Oil Blog

Gas Price News 5/24/06

With gas prices up, travel will head down
Hilton Head Island Packet - Hilton Head Island,SC,USA
... Gas prices are up about 60 cents a gallon over last year and rising fuel prices are forcing airlines to cancel flights and increase fares. ...

Secretary: High gas prices won't hurt tourist industry
Portage Daily Register - Portage,WI,USA
State Tourism Secretary Jim Holperin said Tuesday that he doesn't think high gas prices will have a negative effect on the industry in Wisconsin. ...

US buyers may shun SUVs due to gas prices: survey
Reuters - USA
... consumers are considering swapping their sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and big cars for more fuel-efficient vehicles because of high gas prices, according to a ...

Higher Gas Prices Will Impact Memorial Day Travel, Says AAA
WBOC TV 16 - Salisbury,MD,USA
TOWSON, Md.- For the first time in recent years, consistently high gas prices are taking a toll on travelers' habits, reports AAA Mid-Atlantic. ...

Energy profits - and prices - rise
Guardian Unlimited - UK
... Regulator Ofgem has already pointed out that wholesale gas prices for this winter are higher than last year, while British Gas owner Centrica said its ...

Kievans rally to protest increase in gas prices
RIA Novosti - Moscow,Russia
... Ukraine, which was involved in a bitter spat over gas prices with Russia at the beginning of 2006, is currently paying $95 per 1,000 cu m for gas, but Moscow ...

High gas prices fueling small car sales
Monsters and Critics.com - Glasgow,UK
... Fifty percent of respondents said they would consider a gas-electric hybrid and 38 percent would consider a flexible-fuel vehicle. ...

Centrica Delays Restarting Gas Storage; Prices Rise (Update1)
Bloomberg - USA
... natural-gas site after a February fire to take longer than scheduled. Winter gas prices rose to their highest in almost a month. ...

Yekhanurov is going to increase gas prices by 50%
Ukrainska Pravda - local,Kiev,Ukraine
... Energy Regulatory Commission dated March 30 as to 25% rise in gas and electric power tariffs for people came into force. Thus, retail prices increased from 17 ...

Gas prices prompt shift in car-buying strategy
MSNBC - USA
... photo. As gas prices keep rising, motorists increasingly are considering hybrid and diesel cars, a Consumer Reports survey finds. ...

Oil Price News 5/23/06

Hike in fuel prices may be
Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai,India
... prices is expected. Crude oil prices in New York rose to a record $75.35 on April 21 and April 24. They stood at under $70 on Monday. ...

Wide array of product prices rise with oil market
Scripps Howard News Service - Washington,DC,USA
... ailing the US economy lately. Raging oil prices are doing more than just aggravating SUV owners. They're starting to ripple through ...

Oil prices surge above 71 dollars on eve of energy stocks report
Xinhua - China
NEW YORK, May 23 (Xinhua) -- World crude oil prices surged above 71 dollars Tuesday amid concerns over an active hurricanes season, on the eve of US weekly ...

Oil prices settle above $71 a barrel
BusinessWeek - USA
... Gasoline futures advanced nearly 4 cents to settle at $2.095 a gallon, while heating oil prices also rose more than 6 cents to settle at $1.9989 a gallon. ...

Rising Oil Prices Send Solar Stocks Up
Houston Chronicle - United States
NEW YORK — Shares of solar stocks soared in afternoon trading on Tuesday as investors sought refuge from soaring oil prices. The ...

China Raises Oil Product Prices to Help Refiners (Update1)
Bloomberg - USA
... second-biggest energy consumer, raised prices of oil products for the second time this year to help refiners cover costs after crude-oil prices soared to ...

Oil prices rise past $70
NDTV.com - New Delhi,India
... Gasoline futures advanced 1.81 cents to $2.0755 a gallon (3.8 liters), while heating oil prices rose 1.08 cents to $1.9434 a gallon. ...

Oil prices hit SME index
Bangkok Post - Thailand
High oil prices are eroding the confidence of small and medium-sized enterprises, according to a new survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce. ...

Copper see-saws, gold lifted by strong oil prices
Business Times - Malaysia - Malaysia
Gold rose by 1 per cent to a session high of US$663.30 (US$1 = RM3.63) an ounce, buoyed by strong oil prices, while copper see-sawed between US$7,405 and US ...

Private cos free to fix oil prices
Navhind Times - Panjim,India
... companies (OMCs) are fixing the prices of sensitive petroleum products in consultation with it, private oil companies were free to fix the prices of their ...

Alternative Energy 5/23/06

Don't Listen To Dick Morris
American Thinker - Berkeley,AZ,USA
... immigration—and that the federal government can solve this problem with a massive research and development program in “alternative fuels.” The difficulty ...

Senator Clinton Calls For Greater Availability Of Alternative ...
NY1 - NY,USA
Senator Hillary Clinton says Americans can cut the amount of foreign oil we use in half by the year 2025. The US currently imports ...

ANGELIDES, JOINED BY ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS, OUTLINES PRIORITIES TO ...
California Chronicle - Beverly Hills,CA,USA
... adopt a real smart growth plan, and put California at the forefront of renewable energy, environmental technology and clean, alternative fuels and vehicles. ...

Fiona Leggate Runs on Renewable Fuel with EEMS Support
EEMS - Energy Efficient Motorsport - UK
... ‘Energy equivalent flow’ will clearly define equivalency issues and open the way for alternative fuels to compete fairly alongside petrol in mainstream UK ...

OPEC in the News 5/23/06

OPEC can do little to lower oil prices: Bodman
Reuters - USA
NEW YORK (Reuters) - OPEC can do nothing to lower oil prices from current levels and has ceded much of its oil-pricing power to traders, US Energy Secretary ...

