Get automatic overview of a selected topic!

Apr-28-2008

Oil Climbs to a Record on Shut UK Pipeline, Nigeria Strike

(topic overview)
CONTENTS:

London Brent crude lifted to $116.55 per barrel, from $116.27, during midday trading in Europe. (More...)
Demand is high for Nigerias light, sweet crude, which is easily refined. (More...)
The BP-run pipeline from the Forties oil fields in the North Sea relies on steam and electricity from the Ineos refinery at Grangemouth. (More...)
The 48-hour walk-out by about 1,200 workers at Grangemouth, west of the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, began Sunday and has since pushed oil prices very close to $US120 per barrel. (More...)
Nigeria is also another hotspot for supply worries at the moment, following the latest attack on a Royal Dutch Shell (nyse: RDS.A - news - people ) pipeline on Thursday. (More...)
If everything is so hunky dory, why has the price of oil shot up so much? Well, when demand exceeds supply, the price increases. $120 oil suggests that we are starting to run out. (More...)
The 48-hour strike over pension issues is due to begin Sunday at the Grangemouth oil refinery in central Scotland. (More...)
The Grangemouth shutdown also comes amid supply outages in Nigeria that have helped to support oil against a strengthening dollar. (More...)
LONDON - New fears of a U.S. -Iranian standoff sent the price of crude soaring by as much as $3.00 a barrel on Friday. (More...)
"If the Nigerian strike isn't settled, we could easily see oil rise to $125 by the end of the week.'' (More...)
The point the Saudi oil minister was making was that the world was not running out of oil reserves. (More...)
Futures touched $119.55 today. (More...)
With output now curtailed by as much as 40% due to the Exxon strike, there is additional upside potential in oil. (More...)
The pipeline pumps about 700,000- barrels a day of crude while exports for the past six months were scheduled to average about 614,000 barrels a day, according to loading programs. (More...)
Analysts expect gas prices to continue rising for at least another month, to $3.70 to $4 a gallon. (More...)
I have 26 years experience in the offshore business and there is more oil and gas coming out of the ground than ever. (More...)
Members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria began the strike on Wednesday after pay and conditions negotiations with the management stalled. (More...)
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Ohio gasoline prices have jumped about 13 cents in the past week. (More...)
"As long as there are disruptions of high-quality crude, supplies prices are going to move higher,'' said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. (More...)
BP's Kinneil plant, the onshore processing centre for the pipeline system, is powered from the Grangemouth site. (More...)

SOURCES

FIND OUT MORE ON THIS SUBJECT

London Brent crude lifted to $116.55 per barrel, from $116.27, during midday trading in Europe. The weak dollar, which has been fueling a flight to perceived safe havens like commodities, may have played its part; the greenback was down against major currencies like the euro and sterling on Monday. The closure of a key BP (nyse: BP - news - people ) pipeline in the North Sea--provoked by a two-day strike at Scotland's only oil refinery--and unrest in Nigeria, were putting more pressure on oil prices this time around. [1] The price of crude oil rose to a record earlier Monday, trading close to $120 a barrel in New York, after BP Plc shut a North Sea pipeline and insurgents attacked police guarding Nigeria's largest oil and gas terminal.[2] April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a record near $120 a barrel after BP Plc shut a North Sea pipeline and as an oil workers' strike and rebel attacks cut output from Nigeria.[3] April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a record $119.93 a barrel in New York on the shutdown of a North Sea pipeline and as a strike and militant attacks reduced output from Nigeria.[4]

NEW YORK, April 28 (UPI) -- A strike at a Scottish oil refinery, stopping one-third of Britain's North Sea oil flow, helped push oil prices to nearly $119 a barrel Monday morning.[5] Oil prices have soared to new highs at $120 a barrel after a weekend refinery strike closed a pipeline system that delivers a third of Britain's North Sea oil to refineries in the United Kingdom.[6] Oil prices hit a record peak close to $120 a barrel this morning after a strike at a key British refinery slashed North Sea output and heightened fears about global supply.[7] Oil prices have hit a fresh high just below $120 a barrel after a strike at a UK refinery disrupted production from the North Sea.[8] The price of oil hit an all-time high of nearly $120 a barrel today after North Sea production was shut down yesterday because of a strike at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland.[9]

INTERNATIONAL. Oil prices have hit a fresh high on Monday just below US$120 a barrel after Scottish workers went ahead with a two-day strike that shut a major North Sea oil pipeline disrupting production.[10] VIENNA, Austria - Oil prices hit an all-time high near US$120 a barrel Monday after a weekend refinery strike closed a pipeline system that delivers a third of Britain's North Sea oil to refineries in the U.K.[11] "Supply worries have pushed oil prices higher since Friday, and will remain the dominant influence on prices in the near term," said David Moore, a commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. Britain on Sunday shut down a North Sea pipeline which supplies 40 percent of its oil and gas, sparking panic-buying of petrol after a strike at a major refinery.[12] Although BP has said it can re-open the pipeline within 24 hours of the strike's end on Tuesday, it will take weeks for the refinery to return to full capacity. "It will affect supplies from the North Sea and that has a potentially significant impact," said David Moore, a commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The trouble at Grangemouth is the latest spur to an already febrile oil market which has seen prices rise nearly 25% this year. Regular attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria, the weak U.S. dollar and general concerns about the ability of supply to meet global demand have underpinned the market this year.[8]

Oil hit a new record near $120 a barrel on Monday, bossted by a string of bullish factors that include big disruptions to Nigeria's output and a UK refinery strike, highlighting anxieties over threats to supply. Prices retreated from early peaks as the dollar gained versus the euro, reflecting some expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates this week.[13] Crude prices hit another new record near $120 Monday following a weekend strike at a refinery that delivers a third of Britain's oil to its refineries. That shutdown came amid supply disruptions in Nigerial that have helped support oil against a U.S. dollar gaining strength.[14]

Though concerns about the impact of the strike have mostly been factored into the price, analysts expect crude to continue to rise next week, possibly sending prices as high as $123 a barrel. In response to the strike, BP is shutting down its Forties Pipeline System, which delivers 725,000 barrels a day to the United Kingdom. "There is a lot of momentum, and once it gets going it's hard to stop. All the news that the market seems to be taking into account tends to be bullish," said Global Insight oil analyst Simon Wardell.[15] British Petroleum (BP) shut down on Sunday the Forties Pipeline System that carries more than 700,000 barrels of oil a day to the UK, because of a 48-hour strike by employees at a refinery in central Scotland. Workers walked out of the Grangemouth refinery vowing not to compromise in their dispute with Ineos, the owner of the refinery, over plans to close a pension scheme to new employees.[16] In Britain, a strike at a Scottish refinery in Grangemouth, west of Edinburgh, has forced energy giant BP to shut down the neighbouring Forties pipeline which supplies 40 percent of the country's oil and gas. Around 1,200 workers are staging a two-day walkout, which began on Sunday, in a dispute over proposed changes to their pension rights.[17]

BP closed the Forties pipeline system, carrying 40 per cent of Britain's oil production, after a strike at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland.[18] BP closed the Forties Pipeline System, carrying 40 percent of the U.K.' s oil production, after a strike at the Grangemouth refinery cut power supplies.[3] April 25 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc said it will start shutting the Forties Pipeline System tomorrow, cutting about 40 percent of the U.K.' s oil production, because of the closure of Ineos Group Holdings Plc's Grangemouth refinery in Scotland. "Preparations have begun for the shutdown of the Forties Pipeline System this weekend,'' BP spokeswoman Joanne McDonald said in a telephone interview today.[19]

BP said it would shut the Forties Pipeline System tomorrow because of a two-day strike at a refinery in Scotland. Nigeria has lost about half of its oil production amid a strike and rebel attacks, Petroleum Minister of State H. Odein Ajumogobia said today in an interview with Bloomberg News.[20] BP PLC (BP) shut down the 700,000 barrel-a-day Forties oil pipeline on Saturday, after a strike at a refinery in Scotland deprived the pipeline system of power and steam. The Nigerian strike has forced Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) to halt some, or possibly all, of its 800,000 barrel-a-day production in the country.[21]

Oil has approached the $120 level after BP shut down a crucial North Sea pipeline over the weekend following failed efforts to avert a refinery strike in Scotland.[22] CRUDE oil rose to a record of almost $US120 a barrel after BP shut down a vital North Sea pipeline, and gunmen attacked police guarding Nigeria's largest oil and gas terminal.[18] April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose more than $2 a barrel and gasoline climbed to a record on BP Plc's plans to shut down a North Sea pipeline, plunging Nigerian output and after a ship carrying U.S. cargo fired warning shots at Iranian boats.[20]

Oil prices rose sharply Friday on news of BP PLC's plans to shut down a North Sea pipeline, plunging Nigerian output and a ship carrying U.S. cargo firing warning shots at Iranian boats.[23]

