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This Week In Petroleum (EIA)

Submitted by Jeremy on October 15, 2008 - 9:29am
Type of resource: 
Website
web address: 
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip.asp
Brief Description: 

If you follow the petroleum markets, or you just want to know what is going on in the world of energy, the weekly reports from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) are invaluable. Every Wednesday the EIA releases reports detailing information on petroleum and product inventory levels, imports, prices, refinery utilization, etc. For those who follow this information, the recent run-up in gasoline prices is not a surprise, as you would have seen it coming.

Additional Info: 

  • EIA is good for:

    • Current data on exports, consumption, optimistic forecasts, etc. Good statistics. Outlook reports, etc.

    • This Week In Petroleum (TWIP) – weekly – has the power to move markets because it has the inventory updates.

    • How I use the EIA: To debunk the claims made by confused politicians, etc. To get good shared information, e.g., import data. For current reporting, e.g., gasoline stocks during a hurricane.

  • What to NOT use the EIA for:

    • Price forecasting: over the past 12 years, have been consistently wrong, by as much as 127%. Average error was 53%.

    • Supply forecasting: consistently too optimistic. But the problem is that everyone uses their forecasts for policy planning!

    • Zoom in on 2008 Annual Outlook: expects oil imports to suddenly drop after a long period of constant growth!

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