The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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DATELINE OBAMA SET TO CUT LIHEAP FUNDING As Marc Ambinder first and exclusively reported on February 2011, in the National Journal,the Obama administration is pro- posing significant cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.The cuts would be on the order of $2.5 billion, or about half of the current funding level and similar to funding levels in the 1990s. The initial blow back has been fierce, particularly from Democrats,with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.); Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, (D-N.H.); Sen. John Kerry (D- Mass.);and Rep.Edward Markey (D-Mass.) leading the charge.Shaheen is on the record stating,“The president’s reported proposal to drastically slash LIHEAP funds by more than half would have a severe impact on many of New Hampshire’s most vulnera- ble citizens and I strongly oppose it.” Kerry, in a letter to the president stated: “We simply cannot afford to cut LIHEAP funding during one of the most brutal win- ters in history. Families across Massachusetts,and the country,depend on these monies to heat their homes and sur- vive the season.” The National Journal piece noted that the final scope of the cuts is still uncertain given the tremendous support for the pro- gram in the president’ own party. As previously noted in Fuel Oil News,LIHEAP has faced some recent criticism due to the discovery of some cases of fraud. MARATHON PROCEEDING TO CREATE TWO INDEPENDENT COMPANIES The board of directors ofMarathon Oil Corp. has announced that it has approved moving forward with plans to spin off Marathon’s downstream business, creating two independent, highly focused energy companies. Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC), to be headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, is expected to be the fifth largest U.S. refiner with a top-tier down- stream portfolio of strategically aligned assets concentrated mainly in the Midwest, GulfCoast and Southeast regions of the U.S. Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO) will be a global upstream company with a strong FEATURED NEWS Obama cuts to LIHEAP Marathon splits in two AHRI December data Northeast heating oil sale AHR Expo sets new record Samco acquires Onwatch Cetane agent ofGriffith Spirotech founder passes Threat to fuel oil equipment sales portfolio of assets delivering defined growth leveraged to crude oil production and with exploration upside.MRO will continue to be based in Houston, Texas and trade on the NYSE under its ticker symbol “MRO.” “The substantial improvement in the global business and financial environments over the last two years has created the condi- tions under which we believe it is now appropriate to move forward with the forma- tion of two strong independent energy companies.Marathon has a long history of adapting to changing market and business conditions and at this point in our almost 125 year history, there is a compelling strategic rationale for this transformation,”said Clarence P. Cazalot, Jr.,Marathon president and CEO. “Complementary to the much improved economic environment,Marathon has largely completed a program of significant investment in both our upstream and downstream businesses that will provide each company with a solid foundation to be a leader in its respective industry.We expect these two strong and competitive companies will each have a sound platform for continued long-term shareholder value growth.” The benefits of creating these two oper- ationally and financially strong energy companies include: • Enhanced flexibility to pursue tailored strategies • Superior transparency/improved investor focus • Strengthened ability to attract and retain talent Commenting on the benefits of spin- ning off the downstream businesses, Gary R.Heminger,Marathon Oil Corporation downstream executive vice president and designated president and CEO of MPC, said,“With a fully aligned downstream busi- ness Marathon Petroleum Corporation will have the ability to pursue a strategy specific to the strengths we have developed over many years.We will remain focused on growing shareholder value, retaining and attracting talented employees, further build- ing the valued relationships we have with our many customers and business partners, and improving the transparency of our business segments.” AHRI RELEASES DECEMBER 2010 U.S. HEATING, COOLING EQUIPMENT SHIPMENT DATA The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) is the trade association representing manufacturers of air conditioning, heating, and commercial refrigeration equipment.AHRI provides regular reports on the sales of a variety of equipment. Offered below is the data for December 2010. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for December 2010 decreased 2 percent, to 350,549 units, down from 357,632 units shipped in December 2009. Residential electric storage water heater ship- ments decreased 2 percent in December 2010, to 328,298 units,down from 336,070 units shipped in December 2009. For the year-to-date, U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters increased 4 percent, to 3,918,150 units, compared to 3,760,657 units shipped during the same period in 2009. Residential electric storage water heater shipments decreased 0.4 percent year-to- date, to 3,736,597 units, compared to 3,751,994 units shipped during the same period in 2009. Commercial Storage Water Heaters Commercial gas storage water heater ship- www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | MARCH 2011 3