Oil prices jump above $119 on report US ship fired on Iranian vessel

AP ^ | 4/25/08

[bjs1779]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices rose sharply Friday on news reports that a ship under contract to the U.S. Navy fired warning shots at two Iranian boats.

The report on Fox News raised concerns that a conflict between U.S. and Iranian forces could cut oil supplies from the Persian Gulf region. Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose $2.85 to $118.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier rising as high as $119.50.

Prices were already up before the report on news of a pipeline attack in Nigeria and a looming refinery strike in Scotland.

At the pump, meanwhile, gas prices rose another 2.1 cents Friday to a record national average of $3.577 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices have been following oil futures higher, but are also rising due to concerns about whether gasoline supplies are adequate to meet peak summer driving demand.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Enough with the warning shots.

Sink em!

[bronxboy]

We should just go into these ragheads countries and take over. Oil is the life blood of our, and the world’s economy. Let the Useless Nations complain, they hate the US anyway.

[dawn53]

Betcha it was the Iranians that fired on that Japanese oil tanker the other day.

[RightWhale]

Shutting the oil pipeline in GB would be a major cause of the sudden crude oil price rise. England will be having a problem.

[straps]

As Mr Fred G Sanford puts it so eliquently,” Hey Boy you want 5 cross yo lips sucker “?
Sink the azz holes and then use the State Dept Building in DC for a target for the US Navy Warships. Its time for GW to send in the folks and blow up there little tin hat navy once and for all. As for the AP screw them for hiring taliban supporters throw all there correspondents in jail for 2-12 years. They are terrorists in disguse just read there names. GO USA KICK BUTT!

Before the General idiots in the USAF retire the F117 send them in on a night raid to destroy the sampan navy of Iran.

[SengirV]

Yep people here will still back the oil companies. The price goes up on ANY negative news, but never go down because it’s simply “demand”. Yeah, right.

It’s futures market people. Futures have artificially inflated the price. “Events” like this that cause the price to go up, without any drop in quiet times is the proof. The oild companies smile with glee anytime something like this happens, they know it’s billions more in their pockets.

[RC2]

I agree....the hell with them. Go in and go in hard and fast. So fast that the Democrats can’t say a word. We should also start drilling now. You can’t develop oil fields until you start.

[thackney]

-—but never go down-—

Did you buy gasoline, diesel or fuel oil in the late 90s?

[uncbob]

We should just go into these ragheads countries and take over. Oil is the life blood of our, and the world’s economy. Let the Useless Nations complain, they hate the US anyway.

Yep we should HAVE back when we had enough military man power to do it

[NY.SS-Bar9]

I’m beginning to think that with all the money in play, the probability is that when the price of oil dips, those with long positions pay off some miscreant to start trouble.

</paranoia>

[SengirV]

Yep. And the oil companies still prospered back then. But once they get a taste of this easy money, it’s going to take A LOT for the oil companies to move away from the money trough.

The oil companies have grown mighty powerful since the late 90s. They don’t bow to pressure anymore, like they used to back then.

[BurbankKarl]

the F117s were retired earlier this week....

[count-your-change]

What are the profit margins for the large oil companies?
Are they far greater than other industries of businesses?

[RightWhale]

The oil companies have grown mighty powerful since the late 90s

LOL

[thackney]

-—And the oil companies still prospered back then.——

Prospered? Most survived, but not all. None “prospered”. The lack of drilling and capital investment from those days is part of our high prices today.

Now they are drilling and building at fast rates.

-—But once they get a taste of this easy money, it’s going to take A LOT for the oil companies to move away from the money trough.-—

Boom and Bust has been the oil industry cycle for many decades for many cycles.

-—They don’t bow to pressure anymore, like they used to back then.-—

The big difference today is the amount of reserves controlled by OPEC nations instead of investor owned companies.

