News Story background:

IEA's Tanaka:No Need For Stock Release On Chavez Exxon Threat http://www.smartmoney.com/news/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20080215-000831-1316 

Venezuelan State Company Stops Sales of Oil to Exxon (Update3)
 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&refer=news&sid=aZnt.b2IBU2c 

The offer to make available oil from the reserve after the Canadian pipeline fire in November 2007 received no bids and was eventually cancelled. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602099&sid=aBWWtf7t9rDI&refer=energy 

If you study the following history of releases of oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve you can conclude that releases most often drive oil prices down and have a favorable impact on the stock market.

In this election year we should be on watch for an OIL RELATED EVENT that could lead to a release of oil from the reserve.

Releasing Crude Oil From the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve exists, first and foremost, as an emergency response tool the President can use should the United States be confronted with an economically-threatening disruption in oil supplies.   

The Reserve has been used twice under these conditions.  First, in 1991, at the beginning of Operation Desert Storm the United States joined its allies in assuring the adequacy of global oil supplies when war broke out in the Persian Gulf.  An emergency sale of SPR crude oil was announced the day the war began.  The second was in September 2005 after Hurricane Katrina devastated the oil production, distribution, and refining industries in the Gulf regions of Louisiana and Mississippi.  (Hurricane Katrina's impact was so great, in fact, that SPR emergency oil loans preceded the President's decision to drawdown and sell oil from the Reserve.  The first of several emergency loan requests from refiners was received and approved within 24 hours of Hurricane Katrina making landfall.) 

In addition to national energy emergencies, crude oil has been withdrawn many times from the SPR sites for other reasons. Small quantities of oil are routinely pumped from the storage caverns in tests of the reserve's equipment. And in several instances, oil has been removed from the caverns under the legal authority to "exchange" SPR crude oil. This authority allows the SPR to negotiate exchanges where the SPR ultimately receives more oil than it released; in other words, the exchanges can be used to acquire additional oil for the SPR.  The Hurricane Katrina loans, mentioned above, were conducted using the exchange authority.

Crude Oil Sales and Emergency Drawdowns

Twice the Administration has conducted test sales to ensure the readiness of the Reserve and its personnel to carry out a Presidentially-ordered drawdown. The first took place in 1985, the second in the months immediately preceding Operation Desert Storm.

The 1985 Test Sale
Oil has been pumped into and out of the Reserve's storage sites many times in routine tests. But until 1985, the competitive sales process had never been tested outside of simulations run inside the government. In 1985 Congress and the Administration agreed it was time to test the full system, both the pumps and paperwork, that would be needed to release oil from the Reserve in the event of an energy emergency. When it extended the Energy Policy and Conservation Act in June 1985, Congress authorized the Department to conduct test sales for up to 5 million barrels that would involve the private sector in the competitive sales process for the first time.

On November 18, 1985, the Department announced that it would begin accepting offers for the crude oil. One week later, on November 26, 1985, 17 companies submitted offers. Since no energy emergency existed at the time, the law governing the sale specified that the Energy Department could not accept any offer for less than 90 percent of market price for similar quality crudes. On November 27, the Department announced that it would sell to the five highest bidders who offered prices ranging from $27.69 to $31.25 per barrel. By December 4, the first contract had been awarded, and the first oil delivery occurred on December 11. By January 8, 1986, all oil had been delivered and the test sale was successfully concluded.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 1985 and 1986. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of November 18, 1985, is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 1985 and 1986. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of November 18, 1985, is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

When Saddam's forces breached the Kuwaiti border on August 2, 1990, world oil prices shot upward. With the Middle East accounting for nearly half the crude oil the United States was importing at the time, concerns escalated over a possible disruption in oil supplies. Five days after the invasion, the United States hurriedly dispatched the 82nd Airborne and several fighter squadrons to the Persian Gulf, beginning Operation Desert Shield.

