|
 |
Apr-29-2008Oil Declines More Than $3 After BP Restarts North Sea Pipeline(topic overview)
CONTENTS:
- London Brent crude lifted to $116.79 per barrel, from $116.27, during late trading in Europe. (More...)
- 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. (More...)
- Workers returned to the Grangemouth oil refinery in central Scotland on Tuesday. (More...)
- The major indices are heading sideways, as neither buyers nor sellers are showing much conviction. (More...)
- Crude futures jump after a refinery strike disrupts supply to U.K., retail gas hits another record. (More...)
- The strike, combined with a one-week spree of militant attacks against four crude-oil pipelines operated by a Royal Dutch Shell Plc venture, has cut Nigerian oil output by about 50 percent, allowing Angola to overtake it as Africa's biggest oil producer. (More...)
- Prices are 73 percent higher than a year ago. (More...)
- Gasoline hit a record $3.603 a gallon Monday, up four-tenths of a cent from the previous day, according to motorist group AAA. Monday's record was the 14th-consecutive record high for motor oil, despite continued weak demand. (More...)
- 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. (More...)
- "About 1,100 workers at the Grangemouth have gone on strike,'' Pauline Doyle, a union spokeswoman, said by phone in an interview. (More...)
- Earlier Monday morning, crude reached an intra-day trading record of $119.93. (More...)
- 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. (More...)
- IMHO the human misery that flows from misunderstanding the oil business is second only perhaps to religion p.s. (More...)
- Continuing refinery problems -- including a brief fire at Marathon Oil Corp.' s Garyville, La., refinery on Thursday and reports of temporary shutdowns or delayed starts at other facilities -- is contributing to the supply concerns. (More...)
- The spike was widely attributed to rebel attacks on Shell's Nigerian oil facilities, which threaten to undermine global supplies. (More...)
- Refinery production at Grangemouth will resume on April 29 at 7 a.m. local time. (More...)
- The two-day stoppage began yesterday morning. (More...)
SOURCES
FIND OUT MORE ON THIS SUBJECT
London Brent crude lifted to $116.79 per barrel, from $116.27, during late 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. 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] April 27 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc shut 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. Workers at the Ineos Group Holdings Plc's Grangemouth plant started a two-day walk-out this morning in a dispute over pensions. That halted power and steam supplies to the Forties Pipeline System, forcing the total shutdown of the network, Richard Grant, a BP spokesman, said in a phone interview today. The pipeline closure may cost producers 50 million pounds ($99 million) a day as they shut the 50 North Sea fields that feed the pipeline, according to industry group Oil and Gas U.K. At the refinery itself, it will take Ineos three weeks to return the 200,000 barrel a day plant to full capacity, the company said, forcing the U.K. to import fuel from Europe.[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] Bloomberg reported yesterday that crude oil rose to a record $119.93 a barrel in New York on the shutdown of a North Sea pipeline and as strike and recent militant attacks which reduced output from Nigeria.[4] Crude oil rose to a record, trading near $120 a barrel in New York, after BP Plc shut a North Sea pipeline and gunmen attacked police guarding Nigeria's largest oil and gas terminal.[5]
June crude recently dropped $3.02 to $115.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil "prices are correcting from yesterday's record high of $120 per barrel as BP Plc prepares to restart its Forties pipeline after a two-day shutdown," said analysts at Action Economics.[6]
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.[7] 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.[8]
Crude oil for June delivery declined as much as $1.03, or 0.9 percent, to $117.72 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $117.88 at 9:41 a.m. London time.[9] Crude oil for June delivery climbed more than 1 dollar to a new high of 119.93 dollars a barrel in overnight electronic trading, surpassing the previous high of 119.90 dollars hit last week. It closed up 23 cents at 118.75 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.[10] Crude oil for June delivery rose 23 cents to settle at $118.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.[11] Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery rose 23 cents from Friday's close, to settle at $118.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange early Monday.[12]
Crude oil for June delivery dropped $3.45, or 2.9 percent, to $115.30 a barrel at 12:39 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the biggest one-day decline since March 31.[13]
The refinery shutdown forced BP to close the link, a network that carries 700,000 barrels a day of crude from as many as 70 North Sea Fields. The dollar was at $1.5574 per euro by 7:04 a.m. in New York, from $1.5657 yesterday, with futures contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade showing there's a 78 percent chance the Fed will trim its target for overnight lending between banks by a quarter point to 2 percent tomorrow.[14] NEW YORK, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Crude-oil futures closed slightly higher Monday after hitting a new record near 120 dollars a barrel as a weekend refinery strike closed a pipeline system that delivers a third of Britain's North Sea oil to its refineries.[10]
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.[15] 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. Apart from the problems at Grangemouth, 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.[16]
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.[17] Prices climbed again, skimming $120 once more. The given reason this time was problems at Exxon's Nigerian plant - along with the threatened strike at the UK's Grangemouth refinery, potentially affecting 70 North Sea drilling platforms. While events in Scotland, and the Niger Delta are unfortunate, they don't explain why the crude price is so high. These localised issues may have added a few dollars to oil in recent days, but for several years now, the fundamentals have been pushing fuel costs relentlessly up.[18] Workers at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland returned to work on Tuesday after a two-day strike which closed the plant and the 700,000 barrel per day (bpd) Forties North Sea oil pipeline, an official at the UNITE trade union said.[19] 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.[20]
A two-day strike at a refinery in Grangemouth, Scotland, that began today has forced energy giant BP to shut down the neighbouring Forties pipeline which supplies 40 per cent of Britain's oil and gas. It is the first time in more than 70 years that a strike has forced the closure of a British refinery.[21] 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.[22]
The walkout had forced the closure of the refinery's neighbouring Forties pipeline, which supplies 40 percent of Britain's oil and gas and is operated by British energy group BP. "Oil prices eased back in both London and New York as the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland resumed its operations and as the greenback continued to strengthen against the euro," said Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.[23]
BP Plc closed the Forties Pipeline System, carrying 40 per cent of the U.K.' s oil production, after a strike at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland cut power supplies.[4] LONDON (Thomson Financial) - BP Plc. is expecting the Forties oil pipeline, which was shut by a strike at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland, to be fully operational in the next few days, a BP spokesman said.[24]
The strike forced BP to close Kinneil and the Forties pipeline system (FPS), which carries alamost half of the UK's oil output of about 1.5 million barrel as day from North Sea to Scotland, on Sunday. About 70 oil and gas fields are connected to Forties and each field will restart when their operators are ready, she said, so the build up of oil flows will be gradual. "It will take several days to return the FPS to normal throughput levels," she said.[25] LONDON -(Dow Jones)- BP PLC (BP) expects to resume normal throughput at its 700,000 barrel-a-day Forties crude oil pipeline system in the North Sea within several days, the company said Tuesday. "It will take several days for the Forties Pipeline System to return to normal throughput," said BP spokeswoman Joanne McDonald. Offshore oil and gas fields connected to the system will be gradually brought back online, she added.[26] London's Brent crude lost 62 cents to $116.12. MarketWatch reports : BP Plc said Tuesday that it expects to resume normal throughput at its 700,000 barrel-a-day Forties crude oil pipeline system in the North Sea within several days.[27]
April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell more than $3 a barrel, the biggest decline in four weeks, after BP Plc restarted a North Sea oil pipeline and the dollar strengthened, reducing the appeal of commodities to investors.[13] April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell as BP Plc prepared to start the Forties North Sea pipeline after a two-day shutdown and as the U.S. dollar strengthened, limiting the appeal of commodities as an inflation hedge.[9]
