Word: bbl
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Finally, over the opposition of environmentalists and local residents-not to mention Governor Edmund Brown Jr., who last week filed suit against the Federal Government-Watt wants to open four areas off the California coast to oil and gas exploration. According to some opponents, no more than 194 million bbl of oil lie under these areas, which are located near such scenic spots as Point Reyes and Big Sur. Those 194 million bbl. would meet U.S. needs for about twelve days. But Watt insists: "We must inventory our lands ... the only way to determine the quantities...
Small refiners, however, are in more serious trouble. These companies, known in the industry as teakettle refiners because they have operations of less than 30,000 bbl. a day, have sprung up since the mid-1970s to take advantage of Government subsidies built into the oil price controls that President Reagan abolished in late January. Without those federal subsidies, many small refineries cannot make a profit. About 40 such firms have already shut down along the Gulf Coast, and more closures are likely to follow...
Faced with large supplies and low sales, oil companies are paying lower prices for crude or refusing to buy it. Standard Oil of California, which markets under the Chevron brand, Phillips Petroleum and Marathon Oil have all announced that they are cutting by $1 per bbl. the amount they will pay for certain grades of domestically produced crude. Atlantic Richfield has reduced purchases from Nigeria by 60,000 bbl. a day, and industry experts say that Ashland Oil has indefinitely suspended purchases of some 90,000 bbl. a day of crude from Mexico, along with another 17,000 bbl. daily...
...weak oil market is now putting OPEC on the spot. During 1980, the cartel's production dropped to nearly a decade low of 27 million bbl. a day, even though Saudi Arabia, the group's single biggest producer, has since last autumn been pumping daily almost 2 million bbl. over and above its self-imposed output ceiling of 8.5 million bbl...
...simply needs the oil income. Despite its large foreign reserves, the country is pushing development so rapidly that it is hard-pressed for cash. Writes Douglas J. Feith, general counsel of the Center for International Security in Washington: "A Saudi production cut from 10 million to 5 million bbl. a day would cut Saudi revenues in half-from the current $120 billion a year to around $60 billion. But official Saudi spending is at the rate of $96 billion a year, and thereby hangs a grim tale for the Saudi regime...