On September 27, 1990, Secretary of Energy James D. Watkins, after consulting with President George H. W. Bush, ordered a 5-million-barrel test sale of Strategic Petroleum Reserve crude oil to "demonstrate the readiness of the [Reserve] system under real life conditions." Stressing that the test was not an emergency drawdown, Watkins nonetheless emphasized that increasing the familiarity of the private sector with the Reserve's sales process was important "should it become necessary in the future to conduct an emergency strategic stock drawdown in coordination with our allies."

On October 10, 1990, the Energy Department announced that it would sell just under 4 million barrels of crude oil to 11 firms that submitted the highest offers from the 33 companies that had responded to the Department's solicitation. The amount sold was less than the 5 million barrels offered because of a lack of bids for one of the six types of crude oil the Department advertised for sale.  The first crude oil moved out of the Reserve on October 19, 1990, and the test sale was completed on Decembe r 3, 1990.

Saddam's aggression continued, however, and on January 16, 1991, President Bush in a nationally televised address announced that U.S. and allied warplanes had begun attacks against Baghdad and other military targets in Iraq. Simultaneously, the President announced that the United States would begin releasing a portion of its Strategic Petroleum Reserve stocks as part of an international effort to minimize world oil market disruptions.

Immediately following the President's address, Secretary Watkins directed the Energy Department to prepare for a drawdown of 33.75 million barrels of Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil, the proportional amount assigned to the United States under a coordinated emergency response plan drawn up by the International Energy Agency.  The oil was released over a 45 day delivery period. 

Operation Desert Shield had become Desert Storm, and the first emergency use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve had been authorized.

Less than 12 hours after the President's authorization, on January 17, 1991, the Energy Department released the crude oil sales notice, and on January 28, 1991, 26 companies submitted offers.

The rapid decision to release crude oil from government-controlled stocks in the United States and other OECD countries helped calm the global oil market, and prices began to moderate. On January 30, 1991, the Energy Department accepted offers from 13 companies offering the best prices for 17.3 million barrels of Strategic Reserve oil.

The total volume sold during the Desert Storm drawdown was just over half the amount offered by the Government, primarily because industry offers for the higher-sulfur "sour" crude oil were substantially lower than bids for the lower-sulfur "sweet" crude.

"We clearly must remain sensitive to the market by making available the crude oil the industry is saying it really needs and not allowing bargain hunters to take advantage of the taxpayers," Watkins said in announcing his decision to accept only those offers that were above 97.5 percent of benchmark prices of comparable crude oils.

On February 5, 1991, the first crude oil in the emergency drawdown was delivered.

On February 23, 1991, allied ground forces moved into Iraq and Kuwait, and Hussein's troops began to pull back. Four days later, on February 27, President Bush ordered a cease fire, and on March 3, Iraqi leaders formally accepted cease fire terms. The Persian Gulf war was over.

World oil markets had remained remarkably calm throughout most of the war, due largely to the swift release of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil in combination with other oil response measures taken around the world. By April 3, 1991, the Energy Department had completed its contractual obligations, delivering the last of the 17.3 million barrels.

In wrapping up the first-ever emergency drawdown the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Energy Secretary Watkins said, "We have sent an important message to the American people that their $20 billion investment in an emergency supply of crude oil has produced a system that can respond rapidly and effectively to the threat of an energy disruption."

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 1990 and 1991. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of September 27, 1990, is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 1990 and 1991. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of September 27, 1990, is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

Hurricane Katrina entered the Gulf of Mexico in late August 2005 and caused massive damage to oil production facilities, terminals, pipelines, and refineries.  All Gulf of Mexico production, which equates to about 25% of domestic production, was shut in initially.  In addition, import terminals were closed; some pipelines and several refineries were inoperable.  Gasoline prices spiked nationwide in reaction to the disruptions and the supply levels of gasoline and other refined products were impacted.

Because of these disruptions, on September 2, 2005, President George W. Bush issued a Finding of a Severe Energy Supply Interruption as defined in section 161(d) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), 42 U.S.C. 6 241(d).  President Bush authorized and directed the Secretary of Energy to drawdown and sell crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at a rate to be determined by Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman.