The strike at the refinery led to the closure of the Forties Pipeline System, which brings oil from the North Sea to BP PLC's Kinneil plant.[28] EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Hundreds of workers at Scotland's only oil refinery on Sunday began a 48-hour strike that has forced BP PLC to shut a pipeline system that delivers almost a third of Britain's North Sea oil.[29] 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."[12]
Separately, a major North Sea oil pipeline that was forced to shut because of a strike at a refinery in Scotland isn't expected to be fully operational until the end of the week, further fueling uncertainty. Exxon said its Nigerian production was closed, and has declared force majeure, meaning it is unable to meet its contractual obligations for crude deliveries -- a sign of the acuteness of the Nigeria crisis.[11]
Oil prices hit a record peak close to $120 a barrel this morning as worker strikes in Nigeria and Britain shut down a big chunk of crude production, further tightening global supply.[30] An escalation in attacks by militants in the Niger Delta and a strike by Exxon Mobil Corp. workers are playing havoc with oil production in Nigeria at a time when worries about tightening global supply have sent the price of benchmark crude close to a record $120 a barrel.[11]
Crude oil price could hit $125 per barrel if the workers of Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc do not call off their strike, international experts have said.[4]
Militant attacks on oil infrastructure have also cut production of Nigeria's light, sweet crude, which is easily refined. After years of attacks, Nigeria's output is dropping and the country can produce only about 75 percent of its official capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day. "Nigeria's always a factor in oil prices, it's always had an ongoing issue with oil outages, but we're seeing a bit of an increased activity in militant attacks," Pervan said. "They'll keep a high floor on the price."[31] Demand is high for Nigeria's light, sweet crude, which is easily refined. After years of militant attacks, however, Nigeria's 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 Reserve's policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.[32]
London Brent crude settled up 40 cents to settle at $116.74. Crude prices have surged more than fivefold since 2002 and are up almost 25 percent since the start of the year as global supplies struggle to keep pace with rising demand in emerging economies, such as China. "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.[33]
Brent crude for June settlement fell as much as $2.33, or 2 percent, to $114.41 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at $114.74 at 1:48 p.m. London time. Ineos Group Holdings Plc resumed operations at its Grangemouth refinery complex after workers ended a two-day strike.[14] Brent crude oil futures rose to a record $117.56 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange on April 25 amid concern the strike will disrupt output.[2]
LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - Oil fell more than $2 a barrel on Tuesday, retreating further from a record high hit a day before, as the dollar firmed and a strike ended at Britain's Grangemouth refinery.[19] NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell on Tuesday as the dollar strengthened against the euro and a strike at Britain's Grangemouth refinery ended.[34] NEW YORK, April 28 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices held close to stable on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday, though a strike at a Scottish oil refinery kept the pressure on.[35]
"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.[36] Oil prices hit an all-time high near $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 UK.[20]
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.[37] OIL prices hovered near record highs today as a strike at a Scottish refinery slashed North Sea output and heightened global supply concerns, traders said.[21]
Oil prices have eased from record highs as Scottish refinery workers ended a two-day strike that had halted much of the North Sea's oil production.[16]
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.[36]
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.[36] "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.[22]
Although supply worries pushed oil prices close to a record of $120 per barrel on Monday, the real guide to crude for the rest of the week could be the United States Federal Reserve. The American central bank is due to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to decide its next move on monetary policy, which could have an impact on oil prices.[1] 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.[17] Opec president Chakib Khelil blamed the falling value of the U.S. dollar, which makes other assets, including oil, more attractive for foreign investors. His comments came as oil prices hit a fresh high, just below $120 a barrel.[15]
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.[8] The possibility that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, which could stabilise the dollar, would also be good for oil prices as oil is traded in dollars, our correspondent adds.[20]
However Al Jazeera's John Terrett in New York says that several factors in the U.S. may combine to drive down the oil price - including the possibility of a recession which may slow demand as people cut back on transport costs.[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.[12]
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil hit a fresh peak near $120 a barrel on Monday as supply outages in Nigeria and Britain shut down nearly 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of output in the Atlantic Basin.[33] After touching a record high of $119.90, crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange retreated to $118.90 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 June delivery, slid 90 cents to 117.83 dollars per barrel, after a record high 119.93 dollars on Monday.[23] 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.[36]
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.[37]
Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell 79 cents Tuesday from the day before to $117.96 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.[28] 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.[38] Light, sweet crude for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.89 to $116.86 a barrel in electronic trading by the afternoon in Europe.[31] On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:52 a.m. EDT (1452 GMT), June crude CLM8 was down $1.98 or 1.67 percent at $116.77 a barrel, trading from $115.80 to $118.84.[34] Crude fell 79 cents to $117.96 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.[39]
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. [17] In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures settled 2.44 cents higher at $1.9135 a gallon, while natural gas prices rose 32.3 cents to settle at $7.831 per 1,000 cubic feet. Associated Press Writers George Jahn in Vienna, Austria, and Gillian Wong in Singapore contributed to this report. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.[40]
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] Oil companies are profiting at a time when motoring and consumer organisations are complaining about the price of petrol, which has hit 5 ($12.65) a gallon. BP and Shell will this week report record profits for the first quarter thanks to an oil price that has stood at an average of US$110 a barrel since the start of the year.[41] BP and Shell will together make record profits of more than US$68 billion ($86.77 billion) this year if the oil price stays at current levels, say City of London forecasters.[41]
Richard Griffiths, of broker Evolution Securities, says BP can expect to see extra operating profit of US$400 million for every one-dollar rise in the price of crude. If the futures market is correct and the oil price remains high, he says a "back-of-the-envelope calculation" will see BP record an annual after-tax profit of US$32 billion, while Shell would notch up US$36 billion.[41]
Workers returned to the Grangemouth oil refinery in central Scotland on Tuesday. Power and steam were restored to the Forties Pipeline, but BP spokesman Richard Grant said it would take several days to safely get it back up to its capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude a day. [31] BP PLC on Sunday shut down the Forties Pipeline System that carries more than 700,000 barrels of oil a day to Britain because of a 48-hour walkout by employees at a refinery in central Scotland.[10] UNITE, Britain's largest union, said further industrial action remains possible unless refinery owner Ineos backs down in a dispute over pensions. Power and steam were restored to the Forties Pipeline, but BP spokesman Richard Grant said it would take several days to safely get it back up to its capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude a day. Management at the Grangemouth Refinery said it would take two to three weeks to bring the plant up to its full capacity of processing 210,000 barrels of crude per day.[28] The Forties pipeline, which depends on the Grangemouth refinery for power, brings more than 700,000 barrels of crude oil ashore daily and supplies Britain and international markets.[21] 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.[37]
