How to Profit from a Hurricane

Aviles 1

Brian Aviles

Professor Ken Minor

ENC 3310 Expository Writing

December 8, 2005

HOW TO PROFIT FROM A HURRICANE:

AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Claes, Dag Herald, The Politics of Oil-Producer Cooperation. Boulder, Colorado:

Westview Press, 2001.

This book discusses the history of the oil industry itself. It goes into detail regarding OPEC and how the prices for gasoline are determined. This book details the agreement made by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. It illustrates the fact the United States does not have control over the price of oil, but is more subject to the decisions of OPEC. It details the many other factors affecting the price of crude oil around the world. The points made in this book will help to strengthen the argument for the opposing side.

This book is an excellent source of information on the political climate of the oil industry today. It is a thorough account of the history of the oil industry. Since it deals with the issue from a historical perspective, it establishes its reliability as a reputable source.

I think the information obtained in this book is helpful in understanding the oil industry itself. Including a brief history of the oil industry will help to educate the reader. In order to understand the how gasoline prices go up and down, it is necessary to be aware of the regulations put on the oil companies from OPEC. The information found in this book will help to make an argument on behalf of the American oil companies.

“Florida Accuses Island Food Stores of Gas Price Gouging”. October 3, 2005.

Consumer Affairs. October 25, 2005. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/fl_island_food.html.

This source details a lawsuit filed by the Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist

Accusing a gas station in Tallahassee of price gouging. It discusses the fact a gas station on I10, an evacuation route, raised their prices during the time evacuees were using that route to flee. Attention was brought to this particular station as the State Attorney’s office began to investigate more than 1,800 complaints regarding the quickly rising price of fuel. The Island Food Stores is accused of raising prices more than 70 cents per gallon without cause.

The source, ConsumerAffairs.com, is a reputable source for information regarding injustices perpetrated on American Consumers. The article quite simply presented the facts of the accusations. The information was retrieved from the Office of The State Attorney. Although ConsumerAffairs.com is most concerned with the interest of the consumer, the information was presented in an objective manner. Their fact based approach was objective and qualify them as a reputable, objective source.

I found this article to be helpful in presenting my argument because it proves the practice of price gouging has occurred on a small level. I use this as a springboard into the possibility of it occurring on a national level. It does not prove my point, but it does ad believability to the fact such things have occurred. It also exemplified the fact many people have been taken advantage of in the wake of one of the worst disasters in American history. I was disgusted to know people who had lost everything were then exploited.

Forney, Matthew. “China’s quest for oil”. Oct. 25th, 2004. TIME Magazine, Asia

http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501041025-725174,00.html

This article discussed the changes that have occurred in the Chinese economy over the past few years. It details their increasing dependence on crude oil. It also gave excellent insight on the advances China has made economically in the past thirty years.

This article was originally published in TIME magazine Asia. It is a little older than most of my other sources, but I still found the information to be useful. Also, considering it is a subsidiary of TIME magazine, I found it to be a credible source. Had there been any corrections to the article, it could have been done in the past year, as the article is from 2004.

I used this article and the information found in it to bring China into the picture. A large portion of my paper is about the increase in supply of crude oil. China is seen as the biggest influnce in this increased demand. I wanted to bring this point out in the paper and found this article had the information I was looking for.

“FTC Says It Is Investigating Gas Price Gouging”. September 22, 2005.

MSNBC.com. October 29, 2005.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9424585/print/1/displaymode/1098/

This article implicates the oil companies as being responsible for the reduction in oil production. They accuse the oil companies of constraining refinery capacity to manipulate fuel prices. It also touches on the fact retail gas prices rose considerably faster than crude oil prices. Their study states in order for gas prices to reach $3 per gallon, crude oil prices would have had to reach $95 per barrel, while the price of crude oil was only $65 per barrel. It also mentions a letter signed by the governors of Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, New Mexico, Iowa, Montana, and Washington, urging congress to investigate the situation.

MSNBC is yet another credible news source. With a long-standing reputation for honest reporting, it is reasonable to rely on the information they provide. They also cite the actions of the US Federal Trade Commission. I feel this article comes from as reputable a source as any other. The point of the article is to explain the actions being taken to investigate any potential improprieties and the people who have encouraged such investigations to occur.

I found this article to be helpful because of the statistics regarding the price of crude oil per barrel compared to the price of gasoline per gallon. Such a discrepancy illustrates my point that oil companies have taken advantage of the American consumer. These facts work well with the other statistics regarding the huge profits.

Noe, Eric. “For Big Oil, Pricey Gas Means Pricey Profits”. October 27, 2005.

ABC News. October 29, 2005. http://www.abcnews.go.com/business/print?id=1256620.