The 48-hour refinery walkout has been described as an "aggravating factor" in crude's latest spike. It saw BP close off a major North Sea oil pipeline powered by the site, and has also led to fuel supply concerns in Scotland and the North of England. Drivers were today facing rationing at some of Scotland's 956 petrol stations as motorists rushed to fill up their tanks. Oil's record run over recent weeks - crude prices are up nearly 20% during the past month alone - has helped push UK petrol and diesel prices to their new heights.[24] BP workers walked out of a British refinery Monday, closing a refinery that delivers about one-third of England's oil from the North Sea. Though BP said its pipeline could be up and running when the strike ends Tuesday, the refinery may not return to full production until next week. "This is a significant event," said Stephen Schork, publisher of the oil trading newsletter The Schork Report. "The consumer market in Great Britain is going to have to get their oil elsewhere, which is going to affect the global market."[25] EDINBURGH, Scotland - Hundreds of workers at Scotland's only oil refinery began a 48-hour strike Sunday, forcing BP PLC to shut a pipeline system that delivers almost a third of Britain's North Sea oil.[11]

BP will start shutting down the Forties pipeline, which carries about 700,000 barrels a day from more than 50 North Sea oil fields, because of the strike that will start April 27 at Ineos Group Holdings Plc's Grangemouth refinery.[20] In Britain the 700,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Forties North Sea crude oil pipeline remained closed on Monday due to a strike at the 210,000 bpd Grangemouth refinery over pensions.[26]

The rise in oil prices followed a weekend refinery strike that closed a pipeline system that delivers a third of Britain's North Sea oil to refineries in the U.K.[11] LONDON (AFP) — Oil prices hit a historic peak close to 120 dollars on Monday after a strike at a key British refinery slashed North Sea output and heightened global supply concerns.[27] SINGAPORE (AFP) — World oil prices hit an intraday record near 120 dollars a barrel on Monday after the shutdown of a major North Sea pipeline added to supply worries, analysts said.[12] "Crude hit record highs of 119.93 dollars amid supply disruptions in Nigeria and the North Sea which have underpinned oil prices since Friday and are likely to continue influencing the market in the short term," said Sucden analyst Nimit Khamar.[17]

Offshore oil production became more profitable, and the North Sea fields were opened up - as was, closer to home, Bass Strait. Although the crisis that followed the overthrow of the Shah of Iran in 1979 and Iraq's invasion of Iran the following year pushed the oil price back up its last inflation-adjusted peak of $US104 a barrel, OPEC was beginning to build substantial spare capacity, rising above 10 million barrels a day. For a while, OPEC was able to use its production quotas to keep control of the price, despite what had clearly been a burst of excess investment.[28] Alan Duncan, the British Conservative party's industry spokesman, warned that the closure would hit world oil prices. "The interdependence of our North Sea oil production and the refinery. has implications for global oil prices," he told Sky News television.[12]

David Moore, a commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney, said: "With the refinery being shut down, it will affect supplies from the North Sea and that has a potentially significant impact". "That comes at the same time that there's production disruptions from Nigeria so the combined effect of those is the immediate factor that's put pressure on oil prices". In Nigeria, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), said its fighters hit an oil pipeline on Thursday, the fourth conduit the group has attacked in the past week.[16] Oil futures rose Friday on the anticipated outage of a major North Sea oil pipeline, as well as a labor strike and increased militant attacks that had shut in production in Nigeria.[21] "Oil supplies from Nigeria have been disrupted by militant attacks and a strike by some oil workers. A strike at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland has caused significant disruption to supplies from the North Sea," he said.[29] A strike by Nigerian workers at Exxon Mobil forced the company to shut down some two hundred thousand barrels per day of crude oil output according to a senior union official. Meanwhile in Britain, a major refinery, at Grangemouth in Scotland, is due to be hit by a strike this weekend.[30] The strike at Grangemouth refinery in Scotland is sending shivers through the global oil markets with the price of crude closing in on $120 a barrel.[31]

London (ABC Live): Oil prices hit at a record high at $119.93 a barrel on Monday after a strike at a major British refinery.[32] The president of Opec, the cartel of oil-producing countries, has given warning that the price of crude could hit $200 a barrel, sparking fears that rising fuel costs will force more businesses into bankruptcy. Chakib Khelil, the Algerian Energy Minister and president of Opec, said that the falling value of the U.S. dollar would continue to drive up oil prices as investors sought to store their wealth in other assets.[9] The AA said UK motorists are paying an average of 109.8p a litre for unleaded, equivalent to ''4.99 a gallon. It came as the Grangemouth stoppage entered its second day and crude oil prices reached a new record of 119.93 U.S. dollars a barrel, before falling back by just under a dollar.[24]

London: Analysts sharply raised their forecasts for average oil prices this year to above $96 a barrel as a weak dollar, supply disruptions and strong Chinese demand pushed crude's value to unprecedented levels, a survey showed on Friday. The monthly survey of 33 analysts put the consensus forecast for U.S. crude in 2008 at an average of $96.86 a barrel, up $5.62 from the last poll earlier this month.[33] LONDON - A fresh raft of supply worries compounded the weak dollar's effect on oil prices Monday, with crude futures narrowly missing an all-time high of $120 per barrel.[1]

Crude oil for June delivery was up $1.41, or 1.2 per cent, at $119.93 (U.S.) a barrel in after-hours e-trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since the futures began trading in 1983. It was at $119.46 this morning in Sydney.[34] Crude oil for June delivery rose by as much as $US1.41, or 1.2 per cent, to $US119.93 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday, the highest since the futures began trading in 1983, and was later trading in Singapore US83 cents higher at $US119.35.[18]

Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery rose 58 cents from Friday's close, to $119.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange early Monday.[25]

Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose to a record $119.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile. BP PLC on Sunday shut down its Forties Pipeline System after workers walked off the job.[14]

Crude oil for June delivery rose $2.46, or 2.1 percent, to settle at $118.52 a barrel at 2:43 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange.[20] Crude oil for June delivery was last seen up 48 cents at $119 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.[35]

On the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday, crude oil prices hit $118.91, up 39 cents in early trading.[5]

After touching a record high of $119.90, crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange retreated to $118.94 per barrel, still up from a previous close of $118.52 per barrel.[1] New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, touched a record $US119.93 a barrel in electronic deals on Monday.[36] New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, gained 88 cents to $119.40 after closing at $118.52 a barrel on Friday.[31] New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, touched 119.93 dollars a barrel in electronic deals and was later trading in Asia 86 cents higher at 119.38 dollars.[12] New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, touched 119.93 dollars in early Asian trade, beating last Thursday's previous high of 119.90 dollars.[27]

Demand is high for Nigerias light, sweet crude, which is easily refined. After years of militant attacks, however, Nigerias output is dropping and the country can produce only about 75 percent of its official production capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day. This week, the oil market is also expected to closely watch the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserves policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. [37] Royal Dutch Shell (nyse: RDSA - news - people ) is the largest oil operator in Nigeria, accounting for about half of the country's 2.1 million barrels per day output. The company has seen a wave of attacks on its facilities in recent months.[38]

Crude-oil futures retreated to $119 a barrel, from a new record near $120, attained after a strike at Scottish refinery forced a pipeline closure as rebel attacks in Nigeria and tension in the Persian Gulf amplified supply concerns.[35] PERTH (Reuters) - Oil struck a record high at $119.93 a barrel on Monday, extending the previous session's rally, as a strike closed a major British oil pipeline and as fresh violence in Nigeria reignited supply fears.[29]

Brent crude oil futures rose to a record $117.56 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday on concern the strike will disrupt output.[39]

To a large extent, how high gas prices peak depends on what oil does. Analysts have raised their oil price predictions to $125 to $130 a barrel. Earlier this week, the expiring May crude contract rose as high as $119.90.[23] Oil prices have risen within a whisker of $US120 ($128) a barrel, which is a 20 per cent increase in the past three weeks. It is a 40 per cent increase since the beginning of the year and double the level of a year ago, although $US60 a barrel was seen then as a shocking development.[28] In early trading the price of U.S. light crude rose $1 to $119.93 amid concern about the impact of industrial action at Grangemouth. This came on top of a $2.50 gain on Friday and leaves the price of oil up more than 25 per cent since the start of the year.[9]

"We maintain that the risks of a near-term oil price correction remain elevated but now believe that the downside risks are likely limited to around $99 a barrel," it said. Analysts' forecasts for U.S. crude this year showed a wide divergence of around $24. Fortis was the most bullish with their prediction of $111, while UBS was the most bearish at $87 a barrel. Although the poll show-ed oil will peak this year, U.S. crude prices will stay above $90 through 2010.[33] "Oil prices are changing so rapidly that oil forecasts are old after just one month," said Adam Sieminski, chief energy economist at Deutsche Bank. U.S. crude hit an all-time peak of $119.90 a barrel on Tuesday and has averaged above $100 so far this year.[33]

Supply disruptions in Nigeria, the North Sea and Iraq have also helped keep prices well above $100 a barrel. "The oil market is deeply influenced by sentiment and the prevailing feeling right now continues to be one of supply pessimism and therefore price optimism," said the Centre for Global Energy Studies in its monthly oil report.[33] London Brent crude was up 43 cents at $116.77. "Continued attacks in Nigeria and refinery closures in Scotland. may see the U.S. target $121-122 a barrel this week, with longer-term charts all pointing to $130 or higher," said Ben Coleman, senior commodities trader at TradIndex. Crude prices have surged more than fivefold since 2002 as global supplies struggle to keep pace with rising demand in emerging economies, such as China.[26]

