Scotland and Nigeria Strikes Cause Another Oil Price Record

Crude oil prices reached another record today, as strikes in Scotland and Nigeria reduced output. Another factor causing prices to rise to $119.93 a barrel in New York is the continuing attacks in Nigeria on pipelines.

The Nigerian strike has now entered its fifth day, as production has decreased by 50 percent since April 25.

"As long as there are disruptions of high-quality crude supplies, prices are going to move higher," said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. "If the Nigerian strike isn't settled, we could easily see oil rise to $125 by the end of the week."

The two areas represented by the strike in the North Sea and Nigeria produce the low-sulfur oils which refiners prefer.

June delivery for crude oil climbed by 23 cents to finish at $118.75 a barrel on the Nymex. Brent Crude for June increased by 40 cents to settle at $116.74 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

The strike in Scotland will only last for two days, as it was a protest over their pensions. Even so, it'll take about three weeks for the refinery to return to its full capacity of 200,000 barrels a day.

Oil Closing in on $120, Gas Prices Over $3.50

The price of gas across America has now reached over $3.51 a gallon, as prices for oil continue to break records almost daily. Diesel also broke new records, as it surged to $4.204 a gallon overnight. This was according to a survey by the Oil Price Information Service and the AAA.

Foreign supply constraints continue to be a factor in oil prices in the U.S., as the problems in Nigeria continue, and Mexico is producing less oil than usual, dropping be 7.8 percent in the first quarter, producing about 2.91 million barrels a day.

Crude for delivery in the U.S. increased by 23 cents on Wednesday to finish at $118.30 a barrel.

London Brent crude increased by 51 cents to settle at $116.46 a barrel; down from the record of $116.75 set on Tuesday.

Gasoline futures hit another record high today after the reports last week of U.S.inventories dropping by 3.2 million barrels.

Shell Says Nigerian Pipeline Attack will have Minimal Impact on Oil Production

Shell said the recent attack on an oil supply pipeline in southern Nigeria won't have too much impact on oil production, after it found a leak on a pipeline connected to teh Bonny exports terminal - the largest in Nigeria.

"We discovered there was a major leak on the Greater Port Harcourt swamp pipeline. The leak appears to have been caused by explosives. We have isolated the line preparatory to repairs," Shell spokesman in Lagos Tony Okonedo told AFP. "Small quantities of oil have been shut in to allow for necessary repairs."

Shell is the largest oil exporter in Nigeria, accounting for approximately half the 2.1 million barrels a day output.

The company's pipelines have been under attack frequently over the last couple years, with a terrorist group named Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claiming responsibility.

Shell said oil production has been cut back slightly as a result of the attack, as repairs are being made.

Oil surged to a new record high of $117 a barrel on Friday.

Petrobras Claims Yet Another Huge Oil Find - the Largest in 30 Years

The Brazilian company Petrobas has claimed another huge oil field find under the ocean, this time it could be up to 33 billion of barrels of oil in the field, about 5times the size of Tupi. They also discovered a huge gas field recently, which also contained oil; and they named Juniper.

This discovery, if it holds to near the size estimated, will be the largest oil discovery in the world in 30 years.

"It could be the world's biggest discovery in the past 30 years, and the world's third-biggest currently active field," Haroldo Lima, head of the government's oil and fuel market regulator, told reporters.

The new find is in the Santos basin area called Carioca, west of the Tupi field. Other companies with a stake in the field are BG, with a 30 percent, and Repsol, with a 25 percent stake.

A number of geologists have theorized that the Tupi field probably would entertain a neighboring, larger field, containing both natural gas and oil. Obviously they were right.

Weekend Oil News Roundup

Energy Sector Roundup: Oil Out of Gas

Oil ended the day flat, keeping its distance from that $112.21 a barrel record set earlier in the week. Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 70 cents to $109.41 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But retail gas and diesel prices jumped to new records.

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Mexico leftists camp in Congress to stop oil plan

Leftist lawmakers blocked both houses of Mexico's Congress on Friday after an all-night sleepover protest against an oil reform plan that could open the state-run sector to more foreign investment.

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Oil Rises Above $110 a Barrel

Oil prices rose above $110 a barrel Friday after slipping from a record high at midweek as investors locked in profits from a stronger U.S. dollar.