The United States' Hurricane Katrina sale was part of a coordinated emergency response with the International Energy Agency (IEA), a coalition of 26 member countries that supports energy supply security through energy policy cooperation.  The IEA set a goal to make available 60 million barrels of crude oil and refined products to help mitigate the impact of the disruptions in the global flow of crude oil while efforts were underway to restore operations of offshore production platforms, refineries and other facilities. 

On September 6, 2005, the Department of Energy issued a Notice of Sale, offering 30 million barrels of crude oil (15 million barrels each of sweet and sour).  The competitive sale was conducted on-line for the first time using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve's Crude Oil Sales Offer Program.  Offers were due by 4:00 p.m., Central Daylight Time, September 9, 2005 (see September 6, 2005, Techline). 

The results of the Hurricane Katrina sale were announced on September 14, 2005 (see September 14, 2005, Techline).   Of the 30 million barrels offered for sale, fourteen offers requesting 19.2 million barrels (14.8 million barrels of sweet and 4.4 million barrels of sour) were received from seven companies.  DOE evaluated each offer and determined that five companies had submitted successful offers for 11 million barrels.  Awards were made for delivery of 10.8 million barrels of sweet and 200 thousand barrels of sour crude oil.  The first oil delivery commenced on September 26, 2005 from the Bryan Mound site (deliveries are completed in batches as arranged for by the purchaser) (see September 29, 2005, Techline).  The last drawdown and sale delivery is scheduled for December 2005.

The total U.S. response to Hurricane Katrina, considering both the emergency loans of 9.8 million barrels and the 11 million barrels of oil that was sold, was 20.8 million barrels.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of September 2, 2005, is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of September 2, 2005, is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

Crude Oil Exchanges

Oil has been released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve ten times under exchange arrangements with private companies. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act - the 1976 legislation that authorized the Reserve - gives the Energy Department the authority to exchange oil from the Reserve for the purpose of acquiring additional oil for the stockpile.

The ARCO Exchange. In late April 1996, the ARCO Pipe Line Company incurred an operational emergency when its 20-inch pipeline from the Texas Gulf Coast to Cushing, Oklahoma, became blocked by a waxy crude, interrupting its oil deliveries to the midcontinent. On May 3, 1996, under an emergency crude oil lease exchange agreement with the Seaway Pipeline Company, the Energy Department agreed to supply up to one million barrels of crude oil to enable the start up of its Freeport-to-Cushing pipeline to continue the flow of oil to the midcontinent refineries, avoiding any refinery shutdown. Under the terms of the agreement, ARCO would pay the Government a fee, plus a future price differential for leasing the oil, and would replace the oil with an equivalent grade of crude within six months. Under this lease, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve delivered a total of 900,416 barrels of crude oil to the Seaway Pipeline System. All the oil was returned by November 25, 1996.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 1996. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of May 3, 1996,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 1996. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of May 3, 1996,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The Maya crude oil was acquired from Mexico in the early 1980s, as part of a purchase agreement between the Department and Petroleos Mexicanos, Mexico's national oil company.  Since that time, the Maya has been segregated in a single cavern at Bryan Mound because its lower API gravity and greater sulfur content made it significantly different from the other inventory. This had the effect of reducing the site's operational flexibility, efficiency, and drawdown capability during an energy emergency.

On August 13, 1998, the Reserve solicited offers to deliver crude oil which would meet the Reserve's quality specifications, in exchange for the Maya. On August 27, 1998, the Reserve received offers from seven companies, and on August 28, an exchange contract was awarded to P.M.I. Norteamerico S.A. de C.V. of Houston, Texas. Subsequently, P.M.I. delivered a total of 8.5 million barrels of light sour Olmeca and Isthmus crude oils to Bryan Mound from October 1998 through early January 1999. In return, the Reserve transferred title of Maya ownership to P.M.I.; however, the Maya crude remained in the custody of the Reserve until October 1999.