THE world is paying dearly for two lost decades in the oil industry - from the mid-1980s until the mid-2000s - when prices hovering around $US20 a barrel discouraged investment. There is a thick soup of factors contributing to the dizzying rise in oil prices - among them the fall in the U.S. dollar, surging demand from China and the rise of commodities as an asset class - but the most important is the lack of investment.[28] Oil prices are likely to fall to "more realistic levels" once the Forties pipeline has reopened, said Ben Barber, a broker at Bell Commodities in Melbourne. U.S. oil stockpiles and the U.S. dollar are rising and there is a risk that prices will fall this week if the U.S. Federal Reserve signals an end to recent interest rate cuts, Mr Barber said.[18] The 400-year-old city is proposing a bylaw to wipe out large ad panels across much of the Quebec capital region in the next five years. TORONTO - Oil prices moving further into record territory could give the Toronto stock market another boost this week while investors look to the U.S. Federal Reserve to further ease interest rates in attempt to limit damage from a slowing American economy.[11]

Oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic have climbed again, with Brent hitting a new record of $117.53 as concerns over supply disruptions offset a stronger dollar.[30] A strike at a major British refinery has entered a second day, pushing oil prices to a new record high and forcing petrol rationing on panicked car drivers.[36]

The finely-balanced supply-demand outlook has made prices sensitive to any supply disruptions. Exxon Mobil has had to shut nearly all of its Nigerian oil production, totaling around 770,000 barrels per day, due to a strike.[26] The price of oil came very close to 120$per barrel on Monday, after a strike of the oilmen in Scotland affected the UK production, CNN informs.[40]

Britain's offshore energy industry body Oil and Gas UK estimates the pipeline closure will cost the domestic economy 50 million pounds ($A106 million) per day in lost production.[36] The Forties Pipeline system carries approximately 700,000 brl of oil per day, about 40% of UK production.[22] BP PLC on Sunday shut down the Forties Pipeline System that carries more than 700,000 barrels of oil a day to the U.K. because of a 48-hour walkout by employees at a refinery in central Scotland.[37] The employees at the Grangemouth refinery opened a general strike, forcing British petroleum to shut the Forties Pipeline System, a network transporting over 700,000 barrels per day towards the United Kingdom.[40] The refinery, parts of which are 70 years old, has never been completely shut down before and could take weeks to restart, Ineos said. BP's 700,000 barrels-a-day Forties Pipeline System was brought offline because its Kinneil gas-processing plant, which relies on steam and power generated at the Grangemouth refinery, won't have access to these crucial utilities during the strike.[41] BP shut down a key North Sea pipeline after staff walked out of the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland in a two-day strike over pensions.[8] BP will start closing the pipeline, which carries about 700,000 barrels a day from more than 50 North Sea oilfields, because of the strike that is due to start today at Ineos Group Holdings Plc's Grangemouth refinery.[42]

The pipeline brings in 700,000 barrels of oil a day from the North Sea to BP's Kinneil plant, which is powered from the Grangemouth site.[11]

The Grangemouth refinery, owned by international chemical company Ineos, produces a tenth of Britain's petrol and diesel but also supplies vital steam to BP's nearby Kinneil plant that starts to process the crude oil coming ashore from 70 North Sea fields.[34] The Grangemouth refinery in Scotland produces a tenth of Britain'''s petrol and diesel but also has a power station that supplies the neighbouring Kinneil plant that processes the crude oil coming ashore from 70 fields in the North Sea.[10] The Grangemouth refinery in Scotland produces a tenth of Britain's petrol and diesel but also provides the steam that allows the neighboring Kinneil plant to begin processing the crude oil coming ashore from 70 fields in the North Sea.[43]

The refinery, owned by international chemical company Ineos, produces a tenth of Britain's petrol and diesel but also supplies vital steam to BP's Kinneil plant that starts to process the crude oil coming ashore from 70 North Sea fields.[29]

The plant powers a BP processing facility and without it the Forties pipeline, which carries about half of Britain's North Sea oil production, will have to close.[30] The entire North Sea accounts for about 9% of world production, so on a rough calculation, closure of the Forties pipeline will involve loss of 10% to 15% of North Sea oil for the duration.[44]

Grangemouth's closure has caused up to 70 platforms in the North Sea to either shut down or reduce production of oil, resulting in the loss of 700,000 barrels of oil a day.[8] Apache Corp., which operates the Forties field, will continue operating until BP advises the company that it has to shut production, said Apache spokesman Bill Mintz in a telephone interview from Houston. The field, which accounts for all of Apache's North Sea output, produced an average 53,600 barrels a day in 2007.[19]

By 2004, as the China boom got under way, spare capacity in the oil industry had shrunk to a mere 1 million barrels a day. Some major new fields have been opened, such as the Gulf of Mexico, but these have not replaced the depletion of the North Sea.[28]

Oil grades from the North Sea and Nigeria, Africa's biggest producer, are low in sulfur and favored by refiners. Nigeria is losing about 50 percent of its output after staff at Exxon Mobil Corp.' s operations went on strike April 24 and militants attacked a Royal Dutch Shell Plc pipeline later the same day.[3] The price would suggest the market is very tight." Nigeria is losing about 50 per cent of its output after staff at Exxon Mobil's operations went on strike last Thursday and militants attacked a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline on the same day.[18]

The contract rose by 2.1 per cent to $US118.52 a barrel on Friday when the Scottish refinery strike and pipeline closure were announced.[18]

Brent North Sea crude for June delivery rose 72 cents to $117.06 a barrel after rising $2.00 to $116.34 on Friday, when the contract hit a record intraday peak of $117.56.[38] Brent North Sea crude for June delivery rose 72 cents to 117.06 dollars a barrel after a rise of 2.00 dollars to 116.34 dollars on Friday, when the contract hit a record intraday peak of 117.56 dollars.[12]

London's Brent North Sea crude for June rose 72 cents to 117.06 dollars Monday after striking an all-time high of 117.56 dollars on Friday.[27]

The BP-run pipeline from the Forties oil fields in the North Sea relies on steam and electricity from the Ineos refinery at Grangemouth. [8] Ineos Group Holdings Plc's Grangemouth refinery will provide electricity and steam to the North Sea's Forties Pipeline System until 6 a.m. tomorrow, Richard Grant, a BP spokesman said in a phone interview today. BP had earlier expected the utility supply to stop this evening.[39] Oil from the Forties Pipeline System is pumped to crude stabilization and gas processing facilities at BP's Kinneil terminal situated next to the Grangemouth refinery.[19] The strike at Grangemouth has forced BP to close the Forties pipeline that carries 40% of Britain's oil and gas, sparking panic-buying by motorists at petrol stations.[31] A pipeline carrying nearly half of Britain's oil was closed on Sunday as a strike over pensions began at the neighbouring Grangemouth refinery in Scotland, operator BP said.[29] April 26 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc will close a pipeline that carries 40 percent of the oil produced in the U.K. because of a strike at a refinery in Scotland that supplies power to the system, the company said.[39] The refinery supplies power and steam to the BP pipeline, without which the pipeline cannot be operated. Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Total, ConocoPhilips, and Marathon all run rigs that supply oil to the pipeline, contributing to around a third of U.K. production, used both domestically and for export.[15] BP's ETAP, Andrew, Bruce, Rhum, Everest and Lomond fields, which supply crude to the pipeline, will stop production if the pipeline closes, McDonald said. ConocoPhillips said its Britannia field, which pumps oil into the pipeline and gas to the St. Fergus Mobil sub-terminal, will be forced to close.[19]

Exxon's entire Nigerian production of 860,000 barrels a day was halted at 6 p.m. April 25, according to Olusola George- Olumoroti, chairman of the branch of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, or Pengassan, that's taking action against Exxon. Union leaders planned to meet with the head of Nigeria's state-owned oil company today, he said. The Nigerian militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, said it will continue its campaign to attack every oil and gas pipeline in the nation as part of its "Operation Cyclone'' campaign.[4] Recent attacks on Royal Dutch Shell-run pipelines are cutting crude-oil flows by about 140,000 barrels a day. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta's fighters claimed they detonated the oil pipeline at Kula in Rivers State, according to an email from the group. "These disruptions are impacting Forties and Bonny crude, which are both good for making gasoline," said Peter Beutel, president of energy consultant Cameron Hanover.[42] The Forties pipeline brings more than 700,000 barrels of crude oil ashore every day and supplies Britain and international markets. It cannot function without power and steam from Grangemouth.[27] The Forties Pipeline System has the capacity to transport more than 1 million barrels a day of oil, according to information on BP's Web site.[19]

The latest International Energy Agency figures suggest that after four years of stagnation, world oil production lifted in January to hit a new peak of 85.8 million barrels a day. It is possible, also, that there might be a response from demand.[28] The "peak oil" theorists, who maintain that world production is headed inexorably lower, have been captivated by reports that the biggest Saudi field, Ghawar, which cranks out more than 5 million barrels a day, is struggling, and by faltering production from Russia. Expansion of world oil capacity is on its way.[28]

The 48-hour walk-out by about 1,200 workers at Grangemouth, west of the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, began Sunday and has since pushed oil prices very close to $US120 per barrel. [36] Burkhard noted that oil prices had remained high in the early 1980s, despite slow world growth, but that eventually reality caught up with it. "Because the world economy took $US70 per barrel in its stride does not mean that it would easily absorb $US100," he said.[28]

