Price rigidity in the downstream petroleum industry in New Zealand: where does it happen?

Price rigidity in the downstream petroleum industry in New Zealand: where does it happen?

02 Liquid fuels (derived liquid fuels) waste oil and for the no-refining case in which the waste oil is incinerated and needs are supplied with virgin...

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02 Liquid fuels (derived liquid fuels) waste oil and for the no-refining case in which the waste oil is incinerated and needs are supplied with virgin oil. Total energy, CO?, NO, and SO2 emissions were included during the re-refining and consumption (incineration) stages; all are lower in the case of rerefined fuel use. In addition, by using a streamlined life cycle assessment matrix, it is demonstrated that re-refining waste oil can reduce environmental impacts compared with the case in which virgin oil is chosen.

03/00543 Price rigidity in the downstream petroleum industry in New Zealand: where does it happen? Delpachitra, S. B. Energy Economics, 2002, 24, (6). 597 613. This paper examines the pricing behaviour of the downstream petroleum product market in New Zealand using multivariate error correction models. The unique feature of these models is the use of actual weekly wholesale and retail prices of diesel and unleaded petrol to measure the relative rigidity of domestic prices. The results suggest that price adjustments in domestic markets in response to price changes in world crude oil markets and refined product markets are very weak. Domestic wholesale prices appear to be the key variable in determining retail prices. Lack of competition in the wholesale sector is found to be the main reason for weak price adjustments.

03/00544 Research on emulsifying diesel fuel Chen, D. et al. Huugong Keji, 2002, 10, (1). 15-l 8. (In Chinese) This paper reviews the history and the latest development of researches on emulsifying diesel oil. It also discusses the energy saving principles of emulsified diesel oil. A new method of producing emulsified diesel oil is introduced. Industrial waste oil is used to synthesize high quality and economic diesel emulsifying agent, with which stable, transparent, energy-saving and environmentally safe emulsified diesel oil is produced.

03/00545 The effect of uncertainty and aggregate investments on crude oil price dynamics Tvedt, J. Energy Economics, 2002, 24, (6), 8. This paper is a study of the dynamics of the oil industry and here a mean reverting process for the crude oil pricewas derived. Oil is supplied by a market leader, OPEC, and by an aggregate that represents non-OPEC producers. The non-OPEC producers take the oil price as given. The cost of non-OPEC producers depends on past investments. Shifts in these investments are influenced by costs of structural change in the construction industry. A drop in the oil price to below a given level triggers lower investments, but if the oil price reverts back to a high level investments may not immediately expand. In an uncertain oil demand environment cost of structural change creates a value of waiting to invest. This investment behaviour influences the oil price process.

03/00546 The turbulent liquid fuel industry in Zimbabwe: options for resolving the crisis and improving supply to the poor Mashange, K. Energy Polic?,, 2002, 30, (11 12), 1047-105s. Towards the end of the last decade, supplies in petroleum fuel have been erratic to the extent that Zimbabwe has at times operated with as low as 40% of normal supplies. These shortages were attributed mainly to foreign exchange shortages and alleged mismanagement and corruption at the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM). As shortages intensified, problems of product shortage began to unfold, which adversely impacted on the urban poor. The public began to question the industry’s policies on the sustainability of the liquid fuel sector policies in Zimbabwe. Of particular concern was policies regarding regulatory mechanisms, pricing, distribution, utilization of storage facilities, supply routes and NOCZIM management. This paper evaluates the challenges facing the Zimbabwean petroleum sector and presents recommendations that could assist in ensuring a robust and functional national fuel sector.

03/00547 Time-varying risk premiums in petroleum futures prices Sadorsky, P. Energy Economics, 2002, 24, (6), 539-5.56. This paper uses an ARMAX-ARCH model to estimate the conditional expected returns of petroleum futures prices under time-varying risk. Empirical results suggest that macroeconomic risk factors have significant forecast power in petroleum futures markets. The conditional expected returns for petroleum futures prices are quite large. Results from a small forecasting exDeriment indicate that the out-ofsample forecasts from an ARMAX-ARCH model generally outperform a random walk for all forecast horizons. Regression-based tests for market timing indicate that the model captures both the correct sign and the correct magnitude. Net trading profits are positive in all cases.

