At a national average of $2.59 gal in late December, retail gasoline prices ended 2009 in the middle of their five-year range following a slow price decline since November, explains the Energy Information Administration. The average is down 10cts from Nov. 2 when they posted a high for 2009 at $2.69 gal.

"Although the average gasoline price is currently 94 cents higher than a year ago (when prices had fallen to their lowest level in nearly 4 years), it is slightly below the average of $2.65 per gallon over the 2005-2009 period," said the EIA.

Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) in December 2007 and, as President Bush signed the Act, a new and advanced renewable fuel standard started what has turned out to be a long road to the marketplace. In fact, the regulatory process, where EPA codifies the Congressional Act into regulations, is over two years behind the deadline established through EISA.

The tardiness of the advance renewable fuel standard (RFS2) can be attributed to numerous factors, including such items as a Presidential election, special interest group lobbying, indirect land use assessments, and overall complexity of the new laws. Regardless of the delays, industry still anticipates an eventual RFS2 and will therefore need to be prepared for the changes.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to keep its production quota unchanged after a marathon meeting that concluded Dec. 22 in the Angolan capital of Luanda.

The producer group agreed to maintain total production quotas, according to a news release read to reporters by OPEC press officers, which are estimated at about 24.9 million bpd. It’s the fourth time this year the group has met without revising its output level.