Stillwater Logo
Stillwater Associates LLC Newsletter Archives Homepage
Stillwater Associates LLC is a transportation energy consulting firm.  We help clients understand how fuel gets from the source to the service station. The transportation energy industry is complicated and it is constantly changing. Stillwater Associates keeps close track of developing energy news.  We compile and disseminate the most interesting issues in our quarterly newsletter.

 
  • Stillwater June 2016 Newsletter  (6/7/2016)
  • In the June edition of the Stillwater Newsletter Michael Bloch writes about some lessons we've learned about what makes a weak term contract and suggestions on how to structure a strong one. We take a look at Dave Hackett's most recent presentation at the OPIS Mexico - U.S. Petroleum summit. Dave Hackett also takes a look at East Coast supply and production. Finally, subscriptions to Stillwater's LCFS Newsletter are available now. Get yours today!

  • Stillwater May 2016 Newsletter  (5/3/2016)
  • The May edition of the Stillwater Newsletter starts with an exciting announcement - subscriptions to Stillwater's LCFS Newsletter are available now. Get yours today! Rob Jaques brings us the first article in our "War Stories" series, with The Downside of Paying Consultants for Performance. Finally, we give you a recap of our 2016 Annual Meeting held in April. Lots of interesting ideas came out of that meeting and we can't wait to share them with you.

  • Stillwater March 2016 Newsletter  (3/29/2016)
  • The March edition of the Stillwater Newsletter begins with Barry Schaps' explanation of the Federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission's efforts to regulate excessive speculation of energy commodities. Next, we discuss Michael Leister's presentation at the AFPM Annual Meeting on EPA's recent RFS changes. Rob Jaques gives us a peak at what happened at the 2016 AFPM Annual Meeting and how things have changed since 2015 Annual Meeting. Finally, the LCFS Newsletter will be available soon! In the meantime take advantage of your complimentary preview.

  • Stillwater February 2016 Newsletter  (2/26/2016)
  • The February edition of the Stillwater Newsletter begins with Dave Hackett's exploration of the oil market outlook for 2016. Next, Rob Jaques takes a look at the MLP market inspired by the movie "The Big Short." We're gearing up for the AFPM Annual Meeting in March. Catch Michael Leister's talk on EPA's recent RFS changes for 2014, 2015, and 2016. Subscriptions to Stillwater's LCFS Newsletter will be available soon! Until then take advantage of your complimentary edition. Finally, we had to share our own EJ Ledet's fantastic beignet recipe which is featured on The Today Show website.
  • Stillwater January 2016 Newsletter  (1/20/2016)
  • Happy New Year! The first Stillwater Newsletter of 2016 is taking a hard look at gasoline inventories in California and crude oil prices around the country. John Faulstich gives us an analysis of California's gasoline inventory shortfall and what that means for retail prices. The January Bubble Map shows how crumbling crude prices have change the logistics landscape. Finally, the exclusive free preview of our LCFS Newsletter is still available. Subscriptions to this unique publication will be available in a few months, but until then please take a look and let us know what you think.
  • Stillwater December 2015 Newsletter  (12/11/2015)
  • The last newsletter of the year has a bit of a Mexican theme. Privatizing Pemex will bring lots of changes and opportunities. Barry Schaps examines the specific areas where change is required in order for Pemex to make the transition. Dave Hackett discusses the current supply chain in Mexico and how it will change after privatization. The December Bubble Map looks at how falling crude oil prices have impacted crude-by-rail from the Mid Continent. Finally, we offer an exclusive free preview of our new Low Carbon Fuel Standard Newsletter.

  • Stillwater October 2015 Newsletter  (10/19/2015)
  • In the October edition of the Newsletter we offer the latest update to the Bubble Map Blog, and we reflect on PBF's acquisition of the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery. Next, we discuss our contribution to EIA's PADD 5 Transportation Fuels Report. This report does a great job of explaining the unique supply and demand issues on the West Coast. In company news, our big announcement this month is our new General Manager, Rob Jaques. We're excited to have him on board! Finally, Stillwater Associates has a new phone number. If you need to reach any of our associates call 888-643-0197.

  • Stillwater August 2015 Newsletter  (8/6/2015)
  • In the August edition of the Newsletter Dave Hackett analyzes the causes of the latest Southern California retail gasoline price spike. Our guest columnist Dave Hirshfeld of MathhPro offers an explanation of crack spread, a quick way to determine refining profitability. Finally, we offer the latest update to the Bubble Map Blog where we look at how the drop in crude oil prices has lead to a drop in crude-by-rail shipments to California.