OIL FUTURES: ICE Brent Up Over $1/Bbl; Hurricanes, OPEC
CattleNetwork.com - Stanley,KS,USA
The rally in crude prices followed on the heels of Monday's advance after the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, said there was an 80 ...

Economic boom in Algeria
News24 - South Africa
... and 8% in 2008. Energy revenues in the OPEC member would likely go beyond $50bn, up from $45.6bn in 2005. The statistics were impressive ...

Venezuela supports OPEC production cut: minister
People's Daily Online - Beijing,China
... Ramirez said on Monday that Venezuela supports the idea of an oil production cut at the next meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ...

Oil jumps above $70 on hurricane forecast
Business Day - Johannesburg,South Africa
SYDNEY - Oil surged above $70 today as commodities staged a modest recovery from last week’s sell-off, Venezuela mooted Opec oil production cuts and the US ...

OPEC: OPEC and IMF hold first high-level joint meeting in Vienna
noticias.info - Spain
/noticias.info/ OPEC and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held their first high-level joint meeting in Vienna, Austria, today (22 May). ...

NYMEX crude edges above $70 on weather, OPEC talk
Reuters - USA
... government forecast an active hurricane season that could threaten rigs and refineries again this year and Venezuela talked of the need for an OPEC output cut. ...

Gas Price News 5/22/06

Feds: No evidence post-Katrina gas prices were manipulated
San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA
... The findings, which support longtime contentions by the oil industry that higher gas prices are purely a function of supply and demand in an increasingly ...

Q&A: Oil and gas prices
Seattle Times - United States
... But Donna Oiland of Lake Forest Park is almost convinced that in these days of soaring gas prices, service-station attendants are camped out at the signs ...

Decline of 2 cents is first drop in gas prices since February
Seattle Times - United States
The national average retail price of a gallon of gas fell about 2 cents the past two weeks, the first drop since prices began a steady climb in late February ...

Gas prices drop nationally for first time since February
The Herald - Everett,WA,USA
... nationally if not regionally, the average retail price of a gallon of gas fell about 1.45 cents during the past two weeks, the first drop since prices began a ...

RI gas prices down by 2 cents, AAA survey finds
Providence Business News - Providence,RI,USA
... Travel will be up slightly this Memorial Day holiday despite high gas prices and increasing vacation costs, according to AAA. AAA ...

Gas prices dip 3 cents a gallon in Mass.
Eyewitness News - East Providence,RI,USA
UNDATED Gas prices are down three cents a gallon on average from a week ago in Massachusetts, keeping them just below the three-dollars-a-gallon mark. ...

Higher gas prices may take toll on state coffers
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
... Even industries that would seem to be immediately affected by fuel costs are uncertain about the overall impact that record-high gas prices will have on the ...

Some break out bikes to commute as gasoline prices create an ...
Houston Chronicle - United States
... Cycling to work is just one way Americans are seeking relief from skyrocketing gas prices. People who normally drive to work are ...

Gas prices down, but Memorial Day weekend awaits
Pioneer Press - St. Paul,MN,USA
... gallon. That, too, is about a dime less than the average price at mid-week. Gas prices are backing off nationwide as well. The AAA ...

Gazprom to raise gas prices for Ukraine up to $130 per 1,000 cubic ...
Regnum - Moscow,Russia
Gas prices for Ukrainian consumers will rise from $110 up to $130 per 1,000 cubic meters (without VAT and transport expenses) since July 1. Such decision will ...

Rising gas prices fuel interest in hybrid cars
South Asian Women's Forum - New Delhi,India
Rising gas prices have pushed up visits to Toyota and Honda websites suggesting an increased interest in their hybrid cars. The ...

Refinery News 5/22/06

Nations to Expand Gas Refinery Capacity
Houston Chronicle - United States
ALMATY, Kazakhstan — Kazakhstan and Russia have agreed to jointly expand the capacity of a Russian natural gas refinery to allow it to process gas from the ...

Total, Aramco to set up $6bn refinery
newratings.com - USA
... Aramco is also expected to sign an agreement in the near future with US-based ConocoPhilips (COP) to set up another refinery of similar capacity in the Red Sea ...

Report digs into gas price variables
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscription) - Milwaukee,WI,USA
... by market forces of supply and demand alone, and in fact are being spurred by oil-company mergers, deliberately restricted refinery capacity and volatile ...

Fire hits Valero's St. Charles refinery
San Antonio Business Journal - San Antonio,TX,USA
... The 250,000-barrel-per-day refinery is located 15 miles from New Orleans and has the capacity of producing gasoline, diesel and heating oil. ...

FTC gasoline price probe finds nothing
Boston Globe - United States
... Before Katrina struck, Congress asked the FTC to examine if refinery capacity or some form of market manipulation was behind rising gasoline prices. ...

UPDATE 1-Shell in talks over stake in CNOOC Huizhou refinery
Reuters - USA
... Nanhai naphtha cracker in Guangdong province, next to the planned refinery, from where it ... early this year though Tan declined to say at what capacity it is now ...

Oil firms blamed in report
The Capital Times - Madison,WI,USA
... Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager says that huge profits made by big oil companies are the result of industry actions to limit refinery capacity and keep ...

Gas pains: Building more refineries won't lower fuel costs
Scripps Howard News Service - Washington,DC,USA
... Wallin said about 2 million barrels a day, or 10 percent of US refinery capacity, was offline immediately following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. ...

Local oil prices set higher than usual, says vocal senator
Thai News Agency MCOT - Bangkok,Thailand
... He pointed out the country’s refinery capacity totals around 1 million liters per day at current while the local demand is 700,000 liters per day with the ...