This exchange decreased the Reserve's total inventory by about 2.5 million barrels, but because of the higher quality of the oil received in the exchange, it did not decrease the value of the inventory. Additionally, it benefitted the Reserve by increasing the quantity of Bryan Mound's light sour crude oil stream and improved the site's storage and drawdown capabilities.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 1998 and 1999. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of August 27, 1998,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

Note that the price drop in crude came during the time the crude was DELIVERED.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 1998 and 1999. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of August 27, 1998,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

Note that the price drop in crude came during the time the crude was DELIVERED.

In less than 30 hours after being approached by the companies, the Energy Department had made arrangements to exchange oil from the Strategic Reserve to relieve the refineries' supply problems. On June 15, 2000, the Energy Department agreed to exchange 500,000 barrels from the Strategic Reserve's West Hackberry site with CITGO in return for an equivalent quantity, plus an exchange premium, of crude oil from the company after the shipping lanes were reopened (see June 15, 2000, Techline). The next day, June 16, 2000, the Department reached an exchange agreement for the same amount with Conoco (see June 16, 2000, Techline). Crude oil from the Reserve began flowing to the refineries on June 18, 2000.

Within a week, the U.S. Corps of Engineers had reopened the shipping channel, and on July 29, CITGO delivered replacement crude oil back to the Reserve. On August 4, Conoco delivered an equivalent quantity of crude oil to the Reserve, completing the exchange.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2000. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of June 18, 2000,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2000. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of June 18, 2000,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

By the end of August 2000, the Department had contracts in place with three companies to provide the terminal capacity and with two companies to supply the heating oil. (see August 29, 2000, Techline). To acquire the first-year use of storage facilities, the Department agreed to provide 117,667 barrels of crude oil to Equiva Trading Company, Morgan Stanley Capital Group, Inc., and Amerada Hess Corporation. (After the initial year, the Administration began requesting direct appropriations to cover the costs of leasing commercial tank storage.) To obtain the 2 million barrels of heating oil, the Department provided 2,718,000 barrels of crude oil to Equiva Trading Company and the Morgan Stanley Capital Group, Inc. These companies offered the most favorable exchange terms to the government in an open competition.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2000. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of August 29, 2000.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2000. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of August 29, 2000.

An initial group of offerors was selected on October 4, 2000,. When two of the selected offerors could not provide the necessary financial guarantees, the Energy Department reissued a solicitation for 7 million barrels of crude oil on October 16, 2000  and awarded final contracts on October 24, 2000 .

The average bonus percentage from these initial awards was 4.5 percent, for a total of 31.2 million barrels of exchange oil to be returned to the Reserve by a specified date.  However, market conditions in 2001 made it advantageous to the government to accept deferral of some of these deliveries until 2002 and 2003.  Companies scheduled to supply oil to the Reserve agreed to provide an additional 3.3 million barrels as a condition of allowing later deliveries, bringing the total amount of oil to be returned under the time exchange to 34.5 million barrels.

In December 2002, with oil supplies tightening due to the curtailment of exports from Venezuela, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham authorized the Department to accept further deferrals of the 5.3 million barrels that remained to be delivered.  The renegotiated delivery schedules resulted in an additional premium of 600 thousand barrels for delivery by early 2004, resulting in a total return volume of 35.1 million barrels.  No further deferrals were permitted and the Exchange 2000 initiative is now completed.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2000 and 2001. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of October 24, 2000,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2000 and 2001. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of October 24, 2000,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The action began on September 30, when the Energy Department was informed that the Capline pipeline, a major interstate oil carrier that originates in Louisiana, might not be able to deliver needed oil supplies to customers, including the Williams refinery in Memphis, due to curtailments of incoming oil deliveries because of Hurricane Lili. The Capline operator, Shell Pipeline Co. LP, was concerned that using oil stocks from its Sugarland terminal in St. James Parish, Louisiana, to keep the Capline pipeline flowing would cause stock levels in the tanks to drop below the safety threshold for protection against hurricane-force winds.

