in the oil and gas industries, from production to distribution, use computer systems and equipment that are subject to Year 2000 failures.

"While the domestic oil and gas industries have reported they have made substantial progress in making their equipment and systems ready to continue operations into the year 2000, risks remain. ... Over a quarter of the oil and gas industries reported they did not expect to be Year 2000 ready until the second half of 1999, leaving little time for resolving unexpected problems."

Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association President Dewey F. Bartlett Jr. said even though Year 2000 computer problems could be trouble, many independent oil operators in the past year have been more concerned about just surviving.

"The real big issue has been that the price of the commodity itself has been so low for such a long period of time that eveyone is just worried about staying in business, much less about a computer problem," he said. "Now that being said, I think it certainly should be of concern to the industry. But they just have more pressing needs at hand today as opposed to six or seven months from now."

Some bigger companies may have more to think about, said Del Clark, Year 2000 project director for Bartlesville-based Phillips Petroleum.

"The bigger you are, the more likely you've had a lot of computer technology in the company for a long period of time," Clark noted.

But Phillips reports its major work on being ready for Jan. 1 either is almost done or already complete.

Given the amount of preparations, equipment and software replacement and adjustments already done to make Phillips ready for 2000, "We're going into it with the attitude of business as usual," said Clark.

But McDonald "Mac" Beavers, president of Tulsa-based Whitney Leigh Corp., which monitors gasoline prices and competition, is skeptical.

"The oil industry is way behind in their Y2K (Year 2000) remedies," Beavers said. "So, I think there's going to be stockpiling of crude oil and refined products as we get closer to the end of the year, which is going to put upward pressure on prices. But that may not start until the fall.

"There are going to be gas lines by the end of the year," he said. Although the oil industry is working to avoid problems, "they got started too late," he added.

"The only true test is when the clock turns over," Beavers said.

Meanwhile, his forecast remains unchanged. "There are going to be disruptions," he said.

Others in the industry, however, do not expect much extra stockpiling of oil or big problems for petroleum companies and consumers.

David Guthrie, president of the Oklahoma Petroleum Marketers Association, a fuel wholesalers and retailers trade group, said, "Maybe I'm a little naive, but there's been a lot of planning" to avoid year 2000 computer problems.

"The major oil companies have been working on it for a long time, and there's an awful lot of equipment that's been replaced on the retail side, partially because of that. From what I can tell ... here in Oklahoma, by and large, everyone's pretty well ready for it," said Guthrie, with Bill Williams Oil Co., Woodward.

"I think everyone has a contingency plan if something fails" when the clock ticks from 1999 to 2000, he said. .

Asked if he expects large numbers of motorists to top off their vehicle gas tanks before the new year arrives, Guthrie said, "I think there's always the possibility of that. But you know a snow storm (approaching) or a lot of things could bring on that same thing. ... I would expect some degree of people buying, but you know that (Jan. 1) is a holiday anyway, and people normally tend to fill up before holidays."

The General Accounting Office report also said that because more than half of the oil consumed in the United States is imported, "the nation is vulnerable to Year 2000 failures of oil production and transportation in other countries. However, little is known about the Year 2000 readiness of foreign oil suppliers."

The report notes, "If the flow of foreign oil imports is interrupted, oil can be supplied by the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The reserve, with nearly 600 million barrels of oil, can supply -- at a maximum sustained rate -- about 3.9 million barrels a day for about 90 days, and at lesser rates for up to two years."

"So Phillips and other companies could start buying from that Strategic Petroleum Reserve and use that as a way to keep the United States minimally impacted if there are some problems from some other countries," Clark said.

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), July 01, 1999.

http://www.oklahoman.com/cgi-bin/shart?ID=340069&TP=getbusiness

Oil and Gasoline Prices May Change After Y2K 07/01/1999

Some Oklahoma oil industry officials this week said they don't expect significant problems. But there are observers who are less confident.

Many computer systems originally were designed to identify a year by only two digits. Unless that problem is fixed, the concern is computers might interpret the rollover to 01/01/00 as an error that could cause programs to stop running or give bad data.

A U.S. General Accounting Office report issued in May said, "All phases of operations in the oil and gas industries, from production to distribution, use computer systems and equipment that are subject to Year 2000 failures.

"While the domestic oil and gas industries have reported they have made substantial progress in making their equipment and systems ready to continue operations into the year 2000, risks remain. ... Over a quarter of the oil and gas industries reported they did not expect to be Year 2000 ready until the second half of 1999, leaving little time for resolving unexpected problems."

Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association President Dewey F. Bartlett Jr. said even though Year 2000 computer problems could be trouble, many independent oil operators in the past year have been more concerned about just surviving.