Come By Chance refinery needs upgrades
Reuters Canada - Toronto,Ontario,Canada
... in the near term, but the demand/supply balance could change if the new owner changes the product slate of the refinery and increase its capacity, traders said ...

OPEC in the News 5/22/06

Tapping into Libya's oil
CNN International - USA
... Just this past week Chavez traveled to fellow OPEC nations Algeria and Libya to sign trade agreements and hold talks with their leaders. ...

Opec to maintain output: Iran
Gulf Times - Doha,Qatar
OSLO: Opec’s June 1 meeting is likely to keep oil output unchanged though supply and demand figures suggest it should cut by up to 1.2mn bpd, Iran’s Opec ...

Falsehoods are par for the course when it comes to Venezuela's ...
VHeadline.com - Worth,IL,USA
Oil Wars Blogspot: You would think having watched Chavez revitalize OPEC and oil revenues increase the opposition would have learned something and would be in ...

US crude futures end sharply higher
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
... Meanwhile, oil market fundamentals would indicate an OPEC production cut, Venezuelan Energy Ministry Rafael Ramirez told reporters Monday in Caracas. ...

Venezuela supports OPEC production cut
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela will recommend cutting oil production at an upcoming OPEC meeting on June 1, Venezuela's oil minister said Monday. ...

Oil Price News 5/18/06

US, Saudi Arabia agree high oil prices are bad: Rice
Reuters - USA
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Saudi Arabia agree that high crude oil prices are bad for global economic growth, US Secretary of State ...

US leading economic indexes lower on surging oil prices
Xinhua - China
... With the priceof a barrel of oil still around 70 dollars, and with interest rates slowly rising, the economy isn't likely to be picking up steam, he added. ...

Oil prices rebound after two-day decline
BusinessWeek - USA
MAY. 18 5:23 PM ET Oil prices climbed Thursday, reversing a two-day decline that was prompted by concerns about weakening demand. ...

Oil prices rise almost US$1 a barrel, rebounding after two-day ...
Canadian Business - Toronto,Ontario,Canada
WASHINGTON (AP) - Oil prices climbed by almost $1 US a barrel Thursday, reversing a two-day decline that was prompted by concerns about weakening demand. ...

Headwaters Cuts FY06 Forecast On Volatility In Oil Prices - Update
Trading Markets - Los Angeles,CA,USA
... The company noted that the uncertainty surrounding oil prices and lack of legislative action, which would affect its synthetic fuel production resulted in ...

PTT still keeps fuel prices unchanged
Thai News Agency MCOT - Bangkok,Thailand
... Executive Vice President of PTT, revealed the company’s decision to refrain from further raising the fuel prices was made because crude oil prices had begun ...
 

Russian Finance Minister Says Soaring Oil Prices Push Up Inflation
MOSNEWS - Russia
Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Wednesday, May 17, that Russian inflation is closely tied to global oil prices and expressed hope that annual ...

Higher Oil Prices boost HELPE Profit (18/05/2006)
Energy.gr - Greece
Greece’s largest refiner, Hellenic Petroleum (HELPE), reported stronger first-quarter net profits yesterday, helped by higher oil prices and favorable ...

Oil prices fall
NDTV.com - New Delhi,India
Oil prices fell below $69 a barrel on Wednesday after the US government data showed the domestic supply of gasoline rising for the third straight week amid ...

Rising oil prices will not impact GDP growth: Assocham
Hindustan Times - India
Industry body Assocham said on Thursday that rising oil prices are unlikely to affect India's GDP growth rate as the economy was no longer susceptible to oil ...

Gas Price News 5/18/06

Gas prices won't slow holiday driving
CNN - USA
... NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Despite near record gas prices and repeated cries for someone to do something about them, the American motorist plans on driving even ...

Commodities: Utilities and chemical industry help lift gas prices
International Herald Tribune - France
... Industrial consumers that include chemical and fertilizer companies have moved operations outside the United States to avoid high gas prices. ...

StatsCan says April gas prices drove up inflation
CTV.ca - Canada
OTTAWA -- Higher gasoline prices at the pump drove up the annual inflation rate to 2.4 per cent in April, from 2.2 per cent in March, Statistics Canada said ...

Natural-gas prices drop to a 16-month low
MarketWatch - USA
... Despite the lofty supply levels, Shankar said he still believes there is "some upside potential for natural-gas prices in the second half of the year.". ...

Climbing gas prices derail holiday plans
Macomb Daily - Mount Clemens,MI,USA
By Tom Watts. Many Macomb County motorists may stay closer to home for Memorial Day weekend because of increasing gas prices. The ...

Gas prices drive up transit costs
YorkRegion.com - Keswick,Ontario,Canada
With gas prices hovering around the $1 mark for most of the year, the region's operations budget has increased by about $2 million, Rick Takagi, manager of ...

Shoppers cut back as gas prices rise: survey
Reuters - USA
... Some 69 percent of shoppers with household incomes of $50,000 or higher said that gas prices were negatively affecting spending, up from 59 percent in last ...

Gas Prices Spike Searches For Hybrids
WebProNews - Lexington,KY,USA
Gas prices reaching $2.90-$3.00 per gallon appear are the boiling point that pushes consumers onto the Internet to research some peace of mind, according ...

Gas prices drive down demand
USA Today - USA
... EIA analysts said in their weekly report that declines in wholesale prices this week suggest the average gas price will remain below $3 a gallon, "absent ...

State Senate hopeful offers relief proposal on gas prices
Urbana/Champaign News-Gazette - Champaign/Urbana,IL,USA
... Rural East Central Illinois residents often have longer commutes and less access to alternatives like public transportation, and high gas prices are having a ...

