Mama Geek Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 (edited) I don't know if any of you guys are aware of this or not. The TransAlaska Pipeline has been shutdown since yesterday morning. They have about 3 days before the oil freezes in the pipe. The oil will not thaw until June or July. About 9% of the oil in the US comes from Alaska. This is going to have a huge impact on gas prices and home heating oil. This article does indicate that it will not be up and running again before the oil freezes. http://www.businessinsider.com/alaska-pipeline-offline-indefinitely-2011-1 ETA:Here is an updated article from the Anchorage News Paper. It doesn't give any indication as to whether they will get the pipe rerouted before the oil freezes. http://www.adn.com/2011/01/09/1640492/pipeline-running-at-about-5-percent.html Latest article on the Pipeline. Still no estimate on if it will start up before it freezes. http://www.adn.com/2011/01/10/1641685/alyeska-plans-bypass-to-restart.html Edited January 11, 2011 by Mama Geek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 :ohmy: We have already filled all of our vehicles. Thank you for the heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2abcd Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Bummer. Maybe that's why the price of gasoline has shot up here recently. Someone said it will be $3.50 by June. I hope not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseball mom Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Yikes. I read this to dh and he said we need to go fill our cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 I added an update to the original post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 :cursing: Darn-its. Thanks for the heads-up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Rats and my car's on E right now. :(I wonder if this means all the groceries are going up in price again too? :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisamarie Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Rats and my car's on E right now. :(I wonder if this means all the groceries are going up in price again too? :( That's what I was wondering. I did just go out and fill up my car despite still having half a tank, but I had to go pay my sewer bill anyway and the gas station was on the way home. If the prices start going up like they did back when they hit over $4/gallon, I may be seriously reconsidering the activities we do and staying home for the most part. I've already cut way back so I only fill up twice a month vs 3 times a month, but I could limit my library trips to every other week vs every week even if the thought makes me want to cry. Things like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Remember the place where you could "pre-purchase" gasoline and use it as you needed it? That's what I want!! And.... 99 cents a gallon... for just a day!! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golfcartmama Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Wow! I had no idea. Thank you for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Every time oil prices soar, groceries do to because of the increased cost of trucking. So, we will all feel it more than just at the gas pump or heating our houses. We've got a 20% unemployement rate in our county. There are already a significant number of people who only keep the heat high enough in their homes to prevent their pipes from freezing. It's five degrees outside and it's hard to imagine a thermostat set at only 50 degrees and wearing long johns, wool socks and shoes, sweaters and sweat shirts and possibly coats, plus mittens and hats just to stay indoors. These people cannot afford a hike in heating costs. As for public assistance, utilities subsidy is literally a drive barrel. This county has been hit so bad that neither social services nor the gas/oil company has anything left in their charitable funds. Since our fuel companies are very small, family owned operations, we can't expect them to do more. Their margins are already so low that they are barely making payroll because people are just consuming so little. We heat with wood so we only buy $400.00 worth of propane each year. It's just an ugly, vicious cycle. Last year we had two elderly people freeze to death in their home because they didn't feel like they could ask any more churches to help them with their heat bill...they'd already received a lot of assistance and were embarassed to ask for more. It made dh and I sick because not only would we have sent some money to the company for their account, but our deacons - through their benevolence fund - would have filled their tank. I guarantee you that something like that will happen again this year. So, disheartening...we just don't see anything but bad news economically in this area and the ramifications of the constant down hill spiral is tragic. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 My next door neighbor uses home heating oil (diesel). Before this happened it was already $4 a gallon this winter. I am not sure how much they go through, but it isn't cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Every time oil prices soar, groceries do to because of the increased cost of trucking. So, we will all feel it more than just at the gas pump or heating our houses. We've got a 20% unemployement rate in our county. There are already a significant number of people who only keep the heat high enough in their homes to prevent their pipes from freezing. It's five degrees outside and it's hard to imagine a thermostat set at only 50 degrees and wearing long johns, wool socks and shoes, sweaters and sweat shirts and possibly coats, plus mittens and hats just to stay indoors. These people cannot afford a hike in heating costs. As for public assistance, utilities subsidy is literally a drive barrel. This county has been hit so bad that neither social services nor the gas/oil company has anything left in their charitable funds. Since our fuel companies are very small, family owned operations, we can't expect them to do more. Their margins are already so low that they are barely making payroll because people are just consuming so little. We heat with wood so we only buy $400.00 worth of propane each year. It's just an ugly, vicious cycle. Last year we had two elderly people freeze to death in their home because they didn't feel like they could ask any more churches to help them with their heat bill...they'd already received a lot of assistance and were embarassed to ask for more. It made dh and I sick because not only would we have sent some money to the company for their account, but our deacons - through their benevolence fund - would have filled their tank. I guarantee you that something like that will happen again this year. So, disheartening...we just don't see anything but bad news economically in this area and the ramifications of the constant down hill spiral is tragic. Faith Faith, I agree with you. What is so hard for me is dh is working hard to get more North American pipelines, and they are running into huge issues with people not wanting "Big Oil" to run underground pipelines. It's frustrating and imperfect on both sides, but I know how frustrated dh is. His company is getting accused of all kinds of stuff, just because it is "big oil." Granted the accusation won't stick legally, and the project will move forward..but that in itself will seem like "Big Oil" getting it's way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Uugh, and our gas prices are already over $3.25 a gallon. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Simka, Have you heard anything in addition to what I have found that would indicate if they are going to get oil flowing or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Simka,Have you heard anything in addition to what I have found that would indicate if they are going to get oil flowing or not? No, I haven't :glare:. This is a really bad time of year up there as well. Ugggghhhh.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 thank you for the heads up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I don't know if any of you guys are aware of this or not. The TransAlaska Pipeline has been shutdown since yesterday morning. They have about 3 days before the oil freezes in the pipe. The oil will not thaw until June or July. About 9% of the oil in the US comes from Alaska. This is going to have a huge impact on gas prices and home heating oil. This article does indicate that it will not be up and running again before the oil freezes. http://www.businessinsider.com/alaska-pipeline-offline-indefinitely-2011-1 ETA:Here is an updated article from the Anchorage News Paper. It doesn't give any indication as to whether they will get the pipe rerouted before the oil freezes. http://www.adn.com/2011/01/09/1640492/pipeline-running-at-about-5-percent.html Wow, good to know. I'm not looking forward to higher gas and oil prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 It looks like the worst of the price ramifications are going to be on the west coast. I did read one article that said they may have it up and running by friday...we shall see. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 I edited the original post to provide the latest update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Uugh, and our gas prices are already over $3.25 a gallon. :glare: I just paid $1.98 / litre here, that is almost $8.00 / gallon! (I do realize that the NZ$ is worth only about $US 0.75, but as salaries are not that different $=$, taking the exchange rate into account isn't valid as we earn & spend NZ$, not earn US$ & spend NZ$.) We have NZ's only oil refinery in our city, so the problems on the AK pipeline have no impact on oil prices here. The prices that you all pay in the States is dramatically less than what people pay outside the US. About 20% of our weekly income goes to fill the car. Another 50% goes on groceries. We are very careful with our spending in both areas. (Boy, looking at those figures I now can see why we are struggling :001_huh: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 The prices that you all pay in the States is dramatically less than what people pay outside the US. About 20% of our weekly income goes to fill the car. Yep. When we lived in the UK we paid the equivalent of $US6 - 7 per gallon - most of that was taxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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