A two-day strike at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland forced the closure of a major pipeline that transports 700,000 barrels a day of North Sea crude -- just under half the U.K.' s total production.[11] Brent crude soared to US$116 a barrel on Friday as BP shut down a key North Sea pipeline ahead of industrial action and a strike at Exxon in Nigeria disrupted production.[41] 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.[20]
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.[15] 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.[29]
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.[7] 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.[42]
The strike at the Grangemouth refinery cut one-third of Britain's North Sea oil flow.[35] EDINBURGH, Scotland - Workers returned to the Grangemouth oil refinery in central Scotland on Tuesday after a 48-hour strike that forced the closure of a major North Sea pipeline system.[28] BP shut down a key North Sea pipeline at the weekend after 1,200 workers walked out of the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland in a two-day strike over pensions.[16] BP was forced to shut down the pipeline system overnight Saturday due to a two-day strike by workers at Ineos PLC's Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland, which ended earlier Tuesday.[26]
Industrial action at the Grangemouth refinery, west of Edinburgh, has forced British energy giant BP to shut down the neighbouring Forties pipeline which supplies 40% 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.[30] 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.[38]
The Grangemouth refinery reopened from a two-day strike that had shut down a pipeline that carries about half of Britain's crude supply.[43]
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.[42]
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Oil prices plunged as workers at Scotland's biggest refinery returned to work on Tuesday after a recent strike, while expectations for the dollar to strengthen dampened sentiment for commodities across the board.[44] LONDON (AFP) — Oil prices pulled back Tuesday from recent highs close to 120 dollars as British refinery workers returned to work after a two-day strike that hit fuel supplies, analysts said.[23]
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.[22]
Oil prices fell today amid expectations that a supply disruption in Britain would soon be resolved and as the U.S. dollar strengthened against the euro.[39] "The U.S. dollar is firming again, today, undercutting one of the financial supports for the oil price, although again not necessarily committing to a reversal of the larger trend," Timothy Evans, analyst at Citi Futures Perspective, wrote in a research note.[34]
Crude-oil futures fell sharply Tuesday, as strength in the U.S. dollar and news that BP's Forties pipeline will restart operation within days pressured energy prices.[6]
"If we start to see a bottoming out in the U.S. dollar and we could see that hedge against the falling dollar dissipate and people taking profits,'' said Mark Pervan, a senior commodity strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Melbourne in an interview with Bloomberg Television. A senior oil workers union in Nigeria, Africa's largest producer, continued its strike against a unit of Exxon Mobil Corp. for a sixth day, halting 860,000 barrels a day.[14] A weak U.S. dollar has also attracted investors into commodities markets, analysts have said. Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research ) said on Monday it has had to shut nearly all of its Nigerian oil production, totalling around 770,000 barrels per day, due to a strike.[33]
Militants have kidnapped oil workers and attacked infrastructure, while the Nigerian government has fueled instability by saying it wants to renegotiate contracts with oil firms. Shell took a $716 million write-down related to its Nigerian operations last year, blaming unrest and the Nigerian government's failure to pay its share of funding for oil joint ventures. In a statement Monday, MEND said its attack on a pipeline last Thursday had forced Shell to cut production by 350,000 barrels a day.[11] The contract rose to a record $119.93 a barrel yesterday after the Forties pipeline closed and as Exxon Mobil Corp. workers stayed off the job in Nigeria, where production has dropped 50 percent since April 25.[45]
Resumption of talks between Nigerian unions and Exxon Mobil to end a six-day strike that has shut in much of the U.S. oil major's Nigerian output also helped oil's retreat from Monday's record high of $119.93 a barrel.[19] The strike had helped push the price of U.S. sweet light crude to a peak of $119.93 a barrel, a gain of more than 80% over the past 12 months.[16]
U.S. light crude for June delivery CLc1 fell $2.20 to $116.55 a barrel by 1511 GMT. London Brent crude LCOc1 was down $2.34 at $114.40. "The dollar has got stronger and that has been offsetting the impact of these outages," noted Mike Wittner, head of oil market research at SG. The dollar firmed against the euro and the yen on Tuesday amid growing speculation the U.S. rate-cutting cycle may be near its end.[19] OPEC President Chakib Khelil blamed the fall in the U.S. 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 told the Algerian newspaper El Moudhajid.[5] "Further softening in policy is likely to be supportive of crude prices given the impact on the U.S. dollar." Over the past two weeks, crude prices have smashed through a series of record highs, sparking widespread international concern among consumer nations but oil cartel OPEC has refused to raise its output.[23] Why is the USA exasperating the price of crude, by continuing to add stocks of crude to its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) using taxpayers dollars at U$120.00 a barrel? If the U.S. government only stopped purchasing crude, a powerful signal would be sent to the market. It is about time governments held O.P.E.C to account,Peak oil at this time is a myth. It's all far to driven by money to stop. GM had a brilliant electric car in the 80's that got recalled due to safety fears, we can engineer any safety fear out now.[17]
What we should do however is de-link the oil price from the gas price. As global oil use balloons from 84m barrels daily now, to 125m by 2030, prices will surely crank up The U.S. has peaked and is now producing half of its 1970's maximum. The North Sea is producing less than 2/3 of its 1999 peak.[18] Whoever says oil will drop by $40 per barrel must first bank on worldwide recession -- not just in the U.S. And as long as China and India subsidize fuel prices, I don't see a downturn in the short term. What's even worse, they'll probably still grow their economies selling goods to the Middle East -- which is bound to grow with oil prices this high.[18] NEW YORK-- Oil prices pushed above $66 a barrel Friday after Saudi Arabia announced the arrests of 172 Islamic militants, some of whom planned to attack oil fields.[40] My view, however frightening, is that oil prices will now average more than $100 a barrel for many years to come.[18] 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.[17] Russia has recently announced that it is probably now producing the peak it will ever produce and there is strong evidence that the huge Ghwar field in Saudi Arabia, discovered in 1948, may well be in decline despite huge investment by the country sinking new wells in the field to maintain production. If this is the case, and we will probably only know for certain in a few years, then we are in a far more serious situation than the article implies and oil prices are set to rise to stifle demandto what level no one knows, but it would almost certainly lead to huge environmental and social devastation as biofuels and other liquid fuel sources are exploited profitably to fill the gap. It has taken 35 years or so for immigration to be discussed by politicians in the UK; it will take 35 years before global population is similarly addressed. Unfortunately, the West has found the state of Japan's economy to be somewhat amusing over the last 15 years or so as its demographic profile impedes recovery from a burst property bubble.[18]
Gloomy economic news in the U.S. and forecast that U.S. crude inventories have gained for a second week also weighed on Tuesday's oil prices.[6] Oil price??? If the U.S. government upped the tax on fuels a buck a gallon, the crude oil price would surely decrease.[18]
Oil prices eased as a strike that caused the closure of BP Plc's 700,000 barrel-a-day Forties Pipeline System will end today.[45] LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - The UK's Forties oil pipeline is to reopen on Tuesday after BP's Kinneil oil processing plant was restarted after a strike at a refinery in Scotland ended, a spokeswoman for operator BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research ) said.[25] The pipeline was closed down on Saturday due to a two-day strike by workers at Ineos PLC's Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland.[27] Oil slipped after reaching a record near $120 yesterday on profit taking and as the Grangemouth refinery strike ended in Scotland.[43] Oil and gas prices have been driven higher by a two-day strike at Scotland's Grangemouth refinery.[41]
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.[29]
Prices were lifted by a strike at a UK refinery that disrupted North Sea production, and supply problems in Nigeria due to pipeline attacks.[15] 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.[5] 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. 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.[45]