Coming Sunday: Vanpooling grows as gas prices rise
Greensboro News Record - Greensboro,NC,USA
A look at the increasing popularity of vanpooling in the Triad amid rising gas prices in Sunday's News & Record. An open casting ...

Refinery News 5/17/06

Weighing the Alternatives in Energy
TheStreet.com (subscription) - New York,NY,USA
... we are running tremendous risks due to the instability of the countries that supply us with crude oil and the fact that 40% of our refinery capacity is in two ...

Oil Prices Fall After Inventory Data
TheStreet.com - USA
... Wednesday's report showed a lower-than-expected reading on refinery capacity use last week, suggesting that gasoline demand remains relatively muted. ...

Two bauxite firms exploring US$1.5-b plant in Jamaica
Jamaica Observer - Kingston,Jamaica
... industry standards, it cost US$1,000 per metric tonne to build an alumina refinery. Therefore, the cost to build the plant of the capacity being contemplated ...

Gas prices may ease, but is it too late?
Inside Bay Area - Oakland,CA,USA
... He also said refinery capacity is strained and can't keep up with world demand, including China and India using more petroleum. ...

MUD FOR THE MIND
Buffalo Alt Press Online - NY, United states
... Others blamed Katrina and lack of refinery capacity, while some others blamed China and India for demanding their fair share of world oil and driving the ...

Sino-Saudi Symbiosis
TCS Daily - Washington,DC,USA
... won natural gas exploration rights in the Rub al-Khali Basin in 2004, while Saudi Arabia has agreed to help China upgrade its refinery capacity with the ...

OPEC in the News 5/17/06

‘Rig shortage’ weighs on Opec expansion: Attiyah
Gulf Times - Doha,Qatar
AMMAN: Oil expansion plans by members of Opec, which pumps 40% of the world’s oil, may be delayed because of a shortage of drilling rigs, Qatar’s Second ...

Iraq's oil: A neo-con dream gone bust
Asia Times Online - Kowloon,Hong Kong
... These states are, respectively, the largest and second-largest oil producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a group dominated by ...

Iraq export boost takes OPEC above 30 million barrels per day in ...
Strategiy - United Arab Emirates
Higher volumes from Iraq and Nigeria pushed total OPEC crude production in April back above 30 million barrels per day (b/d) for the first time since November ...

Lofty oil fails to slow China fuel demand: OPEC
Daily Times - Lahore,Pakistan
LONDON: Costly oil has failed to slow energy-hungry China’s expanding fuel use and is only tempering global demand growth, producer group OPEC said on ...

OPEC Anticipates Decline in Oil Demand
Prensa Latina - Havana,Cuba
Vienna, May 17 (Prensa Latina) OPEC´s monthly report on oil market forecasts, published Wednesday, predicted a slight decline in the world´s demand for oil ...

WEF canvasses reform of OPEC-based energy security paradigm
Xinhua - China
... WEF) on Wednesday urged the global energy producers, consumers and policy-makers to urgently consider how the traditional oil and OPEC-basedenergy security ...

UPI NewsTrack Business
TMCnet - USA
... OPEC, like IEA, cuts oil demand outlookVIENNA, May 17 (UPI) -- OPEC, the international oil cartel which is based in Vienna, trimmed its forecast Wednesday for ...

Refinery News 5/11/06

Oil Rises as Foreigner Attacked in Nigeria, Refinery Output Cut
Bloomberg - USA
... Bayway refinery, which has capacity of 263,000 barrels a day, has cut output because of malfunctions in its gasoline-making unit, according to Tilley. ...

IPO funding set to boost refinery
Bangkok Post - Thailand
... industry and the PTT Plc-owned oil refinery, according to Chainoi Puankkosom, the president of RRC. RRC has decided to expand production capacity with the ...

Alon USA: Good Now, Better Later?
Motley Fool - USA
... for a significant part of the quarter. Because of that expansion project, refinery capacity is higher this year than last year. ...

Ag experts explain high fuel prices, share advice on dealing with ...
The Prairie Star - Great Falls,MT,USA
... Also, the refinery capacity we have was built for Texas sweet crude oil, and much of the oil produced today is thicker than that. ...

ASA announces biodiesel priorities for next energy bill
Southeast Farm Press - USA
... "Each gallon of domestically produced biodiesel represents an expansion of distillate supplies, additional refinery capacity and is a direct replacement for ...

OPEC in the News 5/11/06

Indonesia gets OPEC help with refineries
Monsters and Critics.com - Glasgow,UK
JAKARTA, Indonesia (UPI) -- Indonesia`s state-run oil and gas company plans to build two refineries and upgrade several others with support from members of the ...

Just one minute
People's Weekly World - USA
... According to the oil companies it’s OPEC. Bunk. ... OPEC isn’t raising prices every day — they sell by contract with prices fixed in advance. ...

Oil Shock in Slow Motion
Wall Street Journal - New York,NY,USA
... despite rising oil prices. It had to do with the reason oil prices were up: OPEC wasn't choking off supply. The strength of the ...

OPEC can do little for high oil prices: Venezuela
Daily Times - Lahore,Pakistan
CARACAS: OPEC can do little at the moment to cool world prices as the market is affected by scarce refining capacity and jitters over the conflict over Iran ...

Iraq Export Boost Takes OPEC Above 30 Million Barrels Per Day in ...
Yahoo! News (press release) - USA
LONDON, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Higher volumes from Iraq and Nigeria pushed total OPEC crude production in April back above 30 million barrels per day (b/d) for ...

Gas Price News 5/11/06

State tourism officials optimistic despite high gas prices
Janesville Gazette - Janesville,WI,USA
By John Hartzell. MILWAUKEE - Denise Armstrong says high gas prices won't stop her family from taking a summer vacation - they'll just do it closer to home. ...