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Pemex and Mexican Peak Oil Mean Expensive Oil

Pemex better start exploring for more oil in the Gulf of Mexico or its going to pump out all its reserves in less than ten years. Mexican President Felipe Calderon went on national television last night in Mexico and told his countrymen (in Spanish, we presume), "We have to act now because we're running out of time and out of oil."

What's he talking about?

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Oil steadies on weak dollar, demand revisions

Oil prices steadied on Friday as supply concerns and the weak dollar countered expectations that growing economic problems will slow global demand this year.

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Bakken Shale in US may hold 3.7 bln bbl oil - USGS

A shale rock formation that stretches across Montana and North Dakota could hold about 3.7 billion barrels of oil, the biggest single deposit in the United States except for Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey said this week.

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Oil Futures Break another Record: Close over $110 a Barrel

Crude oil futures broke another record today, as they surged to a new intraday high of $112.21, and broke another record when it closed at $110.87 a barrel.

While the increase was connected to news from the Energy Information Administration that oil inventories in the U.S. had fallen by 3.2 million barrels last week, speculators continue to play a big role in the price of oil futures. According to the Energy Information Administration, gasoline inventory also slid, falling by 3.4 million barrels last week.

"Fundamentally, there's no reason we should be at these levels. Speculation has definitely taken over this market," GRZ Energy trader Anthony Grisanti told FOX Business this morning. "I think $120 is right around the corner. There is nothing that can turn this market around at this point."

Oil inventory in the U.S. stands at 316 million barrels as of April 4.

Crude Oil Up over $2 a Barrel in New York

Prices for crude oil increased by $2.86 to close at $109.09 a barrel on the NYMEX. That's the highest closing price since March 18.

May delivery for gasoline closely mirrored the crude oil price rise, rising by 2.68 cents a gallon, to close at $2.7835 in New York. The national average is now at an all-time high according to AAA, where they reported on their Web site that it now stands at $3.339 a gallon.

Futures for RBOB also broke an intraday record, as it went up to $2.7978. RBOB is the gasoline used to mix with ethanol.

The two major factors in the increase in prices were investors moving to commodities again, and the ongoing concerns about fuel inventory declines. It was estimated in a Bloomberg News survey that gasoline supplies dropped by 2.5 million barrels last week.

"We're seeing the funds jump in and buy commodities," said Phil Flynn, a senior trader at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. "Commodities had by far the best returns during the last quarter. It would be risky to bet that either the stock market or dollar has hit a bottom yet."

Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts said, "There's little that's rational with the gains in the commodity markets now. I don't think we'll see oil prices fall until the economic slowdown is much more severe or inventories just become too high."

Commodity investment

In the first quarter alone, commodity investment has exploded to $400 billion, an increase of over 20 percent. Some think it'll pullback some, which could provide more investing opportunities.

Oil News Around the Web

Big government, not Big Oil, is the big problem

Every time you fill up your 16-gallon gasoline tank, records suggest that companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. profit about $1.44 from your purchase. However, at the same time, from that same fill-up, the federal government receives $2.94, and Trenton pockets $2.32. The government is taking more than three times as much as the oil companies, and there's movement to add even more.

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Oil Futures Climb as Dollar Slides

U.S. crude oil prices closed more than $2 higher Friday, as the third straight drop in U.S. payrolls pushed the dollar down, drawing investors into commodities.

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Oil Rebounds After Decline

Crude oil futures rebounded this Friday in Bangkok, Thailand. The futures fell by $1 last night but the dollar stabilized, encouraging investors to sell. Previously, investors had been buying crude as a hedge against inflation.

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Oil prices spike near 106 dollars as US currency slides
Oil prices jumped close to 106 dollars on Friday as investor sentiment was driven by the weak US dollar, tight energy supplies and more bad news on the US economy, analysts said.

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South Texas Oil Company to Present at IPAA OGIS Small Cap Conference
South Texas Oil Company today announced that it will be a presenting company at the Independent Petroleum Association of America's (IPAA) Oil & Gas Investment Symposium in New York.

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Oil jumps as investors pour money back into commodities amid interest rate talk

Oil jumped as investors poured money back into commodities on expectations of an interest rate cut in the United States and in hope that raw materials will provide them with a useful hedge against wider market weakness.

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Venezuela's Congress OKs "windfall" oil tax

Venezuela's Congress on Thursday gave initial approval to a windfall oil tax that extends leftist President Hugo Chavez's campaign to increase government revenue from the OPEC nation's oil industry.

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Big Oil on the Grill

Energy companies are becoming progressively more vital to the maintenance of our modern lifestyle. That very fact renders them crucial for inclusion in virtually any portfolio.

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Politicians - Especially Democrats - Fail to Understand Oil and Oil Business

The media circus, where Congress brought Oil executives of big companies before them in a show of ignorance about business and the oil industry was pathetic.

All it has done is revealed their ignorance, and underscore why politicians are so bad at allocating financial resources.

Even though the oil industry has been unfairly singled out, as all American manufacturers get tax breaks, the idea that they need to spend more money on so-called "renewable" energy is ridiculous. That's politician speak for "if you don't know what to do, throw more money at it." The record of politicians wasting taxpayers dollars is legendary.

Jeff Eshelman, vice president of public affairs for the Independent Petroleum Association of America said, if Congress really wanted to decrease prices, they'd change the outrageous policies of restricting oil companies from drilling on U.S. land owned by the government. And he's right!

"If oil companies are given the ability to go into federal lands and produce crude oil, that would increase supply," Eshelman told UPI. "The more supply we have on the market, the more stable prices will be."

That's the first step in taking care of oil prices today, and the near future.

When you consider government interference in their feeble and dangerous attempt to promote the destructive ethanol additive, they need to take care of things like protecting U.S. citizens, and leave the oil market to business.

Democrats are especially ignorant in not knowing how to handle these things. Congress overall is attempting to find scapegoat to deflect the publics dissatisfaction with their performance, which is at all-time lows.

Oil and Gas Prices Rise on Gas Inventory Drop

Crude oil surged by over $3 a barrel as reports from the U.S. Energy Department showed that the gas inventory fell for the third week.

Gasoline Inventory

Gasoline inventory fell to 224.7 million barrels, a 4.53 million barrel drop last week. That's the largest decrease in the gasoline supply since August.

"The robust supply cushion for gasoline appears to be vanishing before our eyes," said John Kilduff, vice president of risk management at MF Global Ltd. in New York.

May delivery for gasoline rose to $2.7745 a gallon, a 13.53 cent increase. Futures reached as high as $2.7836 a gallon for RBOB, the gasoline mixed with ethanol. That's a intraday record. RBOB started trading in October 2005.

"The gasoline drop was a real eye-opener," said Rick Mueller, director of oil practice at Energy Security Analysis Inc. "Supplies are falling when we aren't even close to the driving season. We should be building stocks ahead of the driving season, not seeing them drop."

Refineries

The report revealed that refineries were running at less capacity than the same week last year, as they operated at 82.2 percent, in contrast to 87 percent during the same period last year.

Inventory for crude oil increased by 7.32 million barrels, to end at 319.2 million barrels last week. Crude supplies increased by 1.8 million percent of the five-year average said the Energy Department.

"It's hard to argue that there is any problem with crude oil supplies," Mueller said. "At least in the U.S., refiners have plenty of crude oil on hand."

Crude oil futures for May delivery increased to $104.78 a barrel, a $3.80 rise.

Brent Crude

For Brent crude, May delivery increased to $103.75 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange, a $3.58 percent rise.

Congress Shifts Attention to Oil Executives, Gas Prices

In what I believe is an attempt to simply assign blame and get the attention of the public away from their dissatisfaction with Congress and their poor performance, Representatives made a big show of "grilling" oil company executives about the profits the companies have made.

Liberal Rep. Ed Markey from Massachusetts wants to take away about $18 billion in tax breaks from the five largest U.S. oil companies and put them toward what he calls "planet-friendly energy alternatives like wind and solar."

That's all we'd need is those ugly forests of windmills strewn around the countryside, which don't supply enough electricity to help much at all.

As Peter Robertson, vice chairman of Chevron, said, "Given that the largest contributor to the cost of gasoline is crude oil, this has translated into record-high gasoline prices."

The other thing Congress doesn't talk about is the high taxes on gasoline of an average of 47 cents a gallon; including state and federal taxes combined. That average is as of the first quarter of 2008.

In the end this is just a media circus to get people to start blaming business again, and get the attention of the politicians.