What’s with that? Peter Cohan of BloggingStocks.com tries to answer his wife’s good question. We know we paid almost $2/gal (Chicago burbs) just last week as oil reached one of its lowest prices in recent times.

He comments on the situation in CA, but it probably extends throughout the country. Cohan suggests less supply because refiners shut down for maintenance this time of the year. Plus a BP plant in Carson had mechanical problems.

So, supply down, demand the same, price heads up. When the refineries ramp up again, we should get a little price relief.

Cohan says experts predict $2.50 gas this summer.

Obama wasted no time in putting an energy agenda on the official White House website.

The plan will put the US addiction to foreign oil in rehab. Some oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be used to lower prices at the pump. Look for “alternative energy” initiatives. A goal to eliminate petrol imports from the Middle East & Venezuela within 10 years.

The new administration vowed to “crack down on excessive energy speculation,” as well as to establish a “use it or lose it” policy for existing oil and gas leases in an effort to “promote the responsible domestic production of oil and natural gas.” Additionally, the new energy plan places a high priority on the construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline

GM is no longer the world’s leading automaker. For the first time in 80 years, Toyota sold more cars: 8.97 million vehicles worldwide to GM’s 8.36 million.

Spokesmen for both companies are playing it down.

“I don’t think being No. 1 in global sales means much at all to the average consumer,” said GM sales analyst Mike DiGiovanni during a conference call Wednesday. “What matters most to the consumer is strong brands and strong products.”

A spokesman for Toyota also downplayed the shift in the global sales leader title. “Being No. 1 in volume has never been our goal. Being No. 1 in quality and customer experience has been our goal,” said spokesman Steven Curtis.

Yeah, right. Why do we play the game? We play to win.

GM is not giving up. Says it does not believe Toyota will hold the #1 sales title for the foreseeable future.

Shell Trading and Vitrol have been awarded the first contracts by the DOE to begin refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 10.683 million barrels at $553 million. Deliveries will be made from Feb to April 2009.

The DOE was able to take advantage of the sharp decline in oil prices. Such contracts will have an insignificant effect on the market they say.

A Bloomington School Dist. in Minnesota had to close schools Friday because extremely cold weather caused the biodiesel fuel in school buses to clog. Not so good. The residents can deal with frigid temps, but the buses can not.

The buses can’t operate at temps below 10 degrees (this doesn’t mean 10 below, it means below 10 above). Didn’t anybody check this out before the switch? 10 degrees is a heat wave this time of year in Minnesota.