HIGH GAS PRICES HIT MAIN STREET
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
... From fuel surcharges added to hamburger-bun deliveries, to haircuts put on hold, to the climbing cost of overseas postage, rising gas prices have bloodied this ...

Polish shares close higher, boosted by copper, gas prices
Forbes - USA
... Copper producer KGHM jumped 4.7 pct to 135 zlotys as copper prices reached 8,500 usd a ton. Gas monopoly PGNiG was up 5.4 pct 4.08 zlotys after reporting ...

Oil Industry Official Says High Gas Prices Reflect Supply And ...
KWTX - Waco,TX,USA
(May 11, 2006)—Red Cavaney, the president of the American Petroleum Institute, told a US House Committee Thursday that high gasoline prices are the result of ...

High gas prices lead to boom in motor scooters
Boston Globe - United States
NEW YORK --With gas prices above $3 a gallon, software engineer Daniel Fry has been commuting to work over the Brooklyn Bridge in a car pool of sorts. ...

Survey: Mainers like their SUVs despite growing gas prices
Boston Globe - United States
... Maine --A federally funded survey by the University of Maine shows that the state's love affair with sport utility vehicles isn't dampened by high gas prices. ...

Golden Triangle Gas Prices Decline; Still 10 Cents Higher Than ...
KBTV4.tv - Beaumont,TX,USA
... It`s the survey`s first drop in gas prices since late February. ... It`s not much better in Los Angeles, where gas prices average three-dollars-42-cents a gallon. ...

High gas prices choke US' retail sales in Apr
Economic Times - India
NEW YORK: Weaker-than-expected April retail sales signaled slower US growth as gasoline prices bit, data showed on Thursday, bolstering views that the Federal ...

Are increased tax revenues worth the higher gas prices?
San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA
... Steep gas prices will encourage development of high-mpg vehicles and also help cure the state's budget deficit -- a win-win situation, unless you were dumb ...

Proposals to cut gas prices scrutinized
USA Today - USA
The US government has probed high gas prices about 30 times over the past 20 years. Oil companies were never found to have colluded to fix prices. None. ...

Rig Notes 5/11/06

Attention Business/Financial Editors:
Canada NewsWire (press release) - Canada
... its expansion into the United States when it announced on March 7, 2006 that it had been awarded a two year contract for an eighth drilling rig, specifically a ...

Dragon Oil gains on Lukoil contract
ShareCast - London,UK
... SHARECAST) - Shares in Dragon Oil were in demand on news it had signed a contract with Lukoil Shelf for provision of the Astra jack-up drilling rig for use in ...

Desire Says It Still Seeks Falkland Rig; Shares Surge in Week
Bloomberg - USA
May 11 (Bloomberg) -- Desire Petroleum Plc, an explorer for oil and gas near the Falkland Islands, said it's still seeking a drilling rig for the area. ...

Dragon does deal on drilling rig
Irish Examiner - Cork,Ireland
Dragon Oil has signed a contract with Lukoil Shelf Limited for provision of the Astra jack-up drilling rig for use in the Cheleken Contract Area offshore ...

Arena Resources Announces Record Revenues, Earnings, Cash Flow and ...
International News Service - Sydney,Australia
... We have taken delivery of our own drilling rig and now have two rigs drilling full time on the Fuhrman-Mascho. We currently have ...

Rig Notes 5/10/06

Cinch Energy Corp. releases first quarter 2006 results
Canada NewsWire (press release) - Canada
... the first quarter and winter drilling season, the Company had a number of locations planned for which we could not obtain a drilling rig, which ultimately ...

(BW) Parallel Petroleum Announces Operations Update and First ...
Houston Chronicle - United States
... The drilling rig is currently moving in on this well, which is located approximately 1 mile southeast of the Boxtop 1921-1 Federal No. ...

REVUS - REVUS ENERGY - INTERIM REPORT Q1 2006
TV2 Nettavisen - Oslo,Oslo,Norway
... With the access to a drilling rig secured, Revus will enter into an extensive appraisal and exploration drilling programme, totalling NOK 1.2 billion in the ...

Gas Price News 5/10/06

Gas prices give students new concern for summer
OSU Daily Barometer - Corvallis,OR,USA
By Adam Campbell. As many have noted in recent weeks, gas prices around Oregon have been steadily rising, leaving many questions. ...

Legislative gimmickry won't lower gas prices
Eagle Tribune - Lawrence,MA,USA
... much any state legislature can do, of course, to affect gasoline prices which go ... Lynch, however, correctly pointed out that a gas-tax moratorium would just let ...

VIEW POINTS: RON MULLIN: Rising gas prices buy us food for thought
Pleasant Hill/Martinez Record - Pleasant Hill,CA,USA
... necessary. All of us are affected by high gas prices and are looking for someone to be the object of our ire. Is it President Bush? ...

Students protest gas prices in unique way
Gateway Newspapers - USA
By Jeffrey Widmer, Staff Writer. Government studies, high school students will tell you, can be a bit on the boring side. It all depends on the day. ...

Anti-gouging laws don't cut gas prices
San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA
... Some members of Congress, eager to be seen doing something about gas prices, passed a bill last week directing the Federal Trade Commission to come up with a ...

Gregg sponsors plan to lower gas prices
WCAX - Burlington,VT,USA
... Gregg says says removing the import fees would temporarily increase the amount of foreign ethanol to the supply and help lower gas prices. ...

Experts predict drop in gas prices
King County Journal - Bellevue,WA,USA
They caution, however, that the risk of high gasoline prices remains because of hurricane ... in Puget Sound, as the average price of regular unleaded gas in the ...

Gas Prices: Time for Action Today
Manufacturers' Blog - Washington,DC,USA
God knows we've written enough in this space of late about gas prices. A few commentators have suggested we all rise up and weigh in. ...