The BP-run pipeline from the Forties oil fields in the North Sea relies on steam and electricity from the Ineos refinery at Grangemouth.[15] Operations at Forties, which transports over 700,000 barrels of North Sea oil to Britain, should 'gradually ramp up over the next few days,' the spokesman told Thomson Financial News.[24] Shutting the Forties link forced 70 North Sea fields to halt production of oil and gas.[13]
BG has a 22 percent stake in the Buzzard field which started to produce in January last year. Its production stood at about 220,000 barrel of oil equivalent a day in February this year, according to BG. "It's unbelievable that the strike action has been allowed to spill over to affect production in the first place,'' Sally Fraser, a London-based spokeswoman for Oil & Gas U.K., said today by phone. "The government really needs to convince both sides to provide the essential utilities to allow production to start as soon as possible.''[2] Demand is high for Nigeria's light, sweet crude, which is easily refined. After years of attacks, Nigeria's output is dropping and the country can produce only about 75 per cent of its official production capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day.[20] 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.[46]
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] Investors are still fretting over production losses in Nigeria, however, Africa's biggest crude supplier, after a spate of militant attacks on oil installations in the country and a strike at ExxonMobil (nyse: XOM - news - people )'s affiliate there.[44] Militant attacks on oil infrastructure have also cut production of Nigeria's light, sweet crude, which is easily refined.[10] In Nigeria, workers at an Exxon Mobil Corp. joint venture cut production by an unspecified amount to demand more pay. The company notified clients it may not be able to meet its contractual obligations to supply oil, but said some production was not affected.[31] "There won't be a major retracement in the near term because of supply disruptions, specifically in Nigeria.'' A senior Nigerian oil workers' union continued its strike against a unit of Exxon Mobil Corp. for a sixth day, halting 860,000 barrels a day.[13]
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.[42] The Forties pipeline, halted by the strike, was to resume moving oil on Tuesday, pipeline operator BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research ) said.[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.[46] 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.[29]
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.[17]
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.[7]
"If the Nigerian strike isn't settled, we could easily see oil rise to $125 by the end of the week." At a meeting convened by NNPC acting GMD yesterday, he was said to have told the workers that the industrial action was not in the interest of the nation and asked them to resolve the issues through dialogue.[4]
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.[8] 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.[8] The Exxon 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. "When you've got a market that's very sensitive to supply shocks, this is what's holding prices up,'' said ANZ's Pervan.[45]
"The supply losses from the Forties pipeline and Nigeria are fairly substantial and are likely to have large physical consequences, which could push crude prices above the psychological $US120 mark," said Sucden analyst Nimit Khamar.[21]
Nymex crude futures the previous day rose to a record $119.93 a barrel as labor actions in Nigeria and Scotland threatened crude supplies.[31] Crude had hit record levels yesterday as labor actions in Nigeria and Scotland threatened supplies and prompted the shutdown of a pipeline that normally carries 700,000 barrels per day to the United Kingdom.[39]
The major indices are heading sideways, as neither buyers nor sellers are showing much conviction. Telecom (+0.8%) is leading the way, and has now rebounded an impressive 13% from its 52-week low. Telecom is still the worst performing sector this year, with a 12% decline. Crude oil has extended its losses, and is now down 3.0% to $115.18 per barrel. [47] 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.[20] On the Exchange Monday, crude prices fell 8 cents to $118.83 per barrel.[35]
Opec, the oil producing cartel, has warned that the price of crude could keep rising to reach $200 a barrel.[15] 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.[17]
Liam Oil use at 125 million barrels a day by 2030. Where do you think they're going to magic the extra 40 million barrels a day from? If oil was to stay as cheap as $100 a barrel for years that would be good news.[18] Thank goodness! Finally some wisdom in the MSM. One point -- oil production will NEVER reach 125 million barrels per day.[18] Niger Delta rebels, meanwhile, have said an April 24 pipeline attack had shut down a further 350,000 barrels per day of production by Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research ).[33] If true, that would mean that roughly 1.8 million barrels a day was shut in -- nearly three-quarters of the country's production capacity. Shell already had been forced to shut in 169,000 barrels a day of production after another attack earlier this month.[11]
What it shows is that the world oil production seems unable to increase beyond 85m barrels a day, while consumption just keeps increasing.[17]
How can oil use grow to 125m barrels a day if most of the big oil fields have peaked? The real issue is what will happen to the price of oil when supply doesn't match demand.[18] Demand has grown for years though. What is woefully missing form this piece is an explanation of why supply will not expand as it has in the past? Especially now that prices are easily three times the cost of a marginal barrel. Well, finnily enough today Irwin Steltzer in the Times will fill in the gaps in a refreshingly lucid article on oil, a subject that seems to addle brains like no other! Basically the world has lots of oil, its a geological fact.[18]
With equity markets in turmoil, the investments currently benefiting from dollar desertion are commodities like crude oil. "That has actually been the case over several months--the Fed seems to have a disproportionate impact on the oil price," said Simon Wardell, analyst with Global Insight, "with the impact of the dollar and the outlook for it." He acknowledged that supply worries were mainly behind Monday's early jump in oil prices.[1] The real reason for the high crude oil prices may well be that we have now reached or are near to the long predicted peak in crude oil supply of 80-85m bpd. The reason OPEC members do not produce more is perhaps because they can't rather than because they think it inappropriate.[18]
"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.[38]
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.[17] High oil prices is driving growth a 5% a year, which in turn is increasing oil consumption by a similar amount. WRT unconventional oil, its not the size of the tank its the size of the tap. Oil sands require large volumes of natural gas and water to produce oil, and these normally have a better use for crazy things like growing food and heating houses. By 2030 net oil exports could be down to a fraction of what they are today.[18] Necessity is the mother of invention and high oil prices will give things a kick start in economies that want to be considered as advanced in 25 years time.[17]
A rebound in the value of the U.S. dollar also helped keep oil prices in check.[16] "We've 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. "That's what's driving oil to a new record even though the U.S. dollar actually strengthened a bit."[32] U.S. crude oil futures rose sharply Friday, lifted by supply disruptions in Nigeria and Britain and news that a ship hired by the U.S. military fired warning shots at approaching boats in the Persian Gulf.[10] "Concerns about U.S. gasoline supply are underpinning the crude oil futures market," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "It seems U.S. refineries have had a lot of bad luck recently.[40]
"We have got a confluence of a number of events that have really disrupted crude oil supply and that's what's driving oil to a new record," said Victor Shum, from energy consultants Purvin and Gertz.[15]
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.[32] A stronger U.S. currency tends to discourage demand for dollar-priced crude which becomes more expensive for foreign buyers. Kryuchenkov added in relation to the strike: "It will take some time before BP restores its Forties crude supply to full capacity and for the refinery to become 100 percent operational."[23] BP is waiting for the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland, closed by a strike, to resume power and steam supplies and aims to start the pipeline later today, spokeswoman Joanne McDonald said. The U.S. currency headed for its first monthly advance versus the yen and euro since December as traders increased bets the Fed will stop reducing borrowing costs after tomorrow.[9] The pipeline closed April 27 during a two-day strike at the Grangemouth refinery, which supplies the network with power.[13]