The median forecast for U.S. oil prices in 2010 rose to $92.05 a barrel, up $7.68 from the last poll.[33] At the pump, gas prices rose 2.1 cents Friday, to a record national average of $3.577 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.[23] Heating oil prices fell slightly, down 0.0042 cents to $3.2986 per gallon.[5] The TSX lost ground last week, but the 133.19-point decline followed a blistering four per cent surge in the previous week on the back of high oil prices and a modest revival in financials. VANCOUVER - While drama at the annual gathering of Canfor Corp. (TSX:CFP) shareholders this week may not match last year's boardroom battle, frustrations are likely to surface about the company's sunken share price and inability to stop cash burn.[11] In 1986, the oil price plunged 46 per cent. The power of the cartel was broken and market pricing regained its grip on the oil industry.[28]

TORONTO - Stock markets were poised to open higher Monday after oil prices hit an all-time high near US$120 a barrel Monday and New York speculated about possible mergers and acquisitions.[11] Oil in New York reached a record $119.90 a barrel on April 22 after the dollar touched an all-time low against the euro.[20] Light, sweet crude for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was recently up 79 cents, or 0.7%, at $119.31 a barrel after climbing as high as $119.93 shortly after trading resumed after the weekend.[41] Light, sweet crude for June delivery was up $2.99, at $119.05 a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday afternoon in New York, on reports that a United States Defense Department contractor's ship had fired warning shots at two Iranian boats on Thursday.[15] The news was enough to send light, sweet crude for June delivery as high as $119.25 a barrel before settling at $118.52, up $2.46, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.[23] Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose to a record US$119.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.[37]

Gasoline for May delivery rose 3.51 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $3.0537 a gallon in New York, a record settlement price.[20]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil and gasoline prices continue to soar Monday as worker strikes, political turmoil, and speculation of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve rocked a market that does not need much of an excuse to trade higher.[25] About 1,200 workers at the Grangemouth oil refinery in central Scotland planned to start the strike on Sunday over pension issues, one of a series of labor disputes to hit Britain as the global economy weakens.[45] Security guards stand outside the Grangemouth oil refinery in Grangemouth Scotland Friday April 25, 2008 Britain showed signs of renewed labor strife Friday as production was halted at the oil refinery in advance of a strike over pension disputes.[46]

The planned two-day strike at Ineo's Grangemouth refinery in Scotland could disrupt British oil supplies by up to a week, according to Wardell.[15] "I think it has been mainly financial factors over the last few weeks," said Simon Wardell, analyst with Global Insight, "but I think now we are getting into supply issues." The strike at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland, which saw 1,200 employees walk out in protest over threats to their pensions on Sunday, was largely expected. The BBC reported on Monday that two out of seven fuel tankers carrying emergency supplies to Scotland had docked, with the rest due to arrive this week.[1]

Ineos, the owner of the Grangemouth oil refinery, expects striking workers to return to work and restart the plant from 6.01am GMT on Tuesday, a spokesman for the company said on Monday. Unite union workers at the refinery are striking over pensions and took out advertisements in Scottish newspapers Monday to explain their position and ask for public support. "Our members have been accused of being greedy and irresponsible but this strike is not about getting more money from their employer or an attack on the ordinary people of Scotland," Unite national officer Phil McNulty said. "The Grangemouth workers are having to strike to defend their existing pension scheme which, despite the fact it is well-funded and in profit, their hugely rich employer, Ineos, wants to close it." Ineos CEO Tom Crotty told the BBC: "We have made concession after concession from our original position to try and keep them negotiating."[10]

LONDON'''After a week of record-setting prices, oil pushed into uncharteed territory this morning after a pipeline carrying nearly half of Britain's oil was closed by striking refinery workers in Scotland.[34] The start of a two-day walkout by around 1,200 workers at the Grangemouth refinery, west of Edinburgh, in Scotland, forced the neighbouring Forties pipeline to close down at the same time, operator BP (nyse: BP - news - people ) said.[38] BP said it had completed the closure of the Forties Pipeline System by 6 a.m., when 1,200 workers at the Grangemouth refinery in central Scotland walked off the job.[11]

Today's price rises came as workers at Grangemouth, which is operated by Ineos, a chemical company, began a two-day walkout yesterday over pension benefits. This forced the closure of the 700,000 barrel-a-day Forties pipeline and sparked fears that Scotland and the North of England could face petrol shortages.[9]

A major proportion of the oil from the UK sector of the North Sea comes ashore along the Forties pipeline. That its closure has the potential to be more than a blip is obvious.[44] The Forties Pipeline System ships about 700,000 barrels a day from more than 50 fields in the North Sea which will be forced to close as well.[39]

Grangemouth produces about 10% of the UK's petrol and diesel, but the disruption to supplies from North Sea fields could be the most expensive factor with the strike potentially costing £50m a day in lost revenue. Seven tankers carrying 65,000 tonnes of fuel are on their way from Sweden and the Netherlands to Scotland in a bid to maintain fuel supplies during the strike.[31] In preparation, for the complete shutdown which will coincide with the start of the two-day strike starting at 0600 BST (0500 GMT) on Sunday several North Sea fields began to cut production on Friday.[43]

Nigeria is the eighth-largest global producer of oil and Exxon accounts for about 40% of that production. Nigerian oil, like North Sea oil, is highly desired for its low sulfur content and ease of refining.[22] Violence in the Niger Delta has reduced Nigeria's total production by a quarter in the past two years. Regular attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria, the weak U.S. Dollar and general concerns about the ability of supply to meet global demand have underpinned the market this year. The U.S. Dollar's decline has also made dollar-denominated assets such as oil and other commodities relatively cheap for some investors.[10] "We've got. a number of events that have really disrupted crude oil supply," energy analyst Victor Shum told The Wall Street Journal. "That's what's driving oil to a new record even though the U.S. dollar actually strengthened a bit."[5] "Weve got a confluence of a number of events that have really disrupted crude oil supply," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin Gertz in Singapore. "Thats whats driving oil to a new record even though the U.S. dollar actually strengthened a bit."[37]

Nigeria is also another hotspot for supply worries at the moment, following the latest attack on a Royal Dutch Shell (nyse: RDS.A - news - people ) pipeline on Thursday. Armed militants in the south of the country confirmed on Friday they had sabotaged the pipeline, threatening supplies of valuable, easy-to-refine, light, sweet crude. "It is the wrong kind of oil to lose," said Global Insight's Wardell. He told Forbes.com that supply pressures would make building up reserves more difficult in the short-term. [1] Analyst Stephen Schork also attributed the bullish market to the combination of events stoking supply concerns. "News that BP shut-in 40 percent of the Forties Pipe compounded the latest headline out of Nigeria regarding a rebel attack near that country's largest oil and gas export terminal on Bonny Island," he said in his Schork Report.[47] The attack occurred on a line that feeds oil to the Bonny Light export terminal, said Rainer Winzenried, a Shell spokesman in The Hague. "These disruptions are impacting Forties and Bonny crude, which are both good for making gasoline,'' said Peter Beutel, president of energy consultant Cameron Hanover Inc. in New Canaan, Connecticut.[20]

Oil prices fell hard when the dollar firmed significantly against the euro Thursday, but further strengthening on Friday appeared to have no impact. "Both (the Forties and dollar) developments could possibly induce a correction in energy prices later in the week, but for now the trend appears higher still," wrote Ed Meir with MF Global.[21] LONDON (AFP) — Oil prices hit a historic peak close to 120 dollars on Monday as energy supplies were disrupted in Britain and Nigeria, traders said.[17]

OPEC President Chakib Khelil does not rule out oil prices reaching US$200 a barrel, even though supply is adequate, because the market is driven by the dollar's slide, Algerian government newspaper El Moudjahid reported on Monday. "Questioned about a possible rise which would go to US$200, the Minister did not rule out this eventuality, explaining that this rise is indexed from now on to the fall in the dollar or to the rise in the dollar," El Moudjahid reported.[10] OPEC President Chakib Khelil blamed the fall in the dollar for high prices and did not rule out prices rising to $200 a barrel. "Without geopolitical problems and the fall in the dollar, the prices of oil would not be at this level," he was quoted saying in Algerian government newspaper El Moudhajid.[26] Chakib Khelil, the president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), blamed the fall in the U.S. dollar for high prices and did not rule out prices rising to $200 a barrel.[16]

If oil now rises to $100 per barrel but the gov doesnt add any tax, keeping the price at $100, there will be no tax to pay for schools and hospitals unless other taxes rise. To Sam of Carlisle: The Dutch love their bicycles because their country happens to be one of the flattest on Earth.[9] As most transport and food production (& plastics) depend on oil, there is much to do. I agree that speculators can inflate the oil price, but experts have been saying this for nearly a year. If speculators have been keeping the oil price at $30 above true for all this time (by buying oil) then there must be massive stocks somewhere.[9] Lehman Brothers, the bank, has said that high prices are being sustained by an influx of money into the oil market from investment funds. It estimates that "hot money" accounts for between $20 to $30 of the recent increase in oil prices and about $40 billion (£20 billion) has been invested in the sector so far this year -- equal to all the money pumped into oil last year.[9]