Thunder Energy Trust cuts distribution 20% as natural gas prices ...
Resource Investor - Herndon,VA,USA
... CP) -- The Thunder Energy Trust [TSX:THY.UN] is cutting distributions to unitholders by 20 percent as a result of deflating natural gas prices and snags in ...

OPEC in the News 5/9/06

OPEC average crude prices keep dropping
Xinhua - China
VIENNA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The average crude oil prices of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) dipped to 65.06 US dollars per barrel last ...

The real reason why gas prices are increasing
Enter Stage Right - Sudbury,Ontario,Canada
... This is the first of four underlying reasons why the cost of gas has increased. OPEC manipulates the price of crude oil. OPEC member ...

Saudi sees oil prices holding strong this decade
Reuters - USA
... OPEC supplies about a third of the world's oil, but has been unable to rein in oil prices. Saudi Arabia, OPEC's top producer, holds ...

Refinery News 5/9/06

Saudi minister predicts stabilization of petroleum prices
Monsters and Critics.com - Glasgow,UK
... He pointed out that Saudi Aramco is working to increase its refinery capacity within the next five years by about two million barrel per day. ...

Hawaii Suspends Gasoline-Price Caps
Wall Street Journal - New York,NY,USA
The effort was closely watched amid rising gas prices across the nation due to rising crude-oil prices, tight refinery capacity and continued growing demand. ...

Pakistan, Kuwait to enhance petroleum cooperation during Amir ...
Kuwait News Agency - Kuwait
... The refinery to be commissioned by 2010 would have a maximum refining capacity of 13 million tons of petroleum products which would be higher than the ...

Saudi to increase oil supply to RP
Philippine Star - Manila,Philippines
... Lotilla said the Philippines’ crude oil sourced from Saudi Arabia passes through Petron, which has a refinery capacity of 180,000 barrels per day. ...

Bono Votes to Provide Relief from Rising Gas Prices; Criticizes ...
California Chronicle - Beverly Hills,CA,USA
... We simply do not have enough refining capacity to meet demand, and there has been no action to build a new domestic refinery in years. ...

Rig Notes 5/9/06

Swaziland: AG, Richard Maphalala to have personal accounts ...
African News Dimension - Johannesburg,South Africa
... So will those of other government officials involved in the matter in which MPD won a tender to supply government with a water drilling rig but was irregularly ...

Attention Business/Financial Editors:
Canada NewsWire (press release) - Canada
... in 2005. Operating days are defined as the number of days a drilling rig is in operation from spud to rig release. This does not ...

NIDC concludes agreement with domestic company to build drilling ...
MehrNews.com - Tehran,Iran
... concluded an agreement with Machinsazi Arak Co. to manufacture its fiftieth onshore drilling rig. The company has placed an order for ...

Bennett wants more companies to be probed
The Swazi Observer - Mbabane,Swaziland
... Again the drilling rig is not the only one where MPD's name featured prominently nor the Army vehicles saga. There are other deals ...

Vast Contracts Rig, 12 Well Drilling Program to Start Week of May ...
CCNMatthews (press release) - Toronto,ON,Canada
Vast Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:VST) ("Vast" or "the Company") has contracted a Shallow Gaswell Drilling rig and will begin drilling on the Paddle Prairie ...

Problems galore for ONGC at Bengal offshore
Hindu Business Line - India
... ONGC sources said that the jack-up drilling rig Transocean Nordic, which was slated to be re-deployed from Bengal offshore to the Mahanadi basin, got one of ...

Siemens and Rolls-Royce technology for new deepwater drilling rig
noticias.info - Spain
Ltd., Singapore has signed an agreement with a consortium consisting of Siemens and Rolls-Royce for deliveries to a new deepwater drilling rig. ...

DNO - OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS - FIRST QUARTER 2006
TV2 Nettavisen - Oslo,Oslo,Norway
... DNO, in a consortium with several other NCS operators, signed a three-year contract for the semi-submersible drilling rig Bredford Dolphin. ...

Oil Price News 5/8/06

Bringing Down Gas and Oil Prices
American Enterprise Institute - Washington,DC,USA
Once again, high gasoline and oil prices are in the news. As of this writing, the national average gasoline price per gallon ($2.90 ...

Ryanair CEO says high oil prices could hurt margins, but confident ...
Forbes - USA
FRANKFURT (AFX) - Ryanair might feel the impact from continually rising oil prices on business and the airline could see a dip in its margin levels should oil ...

Oil Industry Stocks Slip With Oil Prices
Houston Chronicle - United States
NEW YORK — Energy industry stocks retreated Monday, following oil prices lower, as investors worried about weakening demand and some cashed in profits from ...

EU confirms eurozone recovery, warns on oil prices
Monsters and Critics.com - Glasgow,UK
... cent. But the commission warned that high oil prices continued to cast a cloud over recovery throughout the EU. Commission monetary ...

Oil prices lift UK industry costs
RTE.ie - Ireland
... this morning show that British manufacturers' raw material costs surged by 2.5% in April, their fastest pace in nine months, as crude oil prices hit record ...

Oil prices fall below 70 dollars as Iran worries ease
Xinhua - China
NEW YORK, May 8 (Xinhua) -- World crude oil prices fell below 70 dollars Monday, as the worries over Iran eased and US energy stocks improved. ...

IEA's Mandil: Oil Prices Unsustainable
Houston Chronicle - United States
GOLD COAST, Australia — Current oil prices are not sustainable, the head of the International Energy Agency said Monday, adding that even producers aren't ...

