The New Year has started off great for Nevada motorists! A year ago at this time, regular unleaded gasoline was retailing for $3.386 per gallon. This January, the price is $2.99.

As I pulled up at a nearby service station, I spotted a staid looking man, performing a sedate jig as he pumped gas into his car. He looked so happy I had to strike up a conversation with him. It turned out he commutes some 70 miles a day and now figures he will have some leftover spending money at the end of each month. A number of Las Vegas service stations have cut their prices below $3 a gallon for the first time in two years.

With plenty of supply, refineries have incentives to discount to keep sales moving says Peter Krueger, state executive for the Nevada Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association. While Krueger is upbeat, others predict prices will start to rise again in February.

Another reason: The pipeline owned by Sinclair Oil and HollyFrontier Corporation now connects Las Vegas with refineries in Salt Lake City offering prices for refined products priced lower than California who has been Nevada's primary gasoline source.

Nevada is going to be fracked: Houston based Noble Energy Inc. plans to drill for oil and natural gas near Wells, Nevada, 400 miles from Las Vegas. This is the first use of hydraulic fracturing in the state. While no proposals or permit applications have been filed by Noble, company officials have met with the state Division of Environmental Protection and the Division of Water Resources.

In addition, Noble's proposal to drill exploratory wells more than a mile deep on public land is undergoing an environmental assessment by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Nevada is largely undiscovered country as far as oil production; fewer than 1,000 wells have been drilled in the state and only seven are in production. Currently, nearly all of Nevada's oil comes from Railroad Valley.

Come to the Mirage Hotel in sunny Las Vegas and mingle with other professionals in the petroleum business. Monday, February 18, is opening day and you can still make reservations for the Western Petroleum Marketers National Convention & Convenience store Expo. Better late than never! This is your chance to make new contacts, play golf and attend educational seminars.

Originally published in the February 2013 issue of the O&A Marketing News.
Copyright 2013 by KAL Publications Inc.