The refinery powers the onshore processing plant for North Sea crude coming through the network, and once the strike is over later on Tuesday, the pipeline system should resume operation within a few days.[44] Strikes that cut crude supplies from the North Sea and Nigeria supported prices Monday.[10] 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.[42]
According to reports, BP's pipeline in the North Sea is back in operation following a two-day worker strike.[47]
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.[46] 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.[36]
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.[37] In London, Brent North Sea crude for June rose 40 cents to settle at $US116.74, after striking an all-time high of $US117.56 on Saturday.[21]
Brent crude for June settlement was at $116.48 a barrel, down 26 cents, on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange at 11:40 a.m. Singapore time.[45] Brent crude for June settlement rose as much as $1.16, or 1 percent, to $117.50 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange and was trading at $117.35 a barrel at 9:36 am in London. It reached a record $117.56 on Friday.[5]
In London, June Brent crude LCOM8 was down $1.87 or 1.6 percent at $114.87 a barrel, trading from $113.87 to $116.74. The Fed will begin its two-day meeting later on Tuesday.[34]
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.[32] U.S. sweet, light crude fell 50 cents to $118.25, while London's Brent crude lost 62 cents to $116.12.[16]
U.S. crude settled up 23 cents at $118.75 a barrel after earlier hitting a record of $119.93.[33] Some traders are predicting that, barring a significant shift in global supply or demand, U.S. benchmark crude could exceed $150 a barrel by the end of the year.[11] China's crude demand is expanding at 11 per cent a year - the country will soon replace the U.S. as the world's biggest oil importer.[18] Think of the impact of that on global oil demand - seeing as around 70 per cent of current crude output is used to fuel cars. At times like this, it's fashionable to say oil "no longer matters" - because the Western economies now rely on services.[18]
The only solution is to find a substitute for oil. Dirk, not less is needed, but less is made available. a refinery that cannot produce products (diesel/gasoline/jet etc) will create an add. shortfall of products in demand. hence product prices rise, and with them the underlying value, which is the crude price.[17] We need a massive nuclear energy program urgently and go all electric. Gas prices will follow oil and we will be held to ransome by those greed driven despots around the globe. How I long for the day when we can tell 'em to stick their oil where the sun don't shine. Dirk Bosmans, Kruibeke, Belgium Its because the same amount of oil or petrol is being used wether the Grangemouth site is working or not, therefore the products have to be inported from else were increasing demand on other facilities.[17] The oil producing nations have learned an interesting lesson. Formerly, they either felt that high oil prices would lead to an oil-price induced recession or a switch to alternatives which would harm their own interests. Now they know otherwise, the gloves are off, and we are seeing the endgame as the world's wealth flows to those countries with their hands on the oil and gas taps. However, there is also a lesson that the energy consuming nations should learn.[18] Though the central bank cuts interest rates to boost the economy, rate cuts are also inflationary, weakening the dollar and sending oil prices higher.[12] 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.[12]
Oil prices also retreated from Monday's record as the dollar strengthened against the euro.[31] I accept the recent fuel cost surge is partly explained by the weakening dollar - which translates into a higher dollar-denominated oil price.[18] "The dollar will get a short-term bullish boost from the Fed and that's going to cause the oil price to come down.''[45]
Liam, While your conclusions are ultimately correct $200 dollar oil seems much more likley than any long term drop in price - you are incorrect to characterise the problem being mainly the result of China and India rather than the lack of intelligent energy use in the West.[18] 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.[32] Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe's biggest oil producer, said profit rose 25 percent to $9.08 billion. Futures contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade show an 82 percent chance the Fed will trim its target for overnight lending between banks by 0.25 percentage point to 2 percent tomorrow.[13] The contract touched an intraday record of $117.56 on April 25. Futures contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade show there's a 78 percent chance the Fed will trim its target for overnight lending between banks by a quarter point to 2 percent tomorrow.[45]
Crude futures jump after a refinery strike disrupts supply to U.K., retail gas hits another record. [12] New York crude had touched the new record high on Monday as market sentiment was driven by fresh violence and a separate strike in Nigeria, which is Africa's largest producer of crude.[23]
The strike, combined with a one-week spree of militant attacks against four crude-oil pipelines operated by a Royal Dutch Shell Plc venture, has cut Nigerian oil output by about 50 percent, allowing Angola to overtake it as Africa's biggest oil producer. [13] Three rebel attacks have assailed Shell's pipelines in the West African country during the past 10 days. Though Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer and No. 11 in the world, its prospects have been harmed by clashes between government forces and rebels of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.[11] 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]
Oil at $120 per barrel makes other sources of marginal energy that much more attractive.[18] Andy T Imagine that oil is $80 per barrel and the gov adds $20 in tax meaning it costs $100 per barrel.[17]
What is all-important is the quality of life we will bequeath to our descendants and that depends on our curbing, then ultimately reducing, world population. We can figure out how to do this voluntarily and humanely or we can do nothing and wait for it to happen involuntarily in very, very inhumanely. The Saudis could readily increase production if they wanted to, but why on earth should they want to lower the market price when they are getting $120 per barrel at the moment? For the UK government there really is a problem. Brown cannot feasibly cut petrol duty, yet he still wants the BoE to carry on cutting the base rate in the face of real inflation running over 10% higher than the official CPI figure.[18] 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.[20] Oil traders and analysts point to Nigeria and continued skittishness over the U.S. dollar to buttress the argument that the market is predominantly bullish and that prices could keep rising.[11] "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]
"If that's 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. It also makes commodities less expensive for buyers operating in other currencies.[32] Opec's president, Chakib Khelil blamed the falling value of the U.S. dollar, which makes other assets, including oil, more attractive for foreign investors.[16]
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.[15]
If it has been depleted, used up, and takes a few hundred million years to form itself in a few places on earth, small quantities may still be found for a price until the end of time, but the oil civilisation is coming to an end. That it is that! Inflation or deflation has nothing to do with it. Nor the fall in the dollar.[18] 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.[17]
Prices are 73 percent higher than a year ago. Prices closed above the Bloomberg Trender support line yesterday, as they have since April 7, indicating crude oil will probably extend gains. [13] 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] As much as 3 billion cubic feet a day (85 million cubic meters) of natural gas production may be affected, BP's Grant said yesterday. That's equivalent to 30 percent of the U.K.' s gas demand at this time of year, he said.[2]
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.[2] The Forties Pipeline System was shut down by BP (nyse: BP - news - people ) PLC because of a 48-hour walkout by employees at a refinery in central Scotland.[44] "The dollar's strength and news that the Forties pipeline will be up and running in a couple days are moving us lower,'' said Gene McGillian, an analyst at TFS Energy LLC in Stamford, Connecticut.[13] "The reopening of the Forties Pipeline is taking fear out of the market,'' said Rick Mueller, director of oil practice at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts.[13] Providing a third of UK oil output, the closure of the Forties pipeline has raised fears about supply shortages.[15] About one fifth of Britain's gas supply comes from fields that need Forties to be flowing oil to produce gas, which is sent down other pipelines to Britain's gas network and on into homes and power stations.[25]
Gasoline hit a record $3.603 a gallon Monday, up four-tenths of a cent from the previous day, according to motorist group AAA. Monday's record was the 14th-consecutive record high for motor oil, despite continued weak demand. [12] 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.[17] "If that actually develops with diplomacy and so on, there's about $4 to $6 of geopolitical premium built into (the price of)crude oil right now," Cordier said.[40]