This source details the enormous profits gained by oil companies during the third

quarter of this year. Some of the alarming statistics I gleamed from this article include the face the major oil companies saw profits jump anywhere from 34% to 68% over last years profits from the same time period. These numbers are shocking considering the tragedy surrounding it. Many refineries were shut down due to the damage from Hurricane Katrina causing prices to go up several dollars a barrel. The reduction in production, however, did not affect their profits as consumers saw the price of gasoline rise above $3.00 per barrel. Senator Bill Frist called for Senate hearings to investigate the record profits. The article also discusses House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s request for oil companies to build more refineries to avoid such a situation again. Finally, in an ABC News poll, 72% of those consumers who responded believe price gouging did occur.

I would qualify ABC News as a very reputable source. ABC News has a reputation for honest reporting. As one of the most established major news sources, their statistics can be considered trustworthy. They would not jeopardize their own reputation in order to publish such a story. In this instance, they have the public interest in mind with their presentation of the information.

I found this article to be very helpful in providing sound information. The statistics available in this article make it very clear to see the possibility the oil companies did indeed take advantage of the situation in order to increase their profits. I found it to be a very informative and concise. The detailing of the government investigation into the situation rounded out the information well. I felt this was a great start to proving my theory that consumers were indeed gouged after a horrible natural disaster.

“A Primer on Gasoline Prices”. Energy Information Association, 2005. US

Government. http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/primer_on_gasoline_prices/html/petbro.html

I retrieved this brochure from a US government website. I found this to be a reputable source as it contained only factual information regarding statistics. Although I am not very familiar with the source, I am putting my trust that in this case the Energy Information Association is presenting true fact.

This article was very informative and full of statistics. I plan to use the information in this article to show the significant changes in the price of crude oil. It also covers information regarding the busier travel months and how oil companies will reduce production leading up to those times to increase the price of gasoline.

When I began my research, this was one of the first articles I found. I noticed it had a lot of information on the oil business in general as well as many statistics. Even though the information was a little older than I liked, I found them to be very helpful. I also enjoyed the overall structure. This article was also very helpful in the original brainstorming process, as I began to shape my argument.

Shook, Barbara. “Katrina Strikes Gulf of Mexico Oil System. The Oil Daily.

V 55 (2005): pNA.

This article details the immediate affects Hurricane Katrina had on the oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. It states many of the same refineries were still damaged due to the effects of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. It contains many statistics regarding reduction in oil production due to the hurricane. Barbara Shook contends Hurricane Katrina took a path that caused as much devastation possible. This article defends the theory that Hurricane Katrina legitimately reduced oil production

This source definitely favors the oil companies. That fact does not make it any less reputable. It is an excellent source of information regarding the affects Hurricane Katrina had on the refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. I believe the statistics presented in this article are believable.

I will use the information in this article to compliment the argument in favor of the oil companies. The information presented in this article makes the oil companies look like as much a victim of Hurricane Katrina as the people of New Orleans and Biloxi. It fosters the argument that the production was reduced, therefore reducing the supply, and justifying the increase in gas prices.

Traczek, Chris. “Katrina Touches All: Devastating Hurricane Leaves Mark on

Americans From Coast To Coast”. Fuel Oil News v70 i10 (2005): p 16 (2).

This journal article discusses the long-lasting affects of Hurricane Katrina. It details the increased prices in heating oil that is sure to be experienced this winter. It also details some of the actions President Bush has taken in light of this problem, including opening up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and waiving the Jones Act, allowing non-US flagged ships to carry fuel between US ports. The article also details the contributions made by major oil companies to the cleanup and rebuilding of the devastated areas.

Fuel Oil News has been around more than 70 years. Its longevity contributes to its reliability as a reputable source. Their interest does seem to lie more with the oil industry rather than the consumer. This makes it a great source for information on the other side of the argument. This article in particular speaks more about the things being done to rectify the problems created by Hurricane Katrina.

I plan to use this source as an argument for the opposing position. There have been many things done to try to make the situation better, and this article brings some of these things out. It also details the donations made by the major oil companies to relief efforts. The dollar amounts are minimal compared to the profits they raised during this period.

“US Lawmakers target oil price gouging, sky high profits”. October 28, 2005.

Today Online. October 29, 2005. http://www.todayonline.com/articles/80953print.asp.

This article presented more information on the skyrocketing quarterly profits

obtained by the oil industry during the period in question. It also goes into the pending government investigations. This article confirmed some information obtained in the ABC News article, but went into further detail. This article discusses Exxon’s record-setting 10 billion dollar profits. Several Congressmen are quoted. Both Republicans and Democrats were quoted in the article. The article is also sympathetic to the poor; pointing out the huge increases in fuel and heating costs are more than they can bear.

Today Online is a subsidiary of MediaCorp Press. Although this source is not as reputable as ABC News, their statistics were consistent with those found in the ABC article. The fact they included quotes from members of the Democratic and Republican party showed they were objective to political lines. This can be questioned; as they only quoted sources who were of the opinion some improprieties had occurred.

I found this source to be helpful in driving home the point the profits made by the oil companies during this period were extraordinary. The statistics were presented in a different way. I wanted some other options in how to illustrate the profits made during the time period in question. Although I don’t consider this fact to be objective, I did appreciate the fact they were sympathetic with the average American and how they have been affected.