refineries

The smart money has been predicting lately that gas prices would fall. Oil has been below $90 a barrel since early August and the International Energy Agency has cut its estimates for crude oil use for the year. But the price of a gallon of unleaded is the virtually the same as it was a year ago.

With security concerns in the Middle East receding and the commodities bubble deflating, oil prices are headed sharply lower. Gas prices should follow suit: Analysts say that prices will get 25 cents a gallon cheaper in the next few days, and drop even further as the summer rolls on.

Given the prospect of $4-plus gasoline this summer, what's an American to do? Beyond switching to a higher-MPG vehicle, you can consider buying some oil stocks with plenty of upside potential. Here are five candidates, if your risk appetite is hardy enough.

Over the last three weeks the price of gas has risen 3.8%. A gallon of regular gas is now, on average, $2.85.

Oil prices are showing signs of moderating, with a barrel of crude now worth about half of its all-time of $147 a barrel in 2008. But U.S. motorists may not benefit much at the pump. Refiners are expected to restore their margins that got squeezed during the recession.

It has been months since a hurricane posed a real threat to oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Now, Hurricane Ida is entering the region from the west after doing significant damage in Nicaragua. Most hurricanes that move into the Gulf end up doing very little damage to either deep sea drilling...

Refinery operators from Hawaii to Germany are weighing plans to close or sell plants due to the biggest drop in oil and refined product demand in almost three decades, according to Bloomberg News. Companies that may close refineries include U.S.-based Chevron (CVX) and Valero (VLO), as well as...

Oil prices have remained relatively low but average U.S. gasoline prices have risen about 25-30 cents in the past two months -- and in the winter, no less. That would suggest to some consumers that something fishy is going on in the gasoline market. In reality, not really: it's just the market....