Surely the answer to the boom in crude oil prices is really a rather simple one.[18] Oil prices fell Tuesday amid expectations that the supply disruption would soon be resolved.[28] "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.[37]
Remember that consumers in China and India can not afford high oil prices either. Oil prices are being artificially kept low in these countries. That is something their governments will not afford for long and then demand will tumble. Is affordability not an issue and the people of the world running on credit? I am not at all sure commodities are a safe haven maybe short term.The housing market is a fine example demand is there but credit is running low.For investors I think the most important factor often overlooked is the financial condition of Mr average who is being fleeced by those who have advantage to the ultimate detriment of all.The figure that supports the whole is seriosly undermined my money is on an unprecedented correction and the fall of Babylon.[18] Investors' fears will lessen once the credit crunch has eased. While such developments would lower medium-term oil prices, they are utterly dwarfed by the irreversible reality that the world population is growing like Topsy and - even more importantly - when poor people get rich they each use an awful lot more oil.[18]
Oil prices in the SHORT and INTERMEDIATE term have gotten ahead of themselves. The time frames have confused this author.[18] "So world oil prices have gone up and we're going to see local oil prices and petrol prices going up."[36]
I 'refuse' to understand how shutting down a refinery, which means refining less crude oil, can raise the price of that same crude oil.[17] In the week to April 25, U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.1 million barrels, analysts polled by Thomson Financial News estimated, while refinery runs -- the capacity at which U.S. refineries are operating -- increased by 0.1 percentage point from last week's high of 85.6 percent.[44] An Energy Department report tomorrow will probably show that U.S. crude-oil supplies advanced 950,000 barrels in the week ended April 25 from 316.1 million barrels, according to the median of responses from 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.[13] Prices rallied Wednesday after an Energy Department report showed a large, unexpected drop in U.S. gasoline stockpiles of 2.8 million barrels last week -- when analysts had expected a gain of 200,000 barrels.[40]
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. [21] 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.[42] The U.K. pipeline that normally carries 700,000 barrels of crude a day to Britain is likely to be back in operation soon.[44]
The North Sea interruption has cut another 700,000 barrels a day from the market.[11] BG Group Plc spokeswoman Jo Tethi said production at several North Sea fields was stopped by the shut down of the pipeline.[2] "The Forties pipeline shutdown in the North Sea is fully priced in and the market may be taking some mild profits on the basis that we'll see a return. in the near term," said Mark Pervan at the ANZ Bank.[16]
London's Brent North Sea crude for June sank one dollar to 115.74 dollars on Tuesday.[23] The refinery powers the onshore processing plant for North Sea crude coming through the network.[31]
"About 1,100 workers at the Grangemouth have gone on strike,'' Pauline Doyle, a union spokeswoman, said by phone in an interview. The shutdown of the refinery has been completed and a few hundred workers remain at the plant for safety reasons, she said. The impact of the strike, may be felt for "weeks,'' she added. Grangemouth supplies about 95 percent of the fuel used in Scotland's central belt, including its capital, Edinburgh, and biggest city, Glasgow. [2] Workers and management at Britain's Grangemouth refinery were to hold talks after a two-day strike.[34]
Workers at the Ineos-owned Grangemouth refinery returned to work early Tuesday after a two day-strike over pensions, and quickly resumed supplies of power and steam needed to run the nearby Kinneil crude facility.[25] Workers walked out of the Grangemouth refinery in a dispute with refinery owner Ineos over plans to close a pension plan to new employees.[32]
Workers returned to the oil refinery on Tuesday and talks are expected to take place between staff and management.[16]
From here you can use the Social Web links to save Oil jumps on refinery strike to a social bookmarking site.[21] "We have the refinery strike in Scotland and the market is more nervous now that attacks will continue in Nigeria.''[3] "The market's taking a breather with the pause in strike action in Scotland, and in the absence of fresh violence in Nigeria,'' said Christopher Bellew, a senior broker at Bache Commodities Ltd. in London.[14]
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.[48] Analysts said the cuts in output from the U.K. and Nigeria are particularly important because there is high demand now for the lighter, more easily refined oil the two regions produce.[11] Violence by militants in the Niger River Delta has cut Nigeria's oil output since the start of 2006.[13]
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.[12] If, as expected, the Fed lowers a key interest rate by another quarter percentage point and signals that it will temporarily hold off on any future rate cuts, the dollar could strengthen, and oil might fall.[10] Last week's oil-spike coincided with the European single currency crossing $1.60 for the first time. With the U.S. Federal Reserve likely to cut interest rates further (perhaps this week) and the European Central Bank on hold, the dollar could weaken even more, with the euro reaching $1.70.[18] The U.S. Federal Reserve may halt further interest rate cuts after an expected 25 basis point reduction tomorrow. That may support the dollar, reducing the appeal of commodities as a hedge against inflation. "Really only one show in town this week and that's the Fed and the dollar,'' said Rowan Menzies, head of research at Commodity Warrants Australia Ltd. in Sydney.[45]
Markets are trading cautiously, meanwhile, ahead of Wednesday's U.S. rate decision, expected to reveal a funds rate cut by a 25 basis points to 2.0 percent, which would typically weaken the dollar and boost commodities.[44] The report also said U.S. refinery use declined 2.6 percentage points to 87.8 percent of capacity. "Refinery capacity this last week was very disappointing," said James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading Group in Tampa, Fla. "The gasoline inventory's very scary."[40]
Earlier Monday morning, crude reached an intra-day trading record of $119.93. [12] U.S. light crude hit a high of $119.93 a barrel before edging down to finish at $118.79.[15] Opec, warned that the price of crude could keep rising to reach $200 a barrel.[16] In London, Brent crude ended at $116.74 a barrel after earlier rising to a peak of $117.51 a barrel on Monday.[15] Meanwhile London Brent crude for June delivery fell 92 cents to $115.82.[43]
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. [8] Earlier the contract jumped to a record intraday high of $US119.93, marking a gain of more than 80 per cent from a year ago.[21] We should be deeply concerned that the latest index tracked by the Bank of England suggests the public expects the Consumer Price Index to soar to 3.8 per cent over the next year - way, way beyond the 2 per cent target. Yet still, City economists keep screaming for more rate cuts - with much of the media parroting their cause.[18] "Crude is about to drop by 40 bucks and share prices will rally 20 per cent".[18] "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.[8]
A walkout by Mobil workers entered a fifth day in Nigeria, where production has dropped 50 per cent since April 25, Bloomberg reported.[4] A walk-out by Exxon Mobil Corp. workers entered a fifth day in Nigeria, where production has dropped 50 percent since April 25.[3]
In Nigeria, workers at an ExxonMobil Corp. joint venture cut production by an unspecified amount to demand more pay.[10]
I have worked in the oil industry for over 20 years and it is extremely unlikley that the reservoirs can produce the 125m b/day needed so we have to move to cut consumption now while we can just about supply the demand.[18]
Lets get something back from our foreign investment. President Chavez of Venezuela predicted last year or so that the barrel of oil will hit $200.00 and people laughed at him as his usual crazy on.[17] Bilderberg already planned for Oil to hit $200 a barrel by the end of 2008.[17]
As global oil use balloons from 84m barrels daily now, to 125m by 2030, prices will surely crank up.[18] As prices have risen, it was assumed that when the U.S. stalled, global oil demand would abate, so bringing prices down.[18] A tax on fossil-carbon would be easy to implement and would claw back a lot of the petro-revenues. It would also enable fossil-carbon consumers to make rational choices about alternatives; since a 100% tax (for example) on oil, gas and coal would start to make these alternatives competitive. Current incentives such as road fuel duties and congestion charges are highly irrational whilst aviation fuel and heating oil remain completely untaxed. This form of tax should be acceptable to free marketeers as it prices the future cost of global warming.[18] Well, what's really funny is that there really isn't an oil shortage and Hubbert's Peak is simply a myth. Because the powers that be want to limit us "useless eaters" these man-made crises come at an unprecedented pace to keep us "sheople" scared and divided. The first oil "shortage" happened in the mid 70's, we've had 30 years to find an alternative!!! I've seen these same folks who whine about the cost of fuel purchase bottled water at the price over 5 dollars a gallon.Go figure?? We deserve whats comming.[17] Clearly the oil crunch is coming fast. Geoplolitical scientists who have a reoputation for being on the nail have postulated a price at the pump of '2.00 a litre by this time next year. If in doubt about this figure consider the fact that the price is already heading to '1.50 a litre at the pumps so '2.00 is not a only a crazy possibilty but now a probabilty.[18]