India must raise fuel prices to ensure growth - CII
Reuters India - Mumbai,India
Surging global oil prices pose major risks for India, which imports 70 percent of its oil, and could prevent Asia's third-largest economy from achieving sought ...

Oil prices fall as supply worries lessen
BusinessWeek - USA
... Still, oil prices rebounded from the day's lows, as concerns remain about Iran, as well as unrest in Nigeria, violence in Iraq and rising resource nationalism ...

Pump prices cut for first time in 2006
Bangkok Post - Thailand
... those of other local oil traders. Esso announced that the new price cut followed a drop of global oil prices over the past days. ...

Oil prices extend gains
NDTV.com - New Delhi,India
Crude oil prices rose in Asian trading amid mounting international tensions over the nuclear ambitions of Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter. ...

Gas Price News 5/8/06

Brazil: No Problems If Bolivia Ups Gas Prices
Stratfor - USA
Brazilian consumers would not have problems if Bolivia increases natural gas prices in the future, Brazilian President Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva said May 8. ...

Gas prices fall to $2.90 for regular
The News Journal - Wilmington,DE,USA
... Gas prices have been falling since US government data last week showed gas supplies were increasing. As a result, crude oil ...

New Yorkers urged to complain about gas prices
Albany Business Review - Albany,NY,USA
New York's top consumer advocate is urging consumers to call and complain when they think gas prices are too high. "If consumers ...

Oil prices fall amid stagnant gas demand
BusinessWeek - USA
... heating oil prices slipped more than 2 cents to $1.929 a gallon. Natural gas prices lost 16.5 cents to $6.61 per 1,000 cubic feet. ...

Gas Prices Ease as Crude Drops Below $70 a Barrel
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
... and some signs of weakening demand in the face of soaring fuel prices helped push ... At the gas pump, the average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline slipped ...

Man Switches to Horse to Protest Gas Prices
KXTV - Sacramento,CA,USA
Texas, says he's riding a horse to do his errands, as a protest against the price of gas. Settle said he has saved $565 over the ...

E.On profit seen rising 7% on power prices
MarketWatch - USA
... Endesa SA (ELE), is expected Wednesday to publish improved earnings for the first quarter of 2006 thanks to rising electricity and natural-gas prices, as well ...

FOREIGN POLICY, MONETARY POLICY, AND GAS PRICES
Free Market News Network - Pompano Beach,FL,USA
The burning issue in Washington today is high gas prices, and it won’t go away anytime soon. Americans are not happy about paying ...

Gas Prices Hit Their Peak?
WFIE-TV - Evansville,IN,USA
Some good news to think about as you're filling up at the pump. Although gas prices don't appear to be going down, one analyst says, they have peaked. ...

Gasoline prices: Ideas differ about cause, solution
Louisville Courier-Journal - Louisville,KY,USA
... The second choice is to put our anti-trust laws to work and break up Big Oil. This would result in competition, and, once again, lower gas prices. ...

Refinery News 5/8/06

IOC scouts for refineries in Africa, Europe
Rediff - India
... "Otherwise, we have ample domestic refinery capacity," he added. ... The refinery will have a capacity of 15 million tonne per annum. ...

House Dems say rights violated: Counter campaign
In-Forum (subscription) - Fargo,ND,USA
... for oil refinery construction, the National Republican Campaign Committee put out a scathing statement that he’d voted against adding refinery capacity. ...

Open access for informed electorate
Toledo Blade - Toledo,OH,USA
... How can drilling new oil in Alaska be a solution when there isn't, according to the oil companies, enough refinery capacity already? ...

Valero Energy is considering purchase of Houston refinery
MSNBC - USA
... Klesse says the refinery's capacity of 268,000 barrels per day meets one of the requirements Valero officials have for purchasing a refinery. ...

Rising oil prices may cause real woes
Regina Leader-Post - Regina,Saskatchewan,Canada
... disruptions. Adding to this situation is the lack of refinery capacity because the last new refinery in North America was built in 1984. ...

Pain at the Pump: What Can Be Done?
National Ledger - Apache Junction,AZ,USA
... Continued recovery from hurricane damage, federally mandated changes to fuel specifications, limitations on US oil-refinery capacity, and restrictions on new ...

Oil supplies set to decline
ABC Online - Australia
... We used up every scrap of wellhead capacity, refinery capacity, refining capacity, tanker capacity, rig capacity, so now we are really stuck in a jam. ...

OPEC in the News 5/8/06

Hugo Chavez is a menace and a royal pain ... but at least he's ...
VHeadline.com - Worth,IL,USA
... In fact, Venezuela may be taking the lead in the OPEC cartel. ... If prices keep rising, Naimi asserts, it's never OPEC's doing ... ...

Iranian letter to Bush eases oil fears
National Business Review - New Zealand
Oil has fallen $US 1 on hopes tension over OPEC member Iran's nuclear ambition will ease after Tehran made an unprecedented move to contact Washington. ...

OPEC April oil output highest this year: survey
Daily Times - Lahore,Pakistan
LONDON: OPEC oil output rose 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April to the highest level this year as Iraq and Nigeria boosted exports. ...

Oregon Congressman Fights High Prices At The Pump
MedfordNews.com - Medford,OR,USA
... "I support a variety of measures to lower gas prices, like imposing a windfall profits tax on oil producers and refiners, and breaking up the OPEC cartel. ...

Oil Prices Continue Small Decline
Hawaii Channel.com - Honolulu,HI,USA
... Amid the continuing nuclear stalemate, concern has recently focused on the possibility of an interruption in supplies from Iran, OPEC's No. 2 producer. ...

Venezuela: There is little OPEC can do about oil prices
Resource Investor - Herndon,VA,USA
OPEC can do little at the moment to cool world prices as the market is affected by scarce refining capacity and jitters over the conflict over Iran's nuclear ...