[BurbankKarl]

The end of an era began April 21st at Holloman AFB in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Following a morning ceremony at the base, the final four operational Lockheed F-117A Nighthawks took off and headed west, towards Palmdale, California’s famous Lockheed Skunk Works facility, for one last ceremony before they are officially retired to their ‘ancestral’ home at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, near the mysterious Groom Lake airfield. At Tonopah, their wings will be removed and they will go into storage. Due to their sensitive nature, they will not be coming to the ‘Boneyard’ in Tucson, Arizona. One aircraft will remain in use with the 410th FLTS at Plant 42, and it will be retired in the fall of this year. The USAF sped up the retirement of the Nighthawk in order to free up funds for the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II programs.

For the final flight ceremonies, the formation arrived over Palmdale’s USAF Plant 42 at eleven am on the 21st of April, 2008. Aircraft serial numbers included #80-0843 which wore the American flag on its belly and was the final F-117 delivered to the Air Force; #84-0809,wearing the 9th FS ‘Iron Knights’ colors; #82-0800 sporting the 8th FS ‘Black Sheep’ colors; and #84-0824, which wore the 49th OG colors. Aircraft #843 and #809 are Desert Storm veterans, with #843 being known by its maintainers as ‘Affectionately Christine’, after the Stephen King movie depicting a Plymouth Fury that had a life of its own. On Tuesday, April 22nd, there was one last ceremony near the Skunk Works, before the aircraft headed for Tonopah. With crowds of spectators and photojournalists watching from various areas off and on-base, the four Nighthawks did one last flyover, in fingertip formation, southeast over Plant 42, before they turned back to the northeast and headed into the history books.

[mainerforglobalwarming]

What’s the profit for a gallon of gas? 10 cents for oil companies?

[gathersnomoss]

A buck-nineteen a barrel will seem like a bargain in the very near future. Has anyone else noticed that drivers are increasingly driving at or very near the speed limit?

[rlmorel]

"...The oil companies have grown mighty powerful since the late 90s. They don’t bow to pressure anymore, like they used to back then..."

Muaaahhhaaaahaaaaa!

For your pleasure (In Rush Limbaugh's lowered hissing voice):

"Big Oil!"

[SengirV]

You tell me - http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/01/news/companies/exxon_earnings/

[rlmorel]

But...but...Thackney!

How will Big Oil ever pay for those black helicopters (the color of crude oil!) that they supposedly use to "fly out the rigs" with????

:)

[reagan_fanatic]

What’s the profit for a gallon of gas? 10 cents for oil companies?

The feds make more on a gallon of gas than the oil companies do.

[SengirV]

You act as if that means something to everyone. Sorry, I don’t listen to ‘ol Rusty.

[mysterio]

If they didn’t have that excuse, it would be something else. Anything to bump that price up.

[Proud_USA_Republican]

An Iranian vs. US naval war would last 5 seconds. And Iran would be the loser. Although ofcourse, just like in Lebannon, they would claim it was a victory. Because it lasted 5 seconds, and not 3.

[rlmorel]

I will mean something to someone. Just not you.

[tatsinfla]

i agree with all that say go in and take them out once and for all but the problem is that we are afraid of what the world will think of us....we do not have men in power (washington) with the backbone to do what it takes....those were true men of a different era long gone....

[bicyclerepair]

Down here people still race to red lights and still drive like azzholes! But I’ve noticed a “few” more people obeying the speed limit with me.

But it’s a rich area down here. People driving hummers, audis, jaguars, mercedes and bmws don’t give a rat’s azz what the price of gas is.

Record 26.3mpg for me last fill-up. I use less than a gal./day.

[mainerforglobalwarming]

Federal gas taxes are 18 cents. State gas and excise taxes probably another 46 cents. And based upon how poorly our roads are maintained, I don't believe these tax revenues are being used all that wisely.

[tatsinfla]

don’t forget to add county taxes on top of the federal/state/excise

[count-your-change]

Exxon-Mobil’s profit margin is about 10 to 10.5%. Pretty much ho-hum when compared with other industries. So oil companies have no more reason to be gleeful than anyone else. If you want to check other industries try The Online Investor.