  • Stillwater June 2015 Newsletter  (6/30/2015)
  • In the June edition of the Newsletter Dave Hackett explains the flow of petroleum products in and out of the U.S. by region. We offer the latest update to the Bubble Map Blog and discuss how the Refugio Oil Spill is impacting the local California supply chain. Finally, Stillwater is growing - we're so happy to welcome Rob Jaques and Bob Middlemore to the team!

  • Stillwater May 2015 Newsletter  (5/20/2015)
  • In the May edition of the Newsletter we offer the latest update to the Bubble Map Blog. Please note that the link for this blog is broken. You can find the blog at www.stillwaterassociates.com/bubble-map-update-supply-disruptions-raise-prices-in-California. Refining in California has slowed down lately due to turnarounds and outages. As a result retail gasoline prices have gone up. Dave Hirshfeld of Mathpro offers an analysis on the surge in cellulosic biofuels production. Dave Hackett offers an explanation for the high gasoline prices on the West Coast. Finally, we update you on some of Stillwater's recent projects.

  • Stillwater April 2015 Newsletter  (4/15/2015)
  • In the April edition of the Newsletter we offer the latest update to the Bubble Map Blog. Robert Jaques of Chinook Consulting LLC summarizes the results of a study Stillwater conducted on the role of senior safety staff in Refining Industry safety performance. Dave Hackett details his experience at last month's AFPM Annual Meeting. Finally we update you on what happened at the Stillwater Annual Meeting.

  • Stillwater February 2015 Newsletter  (2/26/2015)
  • In the February edition of the Newsletter Dave Hackett details the reasons why Southern California retail gasoline prices are on the rise. Our guest columnist, Dave Hirschfeld of MathPro, explains the feasibility of the U.S.-China GHG Reduction Agreement. We offer the latest update to the Bubble Map Blog. Finally, Stillwater is growing - we're so happy to welcome Ron Dunner and Ralph Grimmer to the team!

  • Stillwater January 2015 Newsletter  (1/21/2015)
  • The first Newsletter of 2015 has a new look! Dave Hackett offers an analysis of what has happened to gasoline prices in California since the Cap-and-Trade regulation took effect on January 1st. Our guest columnist, Dave Hirschfeld of MathPro, explains the government's rules of the crude oil and condensate export ban. Finally, the latest Bubble Map looks at creative storage solutions for crude oil.

  • Stillwater December 2014 Newsletter  (12/11/2014)
  • In our final 2014 Newsletter we bring you a new Bubble Map that shows how the weakened crude oil market has been a boon to consumers. Our guest columnist, Dave Hirshfeld of Mathpro Inc. writes about the CBO's June report on the feasibility of achieving future RFS mandate volumes. Don't miss Leigh Noda at this week's OPIS LCFS Workshop in San Francisco. If you're there, ask him about Stillwater's LCFS Newsletter coming in 2015. Finally, Dave Hackett spoke at the Moving Crude Supplies to West Coast End Markets Conference on the recent changes in crude oil logistics to the West Coast.

  • Stillwater October 2014 Newsletter  (10/31/2014)
  • It's the Halloween edition of the Newsletter and we're offering lots of treats! First up is a new Bubble Map that illustrates Alaska North Slope being squeezed out of the West Coast Market. Dave Hackett discusses highlights from the 2014 OPIS Supply Summit. We offer two new services, Upstream Commercial and Logistical Support and Commercial Agreement Review. Finally, coming soon in 2015 we'll be offering The LCFS Newsletter. Take a look at our Analysis of the 1st Quarter LCFS data and let us know what you think.

  • Stillwater September 2014 Newsletter  (9/29/2014)
  • In the September Newsletter we offer an update to the Bubble Map. The latest version draws Texas inside the Bubble to show the discounts in the tight oil producing regions of the Lone Star State. Then we give you a sneak peak of our new LCFS Newsletter. Subscriptions to Stillwater's LCFS Newsletter will be available in the new year. And if you missed our Catching Up with Crude-by-Rail webinar, the presentation is available at the website. Finally, don't miss Dave Hackett's talk at next month's OPIS Supply Summit on LCFS and Cap and Trade.

