VIENNA, Austria, April 28, 2008 -Oil prices hit an all-time high near $120 a barrel Monday after a weekend refinery strike closed a pipeline system that delivers a third of Britain’s North Sea oil to refineries in the U.K.
The shutdown comes amid supply outages in Nigeria that have helped to support oil against a strengthening dollar.
“We’ve got a confluence of a number of events that have really disrupted crude oil supply,” said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. “That’s what’s driving oil to a new record even though the U.S. dollar actually strengthened a bit.”
Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose to a record $119.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract eased back to $119.04 a barrel by noon in Europe, up 52 cents from Friday’s close of $118.52.
BP PLC on Sunday shut down the Forties Pipeline System that carries more than 700,000 barrels of oil a day to the U.K. because of a 48-hour walkout by employees at a refinery in central Scotland.
Workers walked out of the Grangemouth refinery vowing not to give ground in their dispute with refinery owner Ineos over plans to close a generous pension scheme to new employees. Ineos chief executive Tom Crotty said it could take a week for the plant to return to production once the strike ends on Tuesday. BP said its pipeline could be up and running within 24 hours.
BP’s Kinneil plant, the onshore processing center for the pipeline system, is powered from the Grangemouth site.
“With the refinery being shut down, it will affect supplies from the North Sea and that has a potentially significant impact,” said David Moore, a commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. “That comes at the same time that there’s production disruptions from Nigeria so the combined effect of those is the immediate factor that’s put pressure on oil prices.”
Analyst Stephen Schork also attributed the bullish market to the combination of events stoking supply concerns.
The final day of the 75th Annual SAE World Congress came to a close Thursday. With sore feet and fatigue very evident among the group, the team kept continuing to be available to all who wanted to engage.
Even with marketing material reinforcements arriving that morning, information about the most efficient internal combustion engine was grabbed at such a fast rate that only four kits were left when the lights were finally shut off at Detroit’s Cobo Center. Even still as the official close was announced, local OEMs were still hanging around the exhibit booth wanting to know more about the latest valve train test rig and results of the recent full load study. The action never stopped.
On hand to support Scuderi Group’s sponsorship of the SAE VIP Reception were European Vice President of Operations Lutz Deyerling, Vice President of Sales and Marketing Nick Scuderi, Ruth Scuderi, President Sal Scuderi, and Vice President Steve Scuderi.
Team Scuderi closed out the event by executing their exclusive sponsorship of the VIP reception prior to the big annual banquet that honors the year’s automotive engineering notables. It was a formal affair with automotive elite on hand to mingle, eat, drink and be merry as they toasted each others’ annual accomplishments. A good time was had by all.
The group now heads home to West Springfield and Frankfurt as they regroup and rest up for another active week coming up. With meetings with a major OEM in France and marketing/public relations firms in Germany, Team Scuderi will continue its tour as it gears up for Engine Expo Stuttgart in May.
Day Three of the 75th Annual SAE World Congress saw no let up of the flow of OEMs, engineers and media streaming through the booth to get a better look at the much-anticipated Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine. With literature and DVDs at a premium, the Scuderi exhibit team did their best to make sure the right information got to all who wanted it. But have no fear, marketing and communication reinforcements are on their way!
Wednesday started with an off-site meeting between the engineering team and a major local OEM that showed genuine progress that U.S. auto manufacturers would not miss out on what European and Indian auto makers have realized to date: The Scuderi Engine has the potential to solve their major emissions compliance and hybrid product line challenges.
The message was simple: The efficiency and emission study results provide automakers with the validation that not only could they have the most inexpensive, fuel-efficient vehicle ever, but also the opportunity to offer today’s driver the most affordable - and efficient - “green” car out there.
Meanwhile, things were busy at the exhibit booth, with visits from OEMs from the China, Japan, Korea, Germany, and the U.S. contingents.
It was also a heavy day for media as reporters and producers from PowerTrain International, Automotive News, Wards AutoWorld, Canadian Automotive Business, WWJ News Detroit, and AutoLine Detroit came by for interviews and updates on all the news and developments.
Today is Day Four and with that brings the final day of the event and what has been a tradition here since its debut two years ago, the Scuderi sponsorship of the VIP Reception prior to the big SAE 2007 Annual Banquet — a black tie affair and yet another opportunity for the Scuderi Group to showcase its innovations, the event honors the top OEMs and suppliers of 2008. The banquet takes place at the Marriott ballroom adjacent to the GM compound on the banks of the river in downtown Detroit.
To open the event, the U.S. National Anthem will be performed by the Wayne State University Glee Club. The event will be facilitated by master of ceremonies Paul W. Smith, talk host on WJR Radio News Detroit.
Day Two of the 2008 SAE World Congress came and went in a flurry. With news stories hitting the press about the latest laboratory test results, information about the engine and copies of the DVD were in high demand.
Hundreds of engineers from around the world flowed through the booth hoping to learn more about the engine, which has passed every critical test to date. Reps from major OEMS from the U.S., Europe, and Asia were present, often visiting more than once with colleagues and others interested in finding out all the technical nuances that enable the engine to achieve higher efficiency, more power, and less NOx emissions than any conventional or hybrid engine on the road today.
This is the third year the Scuderi Group has exhibited at this event and VP of Marketing and Sales Nick Scuderi commented that, by far, this has been the best SAE event for the group.
Media was also present, including visits by Autochannel.com, AutoTech News, OEM Off Highway magazine, and Supplier Business, among others.
With a good night’s sleep behind them, Team Scuderi has a busy day today as Day Three gets underway with an off site meeting at a major OEM, follow ups with its patent team, and more scheduled press interviews.
Test Results of Performance Criteria Exceed Preliminary Expectations
DETROIT, MI -April 15, 2008 - Reaching yet another significant milestone in its development of the world’s most fuel efficient internal combustion engine — The Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine — the Scuderi Group today announced that measured results from valve train test rig tests by an independent laboratory have exceeded expectations and have had a nearly perfect match to initial computer predictions of the engine. This announcement marks the first day of the Scuderi Group’s participation in the SAE World Congress and Exposition at the Cobo Center, where they will be meeting with automotive engineers from around the world to discuss the latest developments of the much-anticipated Scuderi Engine (Booth 1337).
The newly developed valve train test rig is designed to fully actuate, test and measure all performance criteria of the Scuderi Engine’s crossover valve train sub-assembly, prior to the final assembly of the first Scuderi Engine prototype. The crossover valve train is one of the most critical portions of the Scuderi Engine since it must actuate at greater than Formula 1 speeds. Testing on the valve train test rig is expected to continue through the month of April.
“The valve train on the Scuderi Engine has been one of the most scrutinized features of the engine since our debut here at SAE World Congress two years ago,” said Sal Scuderi, president of the Scuderi Group. “The valve train test rig simulates every aspect of the engine’s environment, minus the heat of combustion. Therefore the laboratory was able to fully actuate the crossover valves at all engine speeds under all load conditions, and compare measured results to the computer-predicted performance data.”