Oil prices had risen by as much as $3.00 earlier in the day's trading, to $119.06.[15] Hedge fund managers and other large speculators increased bets on rising oil prices for a third time in the week ended April 22, according to data from U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Speculative long positions, or bets prices will rise, outnumbered short positions by 70,562 contracts, a 6 percent gain, the Washington-based commission said in its Commitments of Traders report. This is the highest since the week ended March 21.[3] To say that the present dispute will not impact on the world oil price seems to me a potential epitaph. Brent futures have already risen on the back of this strike.[44] "Limited capacity along the entire supply chain is the real source of current global supply tightness and represents the greatest threat to ensuring adequate energy to fuel future economic growth," Naimi said. "At its heart, this is not an energy resource issue; it is primarily an investment issue." When oil prices took off in the 1970s, there was a great surge of investment both in OPEC and around the world.[28]

A more indirect adverse effect on the economy would be caused by an increase in the Brent crude oil price. It might be the scale of the problem is too small to cause more than a 'wobble', if that. If not, and there is a surge, the consequences for the national economy become considerable, as something like a twelfth of Government income comes from oil and gas. We can be confident that the consequences of the present situation will not be anything like as serious as those of the 1973 oil crisis, which arose from Opec's response to U.S. military involvement in Israel. That had far-reaching economic and social effects and brought about a surge in the price of oil.[44] The statewide average for a gallon of regular-grade gas is now about $3.53, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. That's up from $3.40 last Monday.[6]

"The Nigerian production is symptomatic of problems there and we expect the oil price to stay at a high level" because of the supply disruptions.[41] "Supply worries have pushed oil prices higher since Friday and will remain the dominant influence on prices in the near term," said David Moore, a commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.[27] "Supply side concerns underpinned the oil price," David Moore, a commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a note to clients.[29]

Prices had already been rising on the prospect of a Scottish refinery strike on Sunday that would cut Britain's supply of oil by a third.[15] LONDON (Reuters) - A pipeline carrying nearly half of Britain's oil was being shut down late on Saturday ahead of a strike over pensions that has already closed a major refinery and prompted some panic fuel buying.[43] LONDON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Energy giant British Petroleum (BP) was shutting down a pipeline carrying nearly half of Britain's oil late Saturday ahead of a 48-hour strike over pension issues.[45]

The Forties oil alone is worth 50 million pounds ($100 million) a day and the pipeline's closure for the two-day strike will make a significant dent in already stretched government coffers which take half of the revenues in tax.[43]

Recent attacks on Royal Dutch Shell Plc -run pipelines are cutting crude-oil flows by about 140,000 barrels a day, Ajumogobia said. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta's fighters claimed they detonated the oil pipeline at Kula in Rivers state at about 10:18 p.m. local time, according to an e- mailed statement from the group today.[20] Recent attacks on Shell-run pipelines, including the latest one, are cutting oil flows by about 140,000 barrels a day, the country's Oil Minister H. Odein Ajumogobia said April 25.[3]

Niger Delta rebels have said an April 24 pipeline attack had shut down a further 350,000 barrels per day of production by Royal Dutch Shell.[26] Total production is about 700,000 barrels a day. The shutdown " has a profound impact on both crude and product balances,'' Thomas Stenvoll, an energy strategist at UBS AG in London, said in an e-mailed comment. "It will reduce light-sweet crude from the North Sea market as refiners are returning from turnarounds.''[19] We now find 1 barrel for every 4 we consume. Discovery of oil peaked in 1964 and has been falling ever since! As far as offshore, the two largest offshore provinces (Gulf of Mexico and North Sea) are both in decline.[48] The North Sea and Nigeria produce low-sulfur, or sweet, oils prized by refiners. U.S. refineries usually bolster fuel output in May as they prepare for the peak-demand summer driving season.[20]

Driving up prices is expected dollar weakness, which typically sends investors flocking to commodities, along with an attack on an oil pipeline in Nigeria. "It's a one-way street at the moment," said Wardell.[15] Crude oil and refined products prices have surged on the prospect of the pipeline closing, cutting U.K. oil supplies by as much as 40 percent.[19] Two platforms at the field have been closed since April 17 for maintenance. It may take at least a week to resume production from the fields once the pipeline opens again, according to Malcolm Webb, chief executive officer of industry body Oil & Gas UK.[19] Britannia is the U.K.' s largest gas field and produced about 12.7 million cubic meters a day of gas and 12,000 barrels a day of oil last year, according to the Web site of the U.K.' s Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.[19] You are spouting utter rubbish! UK oil and gas output peaked in 1999 and is falling at between 5% and 8% a year and is now down 30% on the peak, despite record investment. These figures are freely available at the dept of energy website.[48]

Crude futures jump after a refinery strike disrupts supply to U.K. Retail gas hits 13th straight record.[25] Brent crude for June settlement rose as much as $3.22, or 2.8 percent, to a record $117.56 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange today.[19] Brent crude futures rose 65 cents to $116.99 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. Associated Press writers Gillian Wong in Singapore and Jamey Keaten in Paris contributed to this report.[47] June Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 2 cents lower at $116.32 a barrel.[21]

Light crude for delivery in June was up 69 cents at $119.21 a barrel by 1148 GMT. Prices are up almost 25 per cent since the start of the year.[16] Some analysts say even $200 a barrel would not be out of the question. The latest price surge - pushing crude to record heights in recent weeks, and to nearly double its level a year ago - has some key components of a classic bubble, when market prices climb far above their intrinsic value.[11]

April 28, a.m. ( USAGOLD ) -- Gold has edged slightly higher in overseas trading on Monday, buoyed by new record highs in oil ahead of $120 a barrel.[22] Gasoline hit a record $3.603 a gallon, up four-tenths of a cent from the previous day, according to motorist group AAA. Monday's record was the latest in a near two-week-long string of record highs for motor oil, despite continued weak demand.[25] The price of Brent oil rose 83 cents to $117.17 and oil analysts have predicted that further price rises are likely in the coming months.[9] U.S. pump prices are following futures higher. Regular gasoline, averaged nationwide, rose 2.1 cents to a record $3.577 a gallon, AAA, the nation's largest motorist organization, said today on its Web site.[20] In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 0.92 cent to US$3.312 a gallon (3.8 liters) while gasoline prices added 1.32 cents to US$3.0669 a gallon.[37] In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures were flat at $3.310 a gallon while gasoline prices moved up slightly to fetch $3.0568 a gallon.[47]

Gas prices have been following oil futures higher, but are also rising because of concerns about whether gasoline supplies are adequate to meet peak summer driving demand.[23]

HOUSTON - Oil's meteoric rise to near US$120 a barrel looks like more than just another economic bubble - growing demand and tighter supplies are likely to keep prices high.[11]

The previous week refineries operated at 81.4 percent of capacity, the lowest rate since October 2005. Oil supply from the 13-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries probably fell 0.3 percent to 32.5 million barrels a day this month, according to preliminary estimates from PetroLogistics Ltd.[20] The U.K. produced an average of 1.45 million barrels a day of oil in 2007 according to the U.K. government.[19]

Grangemouth itself produces 210,000 barrels of oil a day and there are fears of fuel shortages in northern Britain and Northern Ireland. As some petrol stations started limiting the amount of fuel they would sell to 23 euros per customer, government officials urged drivers not to panic buy but also not to make non essential journeys.[30] What it shows is that the world oil production seems unable to increase beyond 85m barrels a day, while consumption just keeps increasing.[9] As climate change did over the past few years, peak oil seems poised to become the next big idea commanding the attention of governments, businesses and citizens the world over. The arrival of $119-a-barrel crude and $4-a-gallon petrol in the United States this spring are but the most obvious signs that global oil production has peaked or soon will peak.[48] Years of underinvestment in new oil production means the market could struggle to keep pace with booming China demand.[26] Just for global oil production to remain flat we need to find and bring on stream the production equivalent of 4 Saudi Arabias in the next 10 years.[48]

Oil has risen 82 percent in the last year as demand has increased in China, India and the Middle East against a background of constrained supply. Chakib Khelil, president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said on April 26 that the group won't consider raising production before its next meeting in September.[3]

The shutdown comes amid supply outages in Nigeria that have helped to support oil against a strengthening dollar. CALGARY - Major French oil company Total SA is expanding its presence in the Canadian oilsands with a $478-million bid for Synenco Energy Inc. (TSX:SYN) that could accelerate development of the Northern Lights project.[11] Oil markets are also worried about new violence in Nigeria where an armed group in the southern oil-producing region on Friday sabotaged a supply pipeline belonging to Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell.[31]

Providing a third of UK oil output, the closure of the Forties pipeline has raised fears about supply shortages.[8] THE closure of the Forties pipeline has intensified national awareness of the importance of oil supply and demand.[44]