[mainerforglobalwarming]

Two years ago, the price of crude was about $1.40 a gallon. Last year 2.20. Now about 2.80 or higher. Obviously there’s a great deal of demand from emerging economies like China and India. But I believe that most of the inflated price of oil is due to market madness if you will. The bubble will burst. Whether it’s a year or 6 months from now speculators are going to take a huge hit.

[Fred]

According to the CIA factbook website Iran Factbook,Iran's oil production is:

4.15 million bbl/day (2006 est.)

According to WSJ Daily Data Oil futures increase by approx 3 dollars a barrel.

According to my calcs, the gain for one day is $12,450,000.

This is Iran's twisted method of PUMP AND DUMP

Would love more input on this. When do futures payout? Let me know if my math is wrong.

[PaForBush]

I spilled a little 3-in-1 oil last night. Don’t tell anyone or else the price of crude will go up another buck.

[Sender]

Since I am clueless on how this works, when oil prices or oil "futures" keep getting bumped up like this, who gets the extra money? Saudi Arabia? Oil companies? Speculators and investors?

And are we talking about oil loaded on a ship tomorrow being more expensive, or sometime in the future?

[tatsinfla]

the bubble always bursts, but in the meantime we pay the price for others greed....all this started as for the speculators a few years back when all the hurricanes went thru the gulf of mexico...seems since then they have used every excuse in the book to raise the prices....

[hetzman]

A lot has to due how much our dollar is worth in the currency market. As we devalue our dollar by continuing to print tons of money, of course we have to pay more. cause our money is not worth as much on the world market. Hell the Euro is almost 1 1/2 times as much as the dollar now

[Blood of Tyrants]

Some companies buy most of their oil but some companies pump it directly from the ground and pay a royalty to the owners or government. A royalty that is FAR less than the spot market value. Yep, they are raping us.

[oldvike]

I can’t wait for the day when these “Futures” a-holes lose everything they have.

[Blue State Insurgent]

Can we make it in 6 weeks or, better still, 6 days?

Aren’t speculators also driving down the dollar?

[mainerforglobalwarming]

That’s true, the dollar is weak and contributing to the situation.

[mainerforglobalwarming]

In my opinion, and I have no money right now to invest in the markets, as the fed keps cutting rates the value of the dollar goes down. As far as the oil bubble, if it looks like McCain is going to win in september, I think then it comes apart. The markets crave stability. A democrat in the white house means cutting and running in Iraq, socialized medicine and socialized oil. If obama is way ahead in the polls, I think prices would continue to go up. Unless Chavez promises his buddy cheap oil.

[excalibur1701]

As I removed the hose from my gas tank while filling up this morning, I noticed some gas had accidentally dripped to the pavement. Do any of these scumbag speculators want to raise gas prices for this too?

[Cobra64]

Enough with the warning shots.

Sink em!

[Cobra64]

What are the profit margins for the large oil companies? Are they far greater than other industries of businesses?

Few ever ask that question do they.

[Cobra64]

Boom and Bust has been the oil industry cycle for many decades for many cycles.

That's for certain. My wife worked for Texaco in their corporate offices for 30 years when Texaco was damn near bankrupt and had to sell its most profitable assets to generate cash. No one remembers that though.

[thackney]

Sorry, but Petroleum Helicopters Incorporated are mostly yellow, with black.

[VeniVidiVici]

After reading about the Iranian economic problems I’m convinced that the LAST thing Ahmaheadjob wants right now is to quit exporting oil.

[count-your-change]

Go see the link at post # 21 and at that link is an article about record profits, increased revenues, sales, anything and everything except Exxon's tax bill and how much money they actually get to keep.
Around noon of today C-Span was covering hearings on whether the Strategic Petroleum Reserve should continue to be filled. Any question of drilling for more supply was approached like a mongoose sizing up a King cobra.
Lots of mushy stuff about conservation and biofuels, though.