Fuels

I recently got involved in a debate on one of the many Facebook groups I belong too. This particular one is just for teachers apprentices and boy-oh-boy do the “greenies” have some great stories about the “old pros” and of course painting tubes and “shortcuts” came up.

I have often described the process of working legislation, engaging the regulatory community for a necessary change in rule/regulation or permitting a new facility as “hand-to-hand combat.” It is often a long, drawn out, messy, unpleasant, metaphorically bloody, unpredictable and frustrating process. It is also said that the “first causality of war is the battle plan,” which is to say nothing ever goes as planned. If you have ever permitted a new bulk plant and struggled to get it done, you know of what I speak.

By Stephen Bennett When proposed legislation could help or hurt fuel oil marketers, the industry needs to make itself heard. How does it do that? Chris Herb, for one, calls his “go-to people.” The president of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, based in Cromwell, said, “They’re extremely engaged. They want to be involved and they are actively looking to [participate], ...

Dr. Tom Butcher The 2nd OESP Roadshow, held in Gettysburg, Pa., at the Wyndham Hotel on Sept. 21-23 featured a range of educational session. One highlight was Energy Trends, an open and informal discussion with Dr. Tom Butcher, Brookhaven National Laboratory, who will be leading the National Oilheat Research Alliance’s research efforts. He covered a range of trends and future ...

With over ten years of experience in payment processing for the fuel industry, the AVATAS team understands that the electronic payment process can seem complex at first. However, it’s extremely beneficial to your bottom line to promote these types of payments over traditional forms, such as checks. Electronic payment options can drastically reduce the amount of time spent waiting for ...

By Shane Sweet You exhale. It’s the kind of cold that you can see. Water vapor from your breath freezes and falls to the ground like snow. Your service department is “out straight.” Service calls are backed up ten deep in the queue. In a few hours the sun will be up, and then the fun will really start. Time ...

By Stephen Bennett The Southern New England Energy Conference, sponsored by the Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island associations, was first held two years ago, noted David Chu, CEMA’s member services director. (The Sept. 22-23 event doubled as the 64th Annual Meeting of CEMA.) Conference attendance from Massachusetts and Rhode Island has grown, Chu said in an email. Holding this year’s ...

A significant development has occurred since we released last month’s Heating Season Fuels Outlook for 2014—a crack has appeared in OPEC’s price support wall. Historically, a lack of long-term discipline in OPEC was the order of the day for many years. Regardless of a commitment to hold prices at a certain level, invariably a member (often Venezuela) would decide to ...

What is the answer in controlling inventory cost?

Despite the situation, politicians, environmentalists, regulators and bureaucrats continue to extol the virtues of natural gas.