If everything is so hunky dory, why has the price of oil shot up so much? Well, when demand exceeds supply, the price increases. $120 oil suggests that we are starting to run out. Some people just want to stick their heads in the tar-sand and pretend that the middle of the earth is made of oil. [48] First quarter revenues were $389.7 million, down from $400.2 million the year before, due primarily to case volume decline in North America and RC International. OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says Newfoundland and Labrador far outstripped the national average in economic growth last year, on the strength of its oil and gas revenues.[11] Oil, which is up about 20 per cent since the start of the year, has set fresh record highs nearly every week for the past couple of months.[33] Five police were killed in Sunday's attack in the Niger Delta, where output has fallen by 50 per cent since Friday, adding to concerns about supplies. "The bulls are still in control, so it's no surprise to be near $US120 on these supply concerns," said Victor Shum, senior principal at the Purvin & Gertz energy industry consultancy in Singapore.[18] Total subsidiary Total E&P; Canada Ltd. said Monday it is offering $9-per-share for the small oilsands player, which holds 60 per cent of Northern Lights alongside SinoCanada Petroleum Corp., a owned subsidiary of China-based Sinopec. DETROIT - U.S. billionaire Kirk Kerkorian plans to make an offer that would expand his stake in Ford Motor Co. to 5.6 per cent, saying Monday he sees signs the automaker's turnaround plan is working.[11]

U.S. light crude for June delivery was up 74 cents at $119.26 a barrel by 1450 GMT, after a record high of $119.93.[13] U.S. light crude for June delivery rose 81 cents to $119.33 by 2249 GMT, after striking a lifetime high of $119.93 a barrel at the start of Globex electronic trade.[29] U.S. light crude for June delivery rose 81 cents touching $119.33, beating last Thursday's previous high of $119.90.[32]

Brent crude for June delivery rose 96 cents to $117.30 against a close last week of $116.34.[31]

The price of Forties crude rose to the highest in more than a week relative to the Dated Brent benchmark today on concern the strike would cut production.[19] The refinery strike is set to end Tuesday, which could lead to the quick return of Forties crude. The Federal Reserve is also due to meet this week, without a clear consensus in the market as to how it will alter interest rates further after the expected small cut Wednesday.[21]

The 48-hour strike over pension issues is due to begin Sunday at the Grangemouth oil refinery in central Scotland. [11] EDINBURGH, Scotland - British motorists are being urged not to hoard gasoline amid rumours that a looming strike at an oil refinery in Scotland could result in rationing.[11]

A commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia stated through a note "Oil supplies from Nigeria have been disrupted by militant attacks and a strike by some oil workers.[32] The Nigerian production outages were also seen as having a fleeting impact on the market, which has grown used to occasional large-scale interruptions to the flow of West African oil. "Historically, labor strikes in Nigeria have not lasted long and we see little reason for this one to prove different," wrote analysts at Barclays Capital.[21] The strike, combined with militant attacks between April 17 and April 25 on crude-oil pipelines operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, have shuttered about half of Nigeria's current production, H. Odein Ajumogobia, Nigeria's petroleum minister of state, said last week.[4] Ineos chief executive Tom Crotty said it could take a week for the plant to return to production once the strike ends on Tuesday. BP said its pipeline could be up and running within 24 hours.[37] While BP reports that the pipeline will be back up within 24-hours, it may take as long as a week before the plant is able to return to production. In Nigeria, Exxon is experiencing its own labor problems, and has shut down nearly all of their production.[22]

The Grangemouth plant has refined oil for around 80 years and the last time the entire facility was completely shut down was during World War II, according to Ineos, which bought the plant from BP in 2005.[39] Prices rallied on Friday as the Grangemouth plant was shut down ahead of the strike, which is over pensions.[38]

The shutdown of the 200,000 barrel-a-day refinery was completed yesterday in preparation for the strike, the company said. Grangemouth supplies about 95 percent of the fuel used in Scotland's central belt, including its capital, Edinburgh, and biggest city, Glasgow.[39] Workers at the Grangemouth refinery will start a two-day walk out tomorrow in a dispute over pensions. Fuel supplies ran out at some gas stations in Scotland as motorists rushed to fill up their cars. The shutdown will also cut natural gas pumped from fields that produce both fuels.[39] Workers walked out of the Grangemouth refinery in a dispute with refinery owner Ineos over plans to close a pension plan to new employees.[47] Workers walked out of the Grangemouth refinery vowing not to give ground in their dispute with refinery owner Ineos over plans to close a generous pension scheme to new employees.[37]

Workers at Ineos Group Holdings Plc's Grangemouth refinery began a two-day walkout yesterday in a protest over pensions.[4]

The Grangemouth shutdown also comes amid supply outages in Nigeria that have helped to support oil against a strengthening dollar. [24] "If thats the case, then the U.S. dollar may bottom out and that could cause some pullback in oil pricing." Many analysts believe the weakness of the dollar is a bigger factor than supply and demand because the soft dollar draws investors worried about inflation into commodities such as oil and gold. It also makes commodities less expensive for buyers operating in other currencies.[37] Prices were boosted by the weaker U.S. dollar, supply worries and the OPEC cartel's reluctance to increase output, dealers said.[12] "Nigeria is the real ongoing risk that's there in the market,'' said Simon Wardell, energy research manager with Global Insight Inc. in London. "The key driver we've seen is the U.S. dollar, and as that continues to weaken the price will have this inexorable push behind it.''[3]

The price on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) reached 119.93 at noon, on Monday, decreasing to 119.40 dollars per barrel in Singapore.[40] The contract closed 2.46 dollars higher at 118.52 dollars a barrel on Friday at the New York Mercantile Exchange.[12]

The euro fell 0.5 percent to $1.56 per dollar at 3:05 p.m. in New York.[20] The contract touched a record $117.56 on April 25. "It's not clear how long it will take Forties to return,'' said Tom Bentz, a broker at BNP Paribas in New York.[4] "The near-term target is $120,'' said Katherine Spector, head energy strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York.[20]

LONDON - New fears of a U.S. -Iranian standoff sent the price of crude soaring by as much as $3.00 a barrel on Friday. [15] U.S. light crude hit a high of $119.93 a barrel before edging down to $119.40.[8] Bilderberg already planned for Oil to hit $200 a barrel by the end of 2008.[9] Andy T Imagine that oil is $80 per barrel and the gov adds $20 in tax meaning it costs $100 per barrel.[9] CIBC bank economist has now estimated oil at $225/ barrel by 2012. If this takes place, the UK faces economic collapse by 2012.[44] Euan Mearns published a paper on the prospects for the UK standard of living by 2012 with oil at $165 a barrel.[44]

"If the Nigerian strike isn't settled, we could easily see oil rise to $125 by the end of the week.'' [4] "Thus, all of that 'bubble talk' aside, the market looks stronger than ever." In Nigeria, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, said its fighters hit an oil pipeline late Thursday, the fourth conduit the group has attacked in the past week.[47] Last week, Shell said it had reduced output by 165,000 barrels per day following the sabotage of pipelines to the Bonny export terminal in southern Nigeria.[17] A previous bombing raid had hit 169,000 barrels per day of Shell's Nigeria output, the company said last week.[26]

About 90 percent of Exxon Mobil Corp.' s Nigerian output of about 850,000 barrels a day is halted, said Olusola George- Olumoroti, chairman of the branch of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, or Pengassan, that's taking action against the company. Ajumogobia said that he held a meeting with union leaders today in an effort to end the strike against Exxon Mobil. He said he expects to hear back from the union later today.[20] "The upcoming strike and ongoing problems in Nigeria are the main drivers today.'' U.S. refineries operated at 85.6 percent of their capacity last week, up 4.2 percentage points from the week before, an Energy Department report on April 23 showed.[20]

Although BP has said it can re-open the pipeline within 24 hours of the strike's end on Tuesday, it will take weeks for the refinery to return to full capacity.[10] The Forties pipeline relies on steam and power provided by Ineos' refinery which is shutting down for safety reasons before a strike from April 27-28.[19]

The Forties pipeline carries an average of 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), close to half the 1.5 million barrels the country produces daily.[43] Saudi Arabia's Aramco is pouring about $US15 billion into opening the Khurais field, which is expected to add more than 1 million barrels a day from next year.[28] It is not that the oil is running out worldwide, but it will soon not be possible to produce the almost unimaginable 86 million barrels a day.[48] Between Grangemouth and Nigeria "you are talking about at least 1.4 million barrels a day, which is obviously significant.''[4] A spokesman for Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) said the company was attempting to open talks with the strikers. He would not disclose the volume of the loss. Its production is normally about 780,000 barrels per day.[17] A walk-out by Exxon Mobil Corp. workers entered a fifth day in Nigeria, where production has dropped 50 percent since April 25.[3] As much as 3 billion cubic feet a day (85 million cubic meters) of natural gas production may be affected, Grant said. That's equivalent to 30 percent of the U.K.' s gas demand at this time of year, he said.[39]

The UK's oil production is already in decline, in the U.S. it happened in 1973.[48] In Nigeria, political upheaval continues to hamper the country's oil production.[25] The production continues to be affected in Nigeria, after the rebels sabotaged an oil line belonging to Royal Dutch.[40]

Fresh violence in Nigeria and Tensions between the United States and Iran also helped to boost oil prices.[32] Though the central bank cuts interest rates to boost the economy, rate cuts are also inflationary, weakening the dollar and sending oil prices higher.[25] Opec ministers say markets are well supplied and blame high oil prices on speculators and a weak dollar.[33]

Oil traders are expected to closely watch the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting tomorrow and Wednesday for guidance on U.S. interest rate movements - a major factor governing oil prices.[24] Oil traders are also closely watching the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. Most economists have forecast a quarter of a percentage point cut to its key funds rate, which has helped to boost oil prices lately.[25]