  • Stillwater August 2014 Newsletter  (8/22/2014)
  • Summer is winding down and we have lots of exciting things happening at Stillwater. In this edition of the newsletter Dave Hackett delivers and update on the next phase California's Global Warming Solutions Act that begins in 2015, the Fuels Under the Cap program. Barry Schaps looks into the difference between wellhead and refined condensate and what that means for exports out of the U.S. Finally, join us on September 10th for our next webinar Catching Up with Crude-by-Rail. Changes in logistics are happening fast. Register now to find out how the CBR boom will impact you.

  • Stillwater June 2014 Newsletter  (6/25/2014)
  • It has been a busy few months at Stillwater. In the June edition of the newsletter Dave Hackett delivers an overview of crude-by-rail in California. Leigh Noda offers an update on California's evolving Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Michael Soares announces our continued series of webinars on petroleum logistics. Our first webinar, TFL101 is available for purchase and download now. Stay tuned for our Crude-by-Rail webinar coming up soon! And We're announcing our new service - Upstream Commercial and Logistical Support.

  • Stillwater March 2014 Newsletter  (3/25/2014)
  • Welcome to the Spring edition of the Stillwater Newsletter! We have had a productive winter which ended with a great annual meeting this month. Stillwater's annual meeting is the time of year when all of our associates come together from all over the country to discuss the direction of the company. It's a lot of smart people in one room for one day developing great ideas. In the latest edition we let you in on some of the new things we're cooking up. Michael Bloch gives us a great example of why new Upstream projects need to be reviewed with a Downstream perspective. Mark Pilcher delivers his first white paper in a series on Liquefied Natural Gas. The March Bubble Map shows how pipelines are helping to ease the Mid Continent bottleneck. And Dave Hackett is at the AFPM Annual Meeting.

  • Stillwater December 2013 Newsletter  (12/13/2013)
  • Happy Holidays and welcome to the December Newsletter! In this edition we introduce you to our fantastic project coordinator Kim Barrett. Leigh Noda offers some insight on the rise in LCFS credit prices. Dave Hackett brings us a great story about industrial policy and the cooperation between government and business. The last Bubble Map of the year shows some interesting things happening on the West Coast. Finally, check out web-based education course, Transportation Fuels Logistic 101. We'll be offering the seminar in 2014.

  • Stillwater September 2013 Newsletter  (9/10/2013)
  • It's the fall edition of the Stillwater Newsletter and we have tons to share! First we fill you in on what we did during our summer vacation. Next we give you an overview of the Transportation Fuels Logistics course Mike Soares delivered to the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources. That course went so well we are now offering an expanded version as a web-based seminar in 2014 - Transportation Fuels Logistics 101! In more education news, Dave Hackett has been awarded an executive fellowship at the University of Calgary School of Public Policy. Finally, Dave has an OpEd in the Sacramento Bee on the lack of evidence of price manipulation during the California 2012 gasoline price spike.

  • Stillwater June 2013 Newsletter  (6/6/2013)
  • The June edition of the Newsletter takes a look at how advanced drilling technology has changed the world energy markets. The U.S. gas and oil boom is shaking up markets around the globe. Next, the Bubble Map has a new look! It's a little less busy, but still contains the same great information. Finally, we introduce you to our newest associate Dave Freyman.
  • Stillwater April 2013 Newsletter  (4/11/2013)
  • In this edition of the newsletter we offer an explanation of how Renewable Identification Numbers move through the fuel supply chain and why the cost of RINs have gone up recently. Then we update you on the latest from the Wisdom from the Downstream Wizard Blog. We also offer Dave Hackett's presentation from last month's AFPM Annual Meeting on California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Finally, we discuss the comprehensive project management services we offer our clients.
  • Stillwater February 2013 Newsletter  (2/19/2013)
  • In this edition of the newsletter we let you know about two studies authored by Stillwater that are making some waves. Our "Response to McCullough Research Report," written for WSPA, contradicts a study that blames the 2012 California Gasoline Price Spike on market manipulation. The second study co-authored with the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, argues for directing Canadian Crude Oil to Pacific Rim refiners.

    In other news, Dave Hackett will be speaking about the LCFS at this year's AFPM Annual Meeting. Finally, Stillwater has a new focus under our Policy business line - State Energy Assurance Plans.
Stillwater Associates LLC
3 Rainstar
Irvine, California 92614