"The real big issue has been that the price of the commodity itself has been so low for such a long period of time that eveyone is just worried about staying in business, much less about a computer problem," he said. "Now that being said, I think it certainly should be of concern to the industry. But they just have more pressing needs at hand today as opposed to six or seven months from now."

Some bigger companies may have more to think about, said Del Clark, Year 2000 project director for Bartlesville-based Phillips Petroleum.

"The bigger you are, the more likely you've had a lot of computer technology in the company for a long period of time," Clark noted.

But Phillips reports its major work on being ready for Jan. 1 either is almost done or already complete.

Given the amount of preparations, equipment and software replacement and adjustments already done to make Phillips ready for 2000, "We're going into it with the attitude of business as usual," said Clark.

But McDonald "Mac" Beavers, president of Tulsa-based Whitney Leigh Corp., which monitors gasoline prices and competition, is skeptical.

"The oil industry is way behind in their Y2K (Year 2000) remedies," Beavers said. "So, I think there's going to be stockpiling of crude oil and refined products as we get closer to the end of the year, which is going to put upward pressure on prices. But that may not start until the fall.

"There are going to be gas lines by the end of the year," he said. Although the oil industry is working to avoid problems, "they got started too late," he added.

"The only true test is when the clock turns over," Beavers said.

Meanwhile, his forecast remains unchanged. "There are going to be disruptions," he said.

Others in the industry, however, do not expect much extra stockpiling of oil or big problems for petroleum companies and consumers.

David Guthrie, president of the Oklahoma Petroleum Marketers Association, a fuel wholesalers and retailers trade group, said, "Maybe I'm a little naive, but there's been a lot of planning" to avoid year 2000 computer problems.

"The major oil companies have been working on it for a long time, and there's an awful lot of equipment that's been replaced on the retail side, partially because of that. From what I can tell ... here in Oklahoma, by and large, everyone's pretty well ready for it," said Guthrie, with Bill Williams Oil Co., Woodward.

"I think everyone has a contingency plan if something fails" when the clock ticks from 1999 to 2000, he said. .

Asked if he expects large numbers of motorists to top off their vehicle gas tanks before the new year arrives, Guthrie said, "I think there's always the possibility of that. But you know a snow storm (approaching) or a lot of things could bring on that same thing. ... I would expect some degree of people buying, but you know that (Jan. 1) is a holiday anyway, and people normally tend to fill up before holidays."

The General Accounting Office report also said that because more than half of the oil consumed in the United States is imported, "the nation is vulnerable to Year 2000 failures of oil production and transportation in other countries. However, little is known about the Year 2000 readiness of foreign oil suppliers."

The report notes, "If the flow of foreign oil imports is interrupted, oil can be supplied by the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The reserve, with nearly 600 million barrels of oil, can supply -- at a maximum sustained rate -- about 3.9 million barrels a day for about 90 days, and at lesser rates for up to two years."

"So Phillips and other companies could start buying from that Strategic Petroleum Reserve and use that as a way to keep the United States minimally impacted if there are some problems from some other countries," Clark said.

All content copyrighted, 1998 The Oklahoma Publishing Co

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), July 01, 1999.

Someone help me here... Is this strategic petroleum reserve raw material or refined product ready to go into your gas tank and mine. Who cares how many millions of barrels we have to draw from if the refinery process is negatively effected by the dreaded "three day snow storm"?

-- Safer (bugged_out_of@lanta.com), July 01, 1999.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve contains crude oil, not refined.

-- jeff (jdevore@prodigy.net), July 01, 1999.

shan

not sure where you hang but oil & gas prices change daily in my nutty world. safe bet they will continue to change post y2k.

fill it up filly

-- corrine l (corrine@iwaynet.net), July 01, 1999.

shan

not sure where you hang but oil & gas prices change daily in my nutty world. safe bet they will continue to change post y2k.

fill it you sassy little fillie

-- corrine l (corrine@iwaynet.net), July 01, 1999.

shan

not sure where you hang but oil & gas prices change daily in my nutty world. safe bet they will continue to change post y2k.

fill it up you sassy little fillie

-- corrine l (corrine@iwaynet.net), July 01, 1999.

Does anyone know how many barrels a day are currently used in the US? Less than 3.9 million, or more?

-- Shannon (Teacherof3@aol.com), July 01, 1999.

Shannon:

The American Petroleum Institute has a good website on the progress of the industry as a whole, as well as questions and answers most commonly asked.

American Petroleum Institute Consumer Questions

-- Anita (spoonera@msn.com), July 01, 1999.

Shannon,

I understand we import about 10 million gallons a day and that represents about 55% of our daily usage. So, that means we currently consume about 19 Mil gals a day? If so, our strategic reserves will give us ONE month of crude oil. Think I'll lay in some more rice....

Bill

-- Bill (BookWormNM@uswest.net), July 01, 1999.