"So world oil prices have gone up and we're going to see local oil prices and petrol prices going up."[12] Simmering geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran also helped boost oil prices.[29]

I 'refuse' to understand how shutting down a refinery, which means refining less crude oil, can raise the price of that same crude oil.[9] If the pound is worth more dollars than before, and oil is paid for in dollars why does it keep going up all of the time without OPEC putting up the price.[9] Oil producers' body Opec has shown itself disinclined to raise quotas to curb rising prices. The dollar's decline has also made dollar-denominated assets such as oil and other commodities relatively cheap for some investors.[8] Prices jumped after a report that a U.S.-contracted cargo ship fired at Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf. Iran, OPEC's second-biggest oil producer, has been in conflict with the U.S. over its nuclear program and Iraq policy.[20]

At a gathering of oil and energy ministers from around the world in Rome last weekend, Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi shocked delegates by departing from the long-standing OPEC script, which blamed treacherous Western speculators for spiralling prices and admitted under-investment was the cause. The world, he said, had abundant oil reserves - sufficient to last 50 years and beyond.[28]

Most additional oil since the 1980s and 90s has come from extracting more oil from known fields, rather than discovering entirely new fields. To keep investors happy, the oil majors published their projected reserves, based on their projected success in replacing oil as it was depleted. This ended badly for Shell four years ago, when it emerged its projected reserves were a fiction, and all the oil companies have since stopped forecasting reserve levels. As Burkhard told a U.S. Senate committee earlier this month, the lost generation left the oil industry unprepared for the surge in Chinese and Indian demand, with shortages of equipment and personnel dramatically raising the cost of developing a field.[28] The capital cost of developing an oil field has doubled in the past two years.[28]

The most terrifying statistic is that it has recently been found that production from all the oil fields in the world is declining at 5% a year.[48] Countries like KSA are going into production of low-grade oil fields that was unusable before.[44]

Even if agreements are reached soon, it will be weeks before oil production can be returned to full service.[49] What followed is described by the head of the oil research firm Cambridge Energy, James Burkhard, as the "missing generation". Over a period of almost two decades from the mid-80s on, if you had sunk investment in oil platforms, there were acceptable profits to be made, but they were not sufficient to warrant massive efforts to boost production.[28] The trade union, Unite, said the power plant which supplies energy to Kinneil will continue to operate "at a safety only'' level, meaning it won't produce enough power for the terminal. "We expect those utilities will cease to be available from some time on Saturday,'' BP's Macdonald said. It may take as much as 48 hours to restore production once the supply of utilities resumes, according to a statement on BP's Web site.[19]

Canfor says it has taken drastic action to cope with falling lumber prices and a high Canadian dollar by slashing executive salaries and chopping production by about 15 per cent.[11] Natural gas prices rose 0.068 cents to $11.031 per million British thermal units.[5] At the pump, the national average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the United States rose to a record $3.603 per gallon Monday, from Sunday's price of $3.599 per gallon, AAA said.[5] Retail gas prices as expected rose further into record territory, approaching $3.60 a gallon.[23] AAA says nationwide, the price of regular gas is now averaging a record $3.60.[6]

Wholesale gasoline prices have also reached records. Some gas stations in Scotland have run out of gasoline and diesel as motorists filled their cars before the strike begins. Others have rationed fuel and increased prices.[39] Industry lobby group Oil & Gas UK called on the government to intervene in the issue. The strike is now affecting some 80 companies and their operations which are in no way connected to or involved in this dispute, the group said.[45] The UK is now a net importer of oil and gas and will become increasingly dependent on faltering and then declining foreign supply.[48]

"On top of everything in the UK and everything in Nigeria, it seems like every day we're having new supply problems," said Jonathan Kornafel, a director for Asia at Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. "It's political, it's supply.[18] In Africa's biggest crude producer, Nigeria, the most prominent armed group in the southern oil-producing region on Friday sabotaged a supply pipeline belonging to Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell. Shell spokesman Tony Okonedo confirmed the attack but said he could not comment on the extent of the damage.[38]

Suspected militants in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region killed five policemen in an attack on a police station in Bonny Island, the site of one of Nigeria's largest oil and gas export terminals.[34] Reports are circulating today that rebels had staged an attack near Nigeria's largest oil export terminal at Bonny Island.[22]

LONDON -- The world oil market faced its biggest crude-supply disruption in recent years as roughly 2.5% of global output was halted over the weekend because of labor disputes in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.[49] The unrest in Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, and the U.K. underline the fragile state of the global oil system.[49]

The point the Saudi oil minister was making was that the world was not running out of oil reserves. There were still about 4500 billion barrels in the ground, he said. "The lack of resources will not impede economic growth in the future," he said. [28] Brent crude futures rose 84 cents to US$117.18 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.[37] Natural gas futures added over 10 cents to sell at $11.072 per 1,000 cubic feet.[47] Reformulated gasoline blendstock prices fell 0.0017 cents to $3.0520 per gallon.[5] The Ohio price for diesel is now at a record $4.21 per gallon, on average.[6]

In doing so, it passed the previous record mark of $119.90 a barrel achieved on Friday.[8] U.S. light crude hit a high of US$119.93 a barrel, passing the previous record of US$119.93.[10] "Nigerian crude is quite good quality and the U.S. probably imports about 10 per cent to 15 per cent from them," said Tetsu Emori a fund manager at Astmax in Tokyo. "It's affecting the supply and the quality" for the refiners.[18] Chavez dismissed a request made by Sidor's parent company, Luxembourg-based Ternium SA, for $4 billion in exchange for a 60 per cent stake in the firm. ATLANTA - When Eos Airlines Inc. launched its first flights in 2005, the startup carrier named for a Greek goddess came with enthusiastic business travellers looking for more space who didn't mind hefty fares for premium service across the Atlantic.[11] TORONTO - Troubled soft-drink maker Cott Corp. (TSX:BCB) posted a first quarter loss of $20.7 million, reversing a year-ago profit of $4.8 million as sales dipped 2.6 per cent.[11]

Futures touched $119.55 today. The June contract rose 2 percent this week. [20] Investors tend to buy oil futures as a hedge against a declining U.S. currency.[25] Iraq remains a basket case, while oil field development in Iran is hampered by U.S. sanctions.[28] Not only were prices low, but the barriers to investment were high in many of the most prospective parts of the globe with third-world nations either banning foreign investment outright or taxing it heavily. The oil majors conceived a strange strategy, believing that while they were good at developing fields, smaller companies were better at the hard grunt of exploration, so they wound back their exploration budgets. As it turned out, they were not that good at developing fields either.[28] Do some research - the new fields that are being discovered "all the time" do not even come close to replacing the oil fields that are in decline or to meet demand, which is going up and up. As for this having been said "for decades" - what has been being said for decades is that the time will come soon when the oil coming out of the ground starts to decline, and that time is coming soon.[48]

With output now curtailed by as much as 40% due to the Exxon strike, there is additional upside potential in oil. [22] Oil is priced in dollars worldwide, so a falling dollar provides less incentive for oil-exporting countries to increase output, or for foreign consumers to cut back on oil use.[25] The outlook is that world output will continue irreversible decline until the thermodynamic balance becomes negative. i.e. it takes more energy to search and recover the oil than you get from the reserve.[48]

The Kinneil plant processes Forties crude oil before it can be exported by tanker.[41] "The loss of crude oil from Scotland is quite material in the context of the oil market."[12]

"We have the refinery strike in Scotland and the market is more nervous now that attacks will continue in Nigeria.''[3] "The loss of Nigerian barrels will be exacerbated by the refinery strike in Scotland."[23]

The Exxon Mobil strike is halting about 860,000 barrels a day, according to union estimates.[3] The two day strike at Grangemouth, which is due to start on Sunday, is over changes to the workers' pensions.[30] About 1,200 workers at the Grangemouth plant will go on strike tomorrow in protest against changes to the company's pension scheme.[39]

Tom Crotty, the Ineos chief executive, said it could take a week for the plant to return to production once the strike ends on Tuesday.[16] The strike is scheduled to end tomorrow at 6 a.m. local time, Pauline Doyle, a union spokeswoman, said in an interview today. It will take Ineos three weeks to return the 200,000 barrel-a-day refinery to full capacity, the company said.[4] The refinery "shutdown is now an inevitability,'' said Pauline Doyle, an official at the Unite union, in a telephone interview. The walkout of refinery workers will begin at 6 a.m. U.K. time tomorrow, she said. They will return on April 29. There's "nothing on the table'' to suggest a last-minute deal to keep the Forties pipe open is possible, she said.[39]

BP will need to start closing the pipeline within 24 hours of the utilities being cut off, according to McDonald. With the refinery's full closure possible by tomorrow evening, BP could start shutting Forties today, she said.[19] The Forties Pipeline System was due to completely shut down by 6:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) Sunday, BP said.[45] Nexen Inc. will shut the 200,000 barrels-a-day Buzzard field that connects to the Forties system once the pipeline is closed, spokesman Carla Yuill said in telephone interview from Calgary today.[19]