There is LOTS more, under the arctic, under salt formations (Brazil third largest oil field ever just found perhaps) and in unconventional reserves. Only problem is that the sovereign owners of about 80% of these plentiful reserves have, by and large, decided to persue populist resource nationalism and/or cronyism resulting in production stagnation and more often collapse while prices rocket resulting in the world being unable to produce anything near its potential oil output.[18] Oil production has been static since 2005 despite rising prices which have in the past led to increased production (cheating on quotas etc.).[18]
If you look at the production figures, we have been essentially flat on total liquids since 2005, and we are flat or falling slightly on crude + condensate (what many economists call 'real oil').[18] In Nigeria, political upheaval continues to hamper the country's oil production.[12] 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.[21] 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, which is taking action against Exxon.[45]
Olusola George-Olumoroti, chairman of the branch of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, or Pengassan, said the union will meet today with Exxon, government officials and the head of the state-owned oil company.[13]
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.[7]
"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.[32] 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.[46] "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.[8]
BP (nyse: BP - news - people )'s share in the Forties' output is only about 12 percent, or around 84,000 barrels a day, said the spokesman.[24] BP PLC, which owns and operates the Forties pipeline, said getting it running after the weekend disruption will take as long as four days.[11] Supplies of power and steam to the Kinneil processing plant were restored, allowing BP Plc's Forties Pipeline System to restart, spokeswoman Joanne McDonald said. The U.S. currency headed for its first monthly advance versus the yen and euro since December as traders increased bets the Federal Reserve will stop reducing borrowing costs.[14]
BP's Kinneil oil-processing plant, which handles Forties crude oil before it is exported, is restarting after the outage.[26] The Kinneil plant processes Forties crude oil before it can be exported by tanker.[38]
"The loss of crude oil from Scotland is quite material in the context of the oil market."[36] Conventional oil is going to peak to and nothing can replace it no matter how many heavy oil ports we create or converting coal to oil. China and India will be energy poor for their size of population relative to the amount of crude oil left makes it impossible for them to grow their economies much more. Anyone who disagrees with this needs to read "Hubberts Peak, the impending oil shortage" ISBN-13;978-0-691-11625-9. Anyone who disagrees with this needs to read "Hubberts Peak, the impending oil shortage" ISBN-13;978-0-691-11625-9.[18] Figures from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday had also shown a sharp downward revision in U.S. petroleum demand for the month of February, bolstering fears of demand destruction under way in the world's top oil consumer.[19] The growth of India's oil demand isn't far behind. These two nations account for a third of humanity. As their breakneck development continues, the energy needs of their factories and construction firms - along with those in Brazil, Mexico and other populous emerging markets - can only escalate. Specifically, as these countries get richer, and their citizens can afford more, the number of cars in the world, now around 625m, is set to double in less than 20 years.[18]
In January last year, oil was down at $55 - less than half the current cost.[18] BP, Europe's second-biggest oil company, posted a 63 percent jump in first-quarter net income to $7.62 billion.[13] Oil has risen 43 percent and the dollar has dropped 12 percent against the euro since the Federal Reserve began lowering interest rates on Sept. 18.[13] The shutdown comes amid supply outages in Nigeria that have helped to support oil against a strengthening dollar.[20] Prices were boosted by the weaker U.S. dollar, supply worries and the OPEC cartel's reluctance to increase output, dealers said.[36] "WTI needs to break $120 a barrel to maintain momentum but the resistance has been strong," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland. Other supply concerns continue to support prices.[31] The contract closed $2.46 higher at $118.52 a barrel on Friday at the New York Mercantile Exchange.[46] COPPER: Prices on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose, but gains were subdued as traders await a decision on interest rates from the Federal Reserve.[11]
By afternoon in Europe, the euro stood at $1.5561, down from the $1.5645 that it purchased late Monday in New York.[31]
Gas prices at many Louisville stations jumped this morning to around $3.76 a gallon for regular unleaded, reaching a new high.[39] Natural gas prices fell 0.12 cents to $11.16 per million British thermal units.[35] Natural gas futures added over 10 cents to sell at $11.072 per 1,000 cubic feet.[32]
Reformulated gasoline blendstock prices fell 0.0007 cents to $3.03 per gallon.[35] 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.[35]
I just wonder what on earth the 1.5 million, mainly rural, households in Britain that depend on domestic heating oil are going to do when the price hits '1 per litre. It's already got 10% dearer since March.[18] Oil is nowhere near to running out, a combination of chronic under investment in infrastructure, extra demand and speculation have driven the prices higher. we should be grateful we only find big solutions when we have big problems and I'd rather elevated prices prompted thinking now than when the oil runs dry with no alternatives in place.[18] Demand usually rises in hot months when air-conditioning units are operating at full blast. If financial investors continue to pour money into oil funds, as the president of Opec has suggested, this could cause prices to spike even higher.[17]
Gasoline stockpiles were expected to have dropped by 625,000 barrels ahead of the peak demand driving season, the analysts predicted, while stocks of distillates, which include heating oil, are seen rising by 830,000 barrels.[44] Really? So why has America's oil use risen from 16m barrels a day in the early 1970s, to 22m today - and Europe's by the same proportion.[18] Grangemouth is getting you ready. You might reach 125m barrels pere day by following the demand curve up to 2030 but this assumes that supply can match this demand (as it has traditionally).[18] Today, the average was $3.74. This morning's increase comes just four days before Saturday's running of the Kentucky Derby. Officials with AAA say it's common for prices to go up a few days before local events that boost demand.[39] A possible improvement in the tense situation in Iran also gave the market a reason to depress prices. Iran's top nuclear negotiator said talks with a senior European Union official had brought them closer to a united view of how to break a deadlock over a U.N. Security Council demand that Tehran freeze its uranium enrichment program. The upbeat comments by Ali Larijani boosted hopes that he and Javier Solana, the European Union's top foreign policy official, had chipped away at differences over enrichment -- a potential pathway to nuclear arms -- in two days of talks.[40]
yes - the ailing greenback is one reason the crude price is so high, and likely to rise some more. I accept, also, that in this climate of financial angst, commodity markets are to some extent "speculative safe havens". What these two reasons have in common is that they will one day be reversed.[18] 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.[12]
Liam, You're forgetting a few things: o the funds are using their huge leveraged profits from derivatives to drive commodity futures higher o Canadian oil sands and U.S. oil shale reserves are gigantic and are not even counted in "world reserves" o all we would have to do is convert electric power plants to nuclear (like France is doing) o there is a huge amount of controlled disinformation out there and most people are too lazy to dig into the details and find unbiased info. The fund boys are having problems with their failing derivatives.[18] Investors tend to buy oil futures as a hedge against a declining U.S. currency.[12]