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03100548 Volatility transmission in the oil and natural gas markets Ewing, B. T. et nl. l&rgj, Economics, 2002, 24, (6), 525-538. This research looks at how volatility in the oil and natural gas sectors changes over time and across markets. The univariate and bivariate time-series properties of oil and natural gas index returns were empirically examined, allowing for non-linearity in the variance of each series, as well as for the possibility that changes in volatility in one market may spill over to the other market. Patterns in volatility transmission emerge that may be of practical importance to financial market participants.

Derived

liquid fuels

03/00549 Analysis of coal liquefaction progress in the first reactor of the It/d process supporting unit for the NEDOL process Ikeda, K. rt rd. Nippott Etwrugi Gakkrrishi. 2002, 8 I. (5), $45 353. (In Japanese) Progress of coal liquefaction was analysed in the first reactor of 1 t/d Process Supporting Unit (PSU) for development and optimization of the NEDOL Process. The reaction progress was evaluated by analysing the composition of reactor content directly sampled as well as that of sample from the gas-slurry separator immediately after the reactor, The yield of oil, i.e. the hexane-soluble fraction, in the reactor was found to reach nearly 55 wt%daf, which amounted ~95% of the final yield attained in the normal operation using the three reactors. Increase in the reaction temperature and/or the feed ratio of gas to slurry (G/L) resulted in a prolongation of the actual residence time of slurry in the reactor with appreciable decrease in the residue yield and increase in the oil yield. This was reasonably explained by a mechanism that the increased temperature and/or G/L would accelerate evaporation giving rise to a slight increase in the gas-phase holdup and a significant decrease in the slurry-phase flow rate in the reactor. Based on those results, progress of coal liquefaction in the reactor was kinetically analysed, focusing on change in yield of IOM (Insolvent Organic Matter). 03/00550 Development of a new methanol synthesis reactor Kobayashi, K. and Morita, K. Kugnku Kogakzt. 2002, 66. (6), 373. (In Japanese) A double-tube fixed bed reactor for catalytic synthesis of methanol from synthesis gas with efficient catalyst usage and heat recovery features is introduced. 03/00551 High-energy synthetic gasoline or diesel fuel Li, Y. and Chen, S. Faming Zhuanli Shenqing Gongkai Shuomingshu CN 1,334,321 (Cl. ClOLl/lO), 6 Feb 2002, Appl. 2,000,120,781, 13 Jul 2000. 5. (In Chinese) The title gasoline is composed of hydrocarbons 40-60, aromatics 20-30, high boiling point hydrocarbon 10-25, octane number regulating agent (e.g. MTBE) l-10, a combustion promotor l-15, an antiknock agent 0.01-0.05. a smoke reducer 0.01-0.05, an antioxidant agent 0.01-0.05, and a detergent 0.0001-0.0003 weight%. The diesel fuel is composed of tar extract 30-50, alkanes 20-30, high-boiling hydrocarbon as initiator 15-20, solutizer l-10, cetane number improver 1-3, a smoke reducer 0.01-0.05, an antioxidant 0.01-0.05, and a flow improver 0.1-0.3 weight%. The product is low in cost and pollution. 03/00552 HPLC analysis of high-boiling products from processing of fossil fuels Dmitrikov, V. P. Koks i Khimiya, 2002. (4), 26- 30. (In Russian) A review on HPLC analysis of coal tar, coal liquids. hydrogenated anthracene, and petroleum products. 03/00553 Liquefied gas evaporator with heat exchanger Oki. K. et ul. Jpn. Kokai Tokkyo Koho JP 2002 213.696 (Cl. Fl7C7 04), 31 Jul 2002, Appl. 2001/14,840, 23 Jan 2001. 6. (In Japanese) The evaporator includes a means for heating the thermal medium in a tank, a heat exchanger for passing the heated medium through the passage of the heat exchanger for gasification of the liquefied gas (e.g. LPG, LNG), and an electromagnetic valve for shut-off the supply of liquefied gas to a container contained protective gas and the gasified gas for preventing explosion to improve safety. 03/00554 Multi-stage hydroprocessing Iaccino, L. L. et (11.U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub]. US 2002 112,990 (Cl. 208310: ClOG65~02). 22 Aug 2002. US Appl 457,437. 7 Ott 1999. 7