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Attacks on nuclear power stations, oil and gas terminals, Canary Wharf and Heathrow’s control tower were being considered by leaders of the plot to blow up seven transatlantic airliners in mid-flight, a court was told yesterday. Documents found on computer memory sticks at the home of an alleged terrorist ringleader contained a list of targets across Britain – including the gas pipeline between Britain and Belgium. The man, Assad Sarwar, was said to be in contact with terrorist leaders overseas and visited Pakistan a month before his arrest as preparations for the airline attacks were being finalised. Peter Wright, QC,...

Arizona Clean Fuels can check off another item on its "to-do" list. The company has received title to the property where it plans to build an oil refinery in eastern Yuma County. Arizona Clean Fuels has purchased 1,460 acres from the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District for a total of $14,681,100, the Yuma County Assessor's Office confirmed Tuesday. The sale closely followed a transfer of the land Monday from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to WMIDD. The land transfer was authorized in the Wellton-Mohawk Title Transfer Act, passed by Congress on June 20, 2000, and signed into law by President...

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli media report explosions have been heard in the northern city of Haifa.

Singapore - Oil rallied above $72 a barrel on Monday, extending a rebound towards record highs as Iran maintained a defiant stance in the face of possible UN sanctions and militants detonated a car bomb in Nigeria. US light, sweet crude zoomed 54 cents higher to $72.42 a barrel by 06:40 GMT, adding to a 91c gain on Friday that helped limit last week's losses to 4.4%. Trading was thin due to holidays in much of Asia and Europe. IPE Brent crude was up 43c at $72.45. "Most people appear to be very nervous and are looking for something to...

SINGAPORE - Oil prices eased Thursday after U.S. government data showed motor fuel demand weakening, apparently in response to higher pump prices. The data also showed that domestic inventories of gasoline shrank for the eighth consecutive week, and that may have moderated the selling, analysts said. Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell 23 cents to $71.70 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled Wednesday at $71.93, down 95 cents. Brent crude for June delivery on London's ICE Futures changed hands at $72 a barrel, down 9 cents. Gasoline futures dropped 2.10...

SