You thought the price was high before

from the washington post:

Oil Prices Surge Above $70 a Barrel

By GEORGE JAHN
The Associated Press
Monday, August 29, 2005; 9:28 AM

VIENNA, Austria -- Crude oil futures briefly surged past $70 a barrel for the first time Monday as Hurricane Katrina barreled toward the heart of U.S. oil and refinery operations in the Gulf of Mexico, shutting down an estimated 1 million barrels of refining capacity.

The Category 4 storm advanced on an area crucial to the U.S. energy infrastructure _ offshore oil and gas production, import terminals, pipeline networks and numerous refining operations in the southern states of Louisiana and Mississippi.


A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration infrared satellite image shows the center of Hurricane Katrina, situated about 90 miles to the south, southeast of New Orleans at about 5 a.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 29, 2005. (AP Photo/NOAA)
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration infrared satellite image shows the center of Hurricane Katrina, situated about 90 miles to the south, southeast of New Orleans at about 5 a.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 29, 2005. (AP Photo/NOAA) (Noaa - AP)

"This is the big one," said Peter Beutel, an oil analyst with Cameron Hanover. "This is unmitigated, bad news for consumers."

Light, sweet crude for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped as much as $4.67 a barrel in Singapore to hit a high of $70.80 a barrel before slipping to $68.95 by midday in Europe. That was still up $2.082 from its close on Friday in New York.

Gasoline traded at $2.1220 a gallon, up 19 cents or nearly 12 percent, while heating oil rose more nearly 14 cents to $1.9750 a gallon.

Brent crude was not trading Monday, with London's International Petroleum Exchange closed for a bank holiday.

At its most fierce point, hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans with 160-mph winds and a threat of a 28-foot storm surge, forcing a mandatory evacuation of the below-sea-level city.

Katrina has already forced the shutdown of an estimated 1 million barrels of refining capacity and curbing offshore production, but analysts said the storm's potential damage to facilities was even more worrying.

"It's not only the suspension of production that's causing concern, it's the fact that we could see potential damage to the platforms, which would cause longer disruptions to production," said energy analyst Victor Shum of Texas-headquartered Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

The Gulf of Mexico normally produces 1.5 million barrels of crude oil a day, or about a quarter of the United States' domestic output, according to the U.S. Mineral Management Service.

"It looks like the perfect storm to drive prices up," Shum said.

Katrina quickly grew from a smallish storm threatening Florida into a menacing hurricane in just a few days.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/29/AR2005082900203.html

Talk of the Nation Show About Gas Price Increases

Wow, Talk of the Nation is covering the increase in gas prices.

Talk of the Nation, August 22, 2005 · As gas prices continue set new records, Talk of the Nationlooks at the point at which prices will truly impact the way people drive and make purchases. Also, we offer a lesson on the science -- and science fiction -- of gas consumption, including whether coasting downhill in neutral saves gas or how much gas it takes run air-conditioning.

Guests:

Tom Klosa, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS); known as "Pump Daddy"

John McDowall, president of McDowall Co., a full-service contracting company

Bruce Wrenn, marketing professor at Indiana University in South Bend

John Nielson, master certified auto technician for the American Automobile Association

(There is also a list of) Related NPR Stories

They're like, sometimes the gas price goes up twice in one day! Ha!

Thanks to Dr. Mess for the headsup on the California Gas Prices website. He told me that the gas that is used for boating is up to $4.00 per gallon. Good- boating is bad in so many ways- from pollution to drinking and boating to lack of exercise...

Oil Almost Hit $67 per barrel this weekend

US stocks flat on oil price; Delta drops on report

http://za.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-08-15T150811Z_01_BAN551885_RTRIDST_0_OZABS-MARKETS-USA-STOCKS-20050815.XML

Mon Aug 15, 2005 5:08 PM GMT

By Vivianne Rodrigues

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Monday, with oil prices near record levels stirring concerns economic growth and companies' earnings would suffer in the second half of the year.

"The earnings outlook for the remainder of the year is not so strong," said Brian Piskorowski, a market analyst at Wachovia Securities LLC. in Richmond. "Investors may not be willing to commit new cash into stocks, given that outlook and the fact we have oil prices at record levels."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 19.43 points, or 0.18 percent, at 10,582.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.64 points, or 0.14 percent, at 1,228.75. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 4.62 points, or 0.21 percent, at 2,152.36.

Although U.S. crude oil futures nudged lower on Monday they were still near $67 a barrel after the weekend passed without adding to refinery outages that threaten to strain gasoline supplies. September crude oil futures eased 21 cents to $66.65 on NYMEX.

Demand for stocks may also fall after Merrill Lynch & Co., the largest U.S. brokerage, raised its recommended cash allocation and lowered its stocks allocation, saying cash is becoming a more competitive asset class. On August 9 the Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate for a 10th time to 3.50 percent.

"Higher interest rates may attract some investors to cash investments in the short term," said Wachovia's Piskorowski. "But in the long run, we still think stocks will outperform bonds and cash investments."

Delta Air Lines was the worst performer in the S&P 500. The stock plunged 14.91 percent to $1.37 after the New York Times reported on Saturday that the struggling air carrier has begun arranging the financing it would need should it seek bankruptcy protection. ID:nN13672371

Shares of Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc., the U.S. largest home furnishings retailer, fell 2.37 percent to $43.28 after MarketWatch reported on its Web site that Goldman Sachs downgraded the housewares retailer. ID:nBNG140002

In earnings news, Lowe's Cos., the world's No. 2 home-improvement retailer, announced a 20 percent increase in second-quarter profit, topping analysts' estimates. The company's shares rose initially but later fell 38 cents to

$64.85.

Shares of Time Warner Inc. rose 16 cents to $18.41 after billionaire investor Carl Icahn urged Time Warner in a statement to separate its cable business and buy back at least $20 billion worth of its stock, saying management has not done enough for shareholders.

Icahn, who along with several hedge funds owns over 120 million shares of Time Warner, said he plans to meet this week with Time Warner Chief Executive Richard Parsons.

One of the top gainers on the S&P was Agilent Technologies Inc., the world's largest maker of scientific-testing equipment. Shares rose 12.5 percent to $29.79 after the company announced it will cut 1,300 jobs and sell its semiconductor business.

Shares in media company Dow Jones & Co. Inc. rose about 15 percent to $42.55 following a report in the New York Post that members of its controlling shareholder family were pressing for a sale of the Wall Street Journal publisher.


© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

Supply worries continue to plague America

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2005/08/15/afx2181137.html

AFX News Limited
Chavez threatens to cut off oil exports to US
08.15.2005, 12:58 PM

CARACAS (AFX) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has threatened to cut off oil exports to the United States if Washington does not stop the 'aggressions' against his leftist government, Agence France-Presse reported.

'We do not want to break relations with the US government,' Chavez said Sunday. 'It is not in our plans, but if the aggressions continue to increase ... this could put at risk diplomatic relations between Venezuela and the United States.'

Washington's attacks could provoke 'something more serious: These two daily boats full of Venezuelan oil could head another way instead of going to the United States,' said Chavez, whose country is the fourth largest provider of oil to the United States.

'The US market is not indispensable to us,' Chavez said before thousands of young people waving Latin American countries' flags in a Caracas arena during a youth festival.

Chavez, who has called US President George W. Bush a 'jerk' and 'Mr. Danger,' also joked that he may give the US leader a scare at the Summit of the Americas in Argentina in November.

'I have something in mind,' Chavez said. 'I will walk to him very quietly and say 'boo.''

The Venezuelan leader held Sunday an 'anti-imperialist tribunal' to 'judge' the US government.

The former paratrooper has accused Bush of plotting to have him assassinated and of being behind a coup that toppled him for nearly 48 hours in April 2002.

On Friday, Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said Venezuela had withdrawn diplomatic immunity for US anti-narcotics agents after the United States withdrew visas for Venezuelan officials in Washington.

The Venezuelan government also announced last week that it had cut anti-drug cooperation with the United States, accusing the US Drug Enforcement Administration of breaking local drug laws.

The United States rejected the charges and accused Caracas of flagging cooperation in the fight against narcotics trafficking.

The United States has accused Venezuela of actively funding efforts to destabilize its Latin American neighbors and allowing weapons to cross into Colombia, whose government is battling a leftist insurgency.

du/lt/mac/ec



COPYRIGHT



Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved.

Crude futures ease after soaring to record highs in Monday rally

Here's an article from the Canadian Press where they talk about how high the price of oil got when the king of Saudi Arabia died yesterday. The article predicts that prices will be $3 higher in the winter. It also says that oil prices can change based on any little worrying news item.

"Crude futures ease after soaring to record highs in Monday rally

Edith Balazs
Canadian Press

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - Crude oil prices slipped Tuesday in lackluster trading after rallying to record highs Monday on news of the Saudi king's death and Iran's latest threat to resume its nuclear processing activities.

The death of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd on Monday sent prices to a record close of US$61.57 a barrel after they reached a new intraday high of US$62.30.

Recent refinery fires in the United States also unsettled the market, fueling fears that supply will run short at a time of surging demand for oil products.

"While I was slightly surprised by yesterday's big move, I still see a significant potential for the upside in the market and I expect prices to be some US$3 higher in the winter season than now," said energy analyst Orrin Middleton at Barclays Capital in Paris.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell 32 cents to US$61.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in midday trading.

On London's International Petroleum Exchange, Brent for September delivery was down 44 cents at $60.00 a barrel.

Petroleum products were mixed on Nymex, with September gasoline up 1.09 cents at $1.7580 a gallon and September heating oil down 49 points at $1.7120 a gallon.

Traders kept an eye on refinery operations in the United States, where the rate of output has fallen to about 93.5 per cent of capacity, down from 98.1 per cent of capacity over the past three weeks, in part because of hurricane-related power outages. Last week, two refinery fires - one in Texas, one in Louisiana - stifled production, albeit to a limited extent.

Such shutdowns play into fears that refiners may not be able to catch up with demand, especially during the fourth quarter of the year.

Tensions between the U.S. - the world's largest energy consumer - and Iran, the No. 2 producer within the OPEC cartel, also worry oil markets because Tehran can cripple markets by shutting off its taps. Iran produces about 4 million barrels daily.

Iran threatened to reopen its nuclear processing plant but has given the U.N. atomic watchdog agency two days to oversee the dismantling of U.N. seals on the equipment.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said its oil policy will not change now that power has formally shifted to Fahd's brother, the de facto leader during the past decade.

However, with oil consumption rising around the world and only a limited amount of excess production capacity available, energy traders are easily put on edge by a change in the weather in an oil-pumping region, let alone a transfer of authority within the world's biggest oil producer.

Weekly inventory data from the U.S. was seen as providing some bullish sentiment later on. Closely watched gasoline stocks are expected to show draws for a straight fifth week along with a drop in commercial crude inventories, according to analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires."

more of this article at http://www.canada.com/businesscentre/story.html?id=f9ced318-058c-4a73-a19d-db440ff955d9

Talk of the Nation Covers Peak Oil

I was pretty surprised yesterday to hear a Talk of the Nation show about The Pursuit of Energy Independence. TOTN is always surpising me by how right-wing it is. Neil Conan regularly interrupts people as they stray into anti-war statements, and often covers only the government or right-wing side of stories.

On yesterday's show, he had two guests: David Friedman, who works with the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Thomas Friedman, who is a columnist with The New York Times. I was shocked to hear the name Union of Concerned Scientists. I could be wrong, but I seem to remember hearing something on Michio Kako's radio show Explorations about how the UCS had done a study for the federal gov't about global warming, and then Bush hid and discredited the results. Hm, I am finding this info about the Bush Administration and science...Here we go, it was the National Academy of Sciences:
"For example, in support of the president’s decision to avoid regulating emissions that cause climate change, the administration has consistently misrepresented the findings of the National Academy of Sciences, government scientists, and the expert community at large. Thus in June 2003, the White House demanded extensive changes in the treatment of climate change in a major report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To avoid issuing a scientifically indefensible report, EPA officials eviscerated the discussion of climate change and its consequences." (From Scientists' Statement)

Anyhow, on the TOTN show, the one guy was talking about decreasing consumption and how peak oil is coming no matter what, and the other guy was trying to talk about alternative energies such as nuclear. Ha! Where are we going to put the nuclear waste, buddy? And some callers were against decreasing their own driving- one guy lives in a rural area some 60 miles from Reno (or was it Las Vegas?) and was like, how would we drive to Reno? Hello, there won't be electricity to power casinos, and you won't have extra money to spend there!

I agree, public transit sucks. People talked about the need for a real high-speed rail system on the east coast to connect major cities. I just can't see that ever happening in this country. Imagine a high-speed rail system all across the country? Even as Amtrak is circling down the toilet drain...

I guess I should go listen to today's show about online journalism!