By October 1, Strategic Petroleum Reserve staff had worked out an arrangement with the Capline Pipeline System to temporarily relocate oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve's Bayou Choctaw site to keep stocks in Shell's tanks at acceptable levels. The SPR temporarily relocated 296,000 barrels from the Bayou Choctaw site to the Capline tanks. This allowed Shell to continue supplying oil to Williams and other refineries in the Midwest that rely on the Capline pipeline.

When commercial oil deliveries returned to normal the next week, Shell pumped the SPR crude back to the government's storage sitesite.

Because the SPR oil sent to Shell displaced oil in a connecting pipeline that served the Placid Refinery in Port Allen, Louisiana, the first 100,000 barrels of the returned SPR oil went directly to the Placid Refinery. Under the exchange agreement, DOE received a comparable grade of replacement oil within 60 days.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2002 and 2003. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of October 1, 2002,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2002 and 2003. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of October 1, 2002,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2004 and 2005. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of October 1, 2004,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2004 and 2005. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of October 1, 2004,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The 2005 Huricane Katrina Exchange. In late August 2005 Hurricane Katrina entered the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 5 hurricane, causing massive damage to offshore oil producton facilities.  The destruction continued when she made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane near New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2005.  By the time she was finished, significant damage to production platforms, terminals, pipelines and refineries had occurred, leaving many facilities inoperable for weeks - and some for several months.   

Immediately after learning of Hurricane Katrina's devastating impact, the Secretary of Energy approved six emergency requests for loans of crude oil from refiners whose scheduled deliveries had been disrupted.  Without the SPR loans, the refineries faced severe reductions in processing rates or shutdown of their operations.  The loans enabled them to continue refining crude oil into products such as gasoline, heating oil, and jet fuel for the Nation.  The terms of the loans require repayment of crude oil that meets the specifications of the SPR, including premium barrels to be paid to the Government.  The first oil delivery occurred on September 3, 2005, and continued in a series of batches through October, totaling 9.8 million barrels.  During Fall 2005, 4.2 million barrels of oil and accompanying premium barrels were repaid.  An additional 4.4 million barrels were repaid between February and May 2006, and the remaining 1.7 million barrels will be repaid during Spring 2007.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of September 3, 2005,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of September 3, 2005,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of January 17, 2006,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of January 17, 2006,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of June 21, 2006,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of June 21, 2006,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

Although the Reserve was established to cushion oil markets during energy disruptions, three times during 1996, non-emergency sales of oil from the Reserve were authorized by Congress to raise revenues. The total quantity sold was 28.1 million barrels.

Weeks Island Sale: The first sale was requested by the Administration to pay for the unexpected decommissioning of the Weeks Island Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage site. A fracture in the overburden above the converted salt mine - the only site in the Reserve that used a former mine to store crude oil - threatened the site's geologic integrity and its 73 million barrels of crude oil. On October 5, 1994, the Energy Department had announced that it would begin transferring the oil to other sites to reduce the threat of its catastrophic release into the environment. The cost of the transfer and subsequent site decommissioning was estimated to be $100 million. To pay for the effort, the Department proposed to sell up to 7 million barrels of the Weeks Island inventory. Congress approved the sale in the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, enacted January 26, 1996.

On January 29, 1996, the Defense Fuel Supply Center, acting as the Energy Department's sales agent, issued a solicitation to industry for competitive offers to purchase Weeks Island oil. Subsequently, on a two-week cycle, beginning February 20 and ending March 21, offers were received, negotiations conducted, and contracts awarded to those offerors bidding prices consistent with the oil's market value. Six contracts were awarded to four oil firms for 5.1 million barrels. Deliveries were made between March 4 and April 21, 1996. Payments to the U.S. Treasury totaled $97.1 million, or $18.95 per barrel.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of March 4, 1996,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of March 4, 1996,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of May 26, 1996,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of May 26, 1996,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of October 29, 1996 ,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.

The following chart shows DAILY Crude Oil front month futures prices in 2005 and 2006. (Months are noted across the top of the chart.) The focus date of October 29, 1996 ,  is placed in the middle of the chart so you can see the oil price movement into and after that date.