The pipeline pumps about 700,000- barrels a day of crude while exports for the past six months were scheduled to average about 614,000 barrels a day, according to loading programs. [19] The pipeline delivers about 700,000 barrels a day to the U.K. (c) 2008 Newsroom.[14]

Nigeria pumped 1.96 million barrels a day in March, according to Bloomberg estimates.[3] Nigeria is Africa's biggest producer with a daily output of 2.1 million barrels but unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta has cut exports by a quarter since January 2006.[17]

The market has also been supported by a weak dollar, tightening global supplies, ongoing unrest in key African producer Nigeria and the OPEC cartel's refusal to increase output, traders said.[27] "Nigeria is back on top of traders' minds. The disruptions are real and this is high-quality crude needed by the U.S. refineries for gasoline production in the summer."[18] Demand in the U.S. is high for Nigeria's light, sweet crude, which is easily refined.[24]

U.S. crude touched $119.93 in early Asian trade, beating last Thursday's previous high of $119.90.[7] Isn't it about time that the Government gave the UK public a break with a tax cut on fuel? At this rate I'll be taking my family out of the country for good. I've recently come back from the U.S. where they were complaining that they are paying $3.50 a gallon.[9]

At one point, it climbed more than $1 to a new high of $119.93 a barrel in overnight electronic trading, surpassing the previous high of $119.90.[35] The contract was recently up $2.31 at $116.65 after rising as high as $117.56, also a new record.[41] European gasoline traded above $1,000 a ton for a second day today after reaching a record $1,007 a ton yesterday.[19]

Over the past two weeks oil has crashed through a series of records, sparking international concern.[12] Over the past two weeks, crude prices have smashed through a series of record highs, sparking widespread international concern among consumer nations.[27] Many economists are also predicting the Fed will announce it will keep rates steady, or even raise rates in future meetings, to protect against inflation. That announcement may send crude prices lower.[25] HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil futures traded higher Monday, in choppy trading as traders assessed the longevity of supply concerns that sparked a price rally ahead of last weekend.[21]

Analysts expect gas prices to continue rising for at least another month, to $3.70 to $4 a gallon. [23] Analysts say the economic stimulus is likely going to be spent on basic necessities, as lower-income shoppers deal with higher gas and food prices. Another big chunk is expected to go toward paying down debt. WASHINGTON (AP) - Howard Dean says he doesn't know which one, but either Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton needs to quit the Democratic presidential race once the primaries finish in June. The Democratic Party chairman says that the party needs unity before it holds its nominating convention. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Reverend Jeremiah Wright says the criticism of his fiery sermons amounts to an attack on the black church. Barack Obama's former pastor says black church tradition is misunderstood by what he calls the "dominant culture" in the U.S. He says he hopes the controversy means his church will "no longer be invisible."[50]

I have 26 years experience in the offshore business and there is more oil and gas coming out of the ground than ever. [48] The two-day stoppage began yesterday morning. It's the first strike to close a British refinery in more than 70 years.[34] The planned strike has already led to the closure of a major refinery and has prompted some panic fuel buying. It is the first to close a British refinery in more than 70 years.[45]

Members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria began the strike on Wednesday after pay and conditions negotiations with the management stalled. [17] Ineos said the trade union has refused to maintain power and steam supplies to Kinneil. Talks with unions earlier this week failed to avoid the two-day strike over pensions.[19] The government said there will be no overall shortage of fuel but accepts that there may be some local supply problems. "There is plenty of petrol and diesel in Scotland to meet demand during this period of time, but of course there is going to be challenge if people change the way that they consume fuel," British Energy Secretary John Hutton said. Talks to resolve the dispute collapsed earlier this week.[45] Several supply pipelines owned by Shell and Chevron (nyse: CVX - news - people ) have been destroyed in recent weeks.[38] Attacks on pipelines have increased supply concerns in recent weeks, but were only a minor worry.[22]

COLUMBUS (AP) -- Ohio gasoline prices have jumped about 13 cents in the past week. [6] "UK drivers are going to the pumps each week and watching prices going up and up and up."[24]

RECORD''oil prices and the impact of the Grangemouth refinery dispute today left the average price of unleaded petrol on the brink of ''5 a gallon.[24] Refinery production at Grangemouth will resume on April 29 at 7 a.m. local time.[3]

Violence in the Niger Delta has reduced Nigeria's total production by a quarter in the past two years.[12]

The nonsense that has recently been talked about the 'giant' fields found off Brazil are typical of the insanely optimistic poppycock that 'analysts' are spouting at the moment - in fact the 33 Billion barrel field may more likely turn out to be 100 million barrels and won't be produced for at least 10 years.[48] Forties cost 63 cents a barrel less than Dated Brent, compared with a discount of 70 cents a barrel yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That's the smallest discount since April 16.[19]

"As long as there are disruptions of high-quality crude, supplies prices are going to move higher,'' said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. [4] New York's popular street food vendors will start charging more to keep up with the rising price of everything.[37] We're watching the dollar index in particular to see if recent upticks have any follow-through. That has not been the case and resistance at 72.84/73.16 remains well protected. While significant risks to growth remain, it's going to be difficult for the Fed to ignore the price risks this time around.[22]

BP's Kinneil plant, the onshore processing centre for the pipeline system, is powered from the Grangemouth site. [16] Brent crude for June delivery on the ICE Futures exchange, which is the European benchmark, had bigger gains.[41]

SOURCES

1. Where's The Oil? - Forbes.com
2. Markets News Afternoon: Anglo Irish Bank rises over 7%; European stocks close up; Wall Street flat in advance of Fed rate setting meetings
3. Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
4. Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
5. Refinery strike pushes crude prices Monday - UPI.com
6. Times Recorder - www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com - Zanesville, Ohio
7. RT' Business: Oil hits a new record on UK strike
8. BBC NEWS | Business | Refinery strike has oil near $120
9. Opec chief warns of $200 a barrel oil price - Times Online
10. Business Intelligence Middle East - bi-me.com - Oil hits new record near US$120 on production concerns - News, analysis, reports
11. Business News - AOL Money Canada
12. AFP: Oil prices hit intraday record near 120 dollars
13. Treasury Services - News - Capital Treasury Services
14. Oil Back Up Near $120 a Barrel
15. Iran Reports Slick Oil's Wheels - Forbes.com
16. Al Jazeera English - Business - Oil Prices Hit New Record High
17. AFP: Oil prices test record high 120 dollars
18. Setbacks push oil close to $US120 | smh.com.au
19. Bloomberg.com: Europe
20. Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
21. OIL FUTURES: Nymex Crude Up, But Off Highs As Supply Fears Ease
22. Gold Consolidates Further as Oil Nears $120
23. Oil spikes on supply issues -- chicagotribune.com
24. Drivers hit by fuel rises - News - Manchester Evening News
25. Oil strikes new trading high near $120 - Apr. 28, 2008
26. Oil sets new record near $120
27. AFP: Oil prices hit record near 120 dlrs on British refinery strike
28. Oil aplenty, but investment needed | The Australian
29. Oil strikes new record near $120 on supply fears | Business News | Reuters
30. EuroNews EuroNews : Brent crude oil hits new record on supply concerns
31. Strike at Grangemouth adds to oil market fears | This is Money
32. ABC Live - Online News, Breaking News, World News, National News,India News,Abc News - International Oil Prices at Its Peak Touching $119.93
33. Gulfnews: Analysts raise average price forecast for 2008
34. TheStar.com | Business | Oil jumps in early trading
35. Free Preview - WSJ.com
36. British refinery strike pushes oil price to new high - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
37. Oil prices hit new trading record near US$120 on supply concerns - International Herald Tribune
38. Oil prices hit intraday record near $120 in Asian trading - UPDATE - Forbes.com
39. Bloomberg.com: U.K. & Ireland
40. Oil barrel near 120% - Business - HotNews.ro
41. UPDATE: OIL FUTURES: Crude Hits Record On UK Pipeline Close
42. Pipeline closure and Gulf fracas push oil higher | theage.com.au
43. BP shutting down major British oil pipeline | Reuters
44. Analysis: Closure has potential to be more than a 'blip' - Scotsman.com News
45. BP shutting down major British oil pipeline ahead of strike _English_Xinhua
46. The Associated Press: AP Top News at 10:42 a.m. EDT
47. The Associated Press: Oil nears $120 following labor and military strikes
48. Time to ask: What are we going to do when oil wells run dry? - Scotsman.com News
49. Free Preview - WSJ.com
50. Boise, Idaho News, Weather and Traffic - KTRV Fox 12 - News Minute: Tax rebates. Wright responds. M&Ms; and Juicy Fruit

GENERATE A MULTI-SOURCE SUMMARY ON THIS SUBJECT:

Please WAIT 10-20 sec for the new window to open...
You might want to EDIT the default search query below:
Get more info on Oil Climbs to a Record on Shut UK Pipeline, Nigeria Strike by using the iResearch Reporter tool from Power Text Solutions.

Give Us Your Feedback!

How did you like this article?

Above is the automatically generated multi-source news digest.

Its main content has been compiled basing on the fair use of snippets from original news stories (initially clustered by the Google News) by applying our multi-document summarization technology. The title has been excerpted from this article, and the top image was found here.

Oil Climbs to a Record on Shut UK Pipeline, Nigeria Strike

Give Us Your Feedback!

Web discoveries