Oil Prices Extend Gains Above $70 a Barrel
Hinesberg Journal - British Columbia,Canada
... nationalism in South America. But the most pressing source of anxiety stems from the possibility that Iran, OPEC ‘s No. 2 oil producer ...

Indonesia urges non-OPEC countries to boost supply
Xinhua - China
JAKARTA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia urged non-OPEC member countries to raise their oil supply in a bid to decrease the spiraling oil price, Energy and Mineral ...

Gas Price News 5/4/06

High gas prices take a toll on businesses
CNN - USA
... NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - With gas prices near record highs, some small-business owners are getting pummeled at the pump. Roland ...

Nova Scotia to regulate gas prices along PEI model
Globe and Mail - Canada
... a cabinet meeting. Nova Scotia regulated gas prices in the 1980s, but got rid of the restrictions in 1991. Minister of Service Nova ...

S.American leaders agree to negotiate gas prices
Boston Globe - United States
... PUERTO IGUAZU, Argentina (Reuters) - Four South American presidents agreed on Thursday to negotiate prices of Bolivian gas and that supplies should keep ...

05/04/06 FOX News Poll: Gas Prices a Problem, but Not a Crisis
FOX News - USA
... In addition, a clear majority would rather let gas prices fluctuate based on supply and demand than have the government regulate prices and ration gas supplies ...

UPDATE 2-High prices spur Canadian Natural to switch to oil
Reuters - USA
... "The incredible move in heavy oil prices versus the outlook for weakness in natural gas prices makes Canadian Natural's switch to a heavy oil emphasis pretty ...

EOG Resources 1Q Profit Surges on Prices
MSN Money - USA
... Resources Inc. on Thursday said higher oil and gas prices drove first-quarter profit up sharply to top Wall Street expectations. ...

Ford, GM: Gas prices near peak
Louisville Courier-Journal - Louisville,KY,USA
... said that while high fuel prices are causing some people concern, the US economy is healthy and "futures prices currently suggest that gas prices are near ...

Gas prices undermine Bush ties
International Herald Tribune - France
... But the political pressures created by soaring gasoline prices have shifted the emphasis ... least cut $2 billion in tax incentives for oil and gas drilling that ...

Running on empty on gas prices
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
I'D PLANNED ON IGNORING the inferno of idiocy raging in the nation's capital over gas prices, but it's looking like an eternal flame. First came the Democrats. ...

US Retailers Gain as Shoppers Shrug Off Gas Prices (Update6)
Bloomberg - USA
... Increases in gasoline prices, which rose 12 percent in April, could limit spending in May and June, said Arun Daniel, an analyst at ... So far the gas price impact ...

Gas prices hit $3.32 average, but expected to level off
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
... Last Friday Rotten Robbie was charging $3.09 for a gallon of gas, when its suppliers hiked prices 8 cents a gallon. Then on Monday ...

Oil Price News 5/4/06

US stocks surge on crude oil prices
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
NEW YORK - US stocks rose, helped by a sharp pullback in crude oil prices and strong April retail sales. The Dow Jones industrial ...

Robust sales lift US stocks, as oil prices dive
Xinhua - China
... YORK, May 4 (Xinhua) -- US stocks ended higher Thursday with the Dow refurbishing a six-year high on robust sales gains for April, as oil prices plunged below ...

Toronto market down, NY indexes rise as oil prices fall below US ...
CBC News - Canada
TORONTO (CP) - The Toronto stock market closed in the red Thursday as a sharp drop in crude-oil prices overshadowed rising gold stocks and profits from ...

2 More Thai Oil Retailers To Up Prices THB0.50/Liter; Fri
Yahoo! News - USA
... Thai oil retailers - a local unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RD) and state-owned PTT PCL (PTT.TH) - Thursday said they will raise their retail oil prices by THB0 ...

Oil Prices Sink Below $70 a Barrel
ABC News - USA
... Rising oil prices have boosted prospects for alternative fuels that are both cleaner burning and less expensive than gas or diesel. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan). ...

ECOFIN EU's Almunia says oil prices pose risk to growth, inflation ...
Forbes - USA
BRUSSELS (AFX) - EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the high level of oil prices poses a risk to euro zone growth and inflation ...

Oil prices fall as US stockpiles climb
Business Times - Malaysia - Malaysia
LONDON: World oil prices slid further yesterday in the wake of a surprise increase in US energy stockpiles that sparked profit-taking, despite lingering ...

High Oil Prices Have Broad Impact on Prices of Many Consumer Goods
Voice of America - USA
... But some economists fear oil prices, which hit $74 dollars a barrel Tuesday, could slow economic growth by reducing disposable income. ...

Shell profit beats estimates on high oil prices
Financial Express - Bombay,India
MAY 4: Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s second-largest oil company, said Q1 profit rose as near-record oil prices compensated for output lost to violence in ...

Shell profits jump on high oil prices
Reuters.uk - UK
... Research) and France's Total (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), reported big jumps in first-quarter profits on Thursday as higher oil prices more than ...

Oil prices fall for second straight day
BusinessWeek - USA
4 4:11 PM ET Oil prices sank more than $2 a barrel for the second straight day on Thursday, falling below $70 as traders focused on US government data that ...

OPEC in the News 5/4/06

Oil Prices Continue Slide, Dip Under $72
FOX News - USA
... But the government statistics did nothing to remove concern about the shut-in of around a quarter of OPEC producer Nigeria's production because of militant ...

Two parties, no answers
San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA
WHAT WOULD OPEC do if it wanted to keep America addicted to oil? That's easy. OPEC would urge Congress to deal with the current ...

OPEC oil price hits record high
Xinhua - China
VIENNA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)'s average crude oil price has hit