"A whole load of stuff could come apart here," warned Art Cashin last week on CNBC - the U.S. business channel. "This oil thing - it's gettin' crazy".[18] Even if agreements are reached soon, it will be weeks before oil production can be returned to full service.[48] 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.[32] Prices rallied on Friday as the Grangemouth plant was shut down ahead of the strike, which is over pensions.[46] The strike has stoked fears of fuel shortages in Scotland and the north of England and there are reports of panic buying by Scottish motorists. Trade union Unite said its members had received a letter from Grangemouth's owner, Ineos, saying the company's final salary pension scheme would be closed to new members from August.[41] The 48-hour strike over pensions by about 1,200 employees at the Grangemouth refinery, between Glasgow and Edinburgh, ended at 6:00 am (0500 GMT) on Tuesday.[23] The strike is scheduled to end today at 6 a.m. local time, Pauline Doyle, a union spokeswoman, said in an interview. It will take Ineos three weeks to return the 200,000 barrel-a-day refinery to full capacity, the company said.[45] The Exxon Mobil strike is halting about 860,000 barrels a day, according to union estimates.[3] The strike is costing Exxon and world markets some 800,000 barrels a day in output.[11]
Nigeria has 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.[21] Nigeria pumped 1.96 million barrels a day in March, according to Bloomberg estimates.[3]
A further 470,000 barrels a day of Nigerian production has been shut in since 2006 amid unrest.[11]
"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."[8] Fresh violence and a separate strike in Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude producer, also rattled the market.[21] 'While one strike has ended, Exxon Mobil is still losing about 800,000 bpd in Nigeria, with talks to resume today but no guarantee of a quick resolution,' said Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) analyst Tim Evans.[44]
IMHO the human misery that flows from misunderstanding the oil business is second only perhaps to religion p.s. I see Haliburton have been asked by socialist Bolivia to help sort out the mess that its and other state owned oil disasters, I mean companies, have made of Bolivias natural gas and oil wealth. Maybe they will be too busy pulling Morales fat out of the fire to be slated irrationally for rehabilitating Iraqs oil industry (a terrible thing to do apparently). If they make a profit in new Bolivia they can be hated for that too. I wonder why it seems big oil companies dont care about these repeated slanders as they stay silent? Witches, they float. J.C. Bell, an agricultural researcher and CEO of Bell Bio-Energy, Inc., says he's isolated and modified specific bacteria that will, on a very large scale, naturally change plant material ' including the leftovers from food ' into hydrocarbons to fuel cars and trucks. [18] Britain's offshore energy industry body, Oil and Gas UK, estimated that the dispute could cost the domestic economy more than 50 million pounds (63.8 million euros, 99.4 million dollars).[23] Re-open as many pits as possible and use coal - not just for coal fired power stations, but to obtain oil from the coal. I read somewhere, during the time of pit closures instigated by Adolf Thatcher, that Britain could be energy self-sufficient for 300 yrs if we used coal for power generation.[18]
Continuing refinery problems -- including a brief fire at Marathon Oil Corp.' s Garyville, La., refinery on Thursday and reports of temporary shutdowns or delayed starts at other facilities -- is contributing to the supply concerns. [40] Over the past two weeks oil has crashed through a series of records, sparking international concern.[36] Panic buying emptied tanks at some Scottish gasoline stations last week. That situation eased as oil companies kept outlets supplied, Scotland on Sunday newspaper said today.[2]
Last year on the Friday before Derby gas averaged $3.10 per gallon, up from $2.91 the week before, according to AAA.[39] New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery fell $2.09 to 116.66 by 12.49 p.m.[44] The contract was recently up $2.31 at $116.65 after rising as high as $117.56, also a new record.[38] The contract rose 40 cents, or 0.3 percent, to settle at $116.74 yesterday, a record close.[45]
In doing so, it passed the previous record mark of $119.90 a barrel achieved on Friday.[15]
Over the past two weeks, crude prices have smashed through a series of record highs, sparking widespread international concern among consumer nations.[37] "As long as there are disruptions of high-quality crude supplies, prices are going to move higher," Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.[4] Given the extent to which crude prices drive company costs - from energy, heat and transport, through to plastics and chemicals - that's hardly surprising.[18]
The spike was widely attributed to rebel attacks on Shell's Nigerian oil facilities, which threaten to undermine global supplies. [18] "There are no talks planned for now,'' Longden said over the phone in an interview. "We're open to find a solution to this.'' The refinery will restart its operations on April 29 on 7 a.m. "plant by plant and step by step'' with full capacity expected within two to three weeks, he said. Units crucial to restart the flow from the Forties pipeline will have priority, he said.[2] Several supply pipelines owned by Shell and Chevron (nyse: CVX - news - people ) have been destroyed in recent weeks.[46]
"If we start to see a bottoming out in the U.S. dollar and we could see that hedge against the falling dollar dissipate and people taking profits,'' said Mark Pervan, a senior commodity strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Melbourne in an interview with Bloomberg Television.[45] What now? Devalue Sterling even further and one more important commodity will hyperinflate. It won't stop the BoE slashing rates again though. 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.[17] Gasoline futures settled up 7.1 cents on the Nymex at $2.3613 after falling earlier.[40]
Refinery production at Grangemouth will resume on April 29 at 7 a.m. local time. [3] The 70 platforms in the North Sea are PRODUCTION platforms, not drilling platforms.[18] Plans are in place to begin increasing offshore production today and the pipeline will return to full capacity in "several days,'' Joanne McDonald, a spokeswoman for BP, said earlier.[13]
The two-day stoppage began yesterday morning. It's the first strike to close a British refinery in more than 70 years. [7]
SOURCES
1. Curious About Oil Prices? Watch The Fed - Forbes.com
2. Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
3. Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
4. allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Mobil Strike - Oil Price Could Hit $125, Experts Warn (Page 1 of 1)
5. Crude oil edges close to $120 mark - People's Daily Online
6. Free Preview - WSJ.com
7. TheStar.com | Business | Oil jumps in early trading
8. Setbacks push oil close to $US120 | smh.com.au
9. Bloomberg.com: Japan
10. Crude closes slightly higher after hitting new record_English_Xinhua
11. Oil Nears $120 on Nigeria Unrest - WSJ.com
12. Oil strikes new trading high near $120 - Apr. 28, 2008
13. Bloomberg.com: Japan
14. Bloomberg.com: Japan
15. BBC NEWS | Business | Opec warns oil could reach $200
16. BBC NEWS | Business | Oil prices decline as strike ends
17. Opec chief warns of $200 a barrel oil price - Times Online
18. Population explosion means oil at $100 a barrel is here for years - Telegraph
19. UPDATE 5-Oil near $116 as dollar rises, UK refinery strike ends | Commodities | Energy | Reuters
20. Al Jazeera English - Business - Oil Prices Hit New Record High
21. Oil jumps on refinery strike | The Australian
22. AFP: Oil prices test record high 120 dollars
23. AFP: Oil prices retreat as British refinery strike ends
24. BP says Forties pipeline operations fully restored towards end of the week - Forbes.com
25. UPDATE 1-UK's Forties oil pipeline to reopen Tues -BP | Industries | Energy | Reuters
26. Actualit' de la bourse sur BP - BPLC : interviews, rumeurs de march's, analyses, dossiersEasyBourse
27. Resource Investor - Blog - Crude falls on rising dollar, BP pipeline restart
28. FOXNews.com - Scotland Oil Strike Ends After Disruption to Major Pipeline - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News
29. The Associated Press: AP Top News at 10:42 a.m. EDT
30. RT' Business: Oil hits a new record on UK strike
31. The Associated Press: Oil drops below $117 a barrel
32. The Associated Press: Oil nears $120 following labor and military strikes
33. Oil hits peak near $120 on Nigeria and Britain woes | Reuters
34. NYMEX crude down as dollar rises, UK strike ends | Markets | Reuters
35. Refinery strike pushes crude prices Monday - UPI.com
36. AFP: Oil prices hit intraday record near 120 dollars
37. AFP: Oil prices hit record near 120 dlrs on British refinery strike
38. UPDATE: OIL FUTURES: Crude Hits Record On UK Pipeline Close
39. Gas prices jump in Louisville | courier-journal | The Courier-Journal
40. Oil prices settle above $66 a barrel - Boston.com
41. Oil giants' profits soar as strikes fuel panic buying - 29 Apr 2008 - Financial markets news and information - NZ Herald
42. BP shutting down major British oil pipeline | Reuters
43. ireland.com - Breaking News - Oil price falls as Scottish strike ends
44. Oil plunges as UK supply woes ease, dollar strengthens - Forbes.com
45. Bloomberg.com: Africa
46. Oil prices hit intraday record near $120 in Asian trading - UPDATE - Forbes.com
47. Briefing.com: Telecom Showing Strength
48. Free Preview - WSJ.com
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 Declines More Than $3 After BP Restarts North Sea Pipeline by using the iResearch Reporter tool from Power Text Solutions.
 |
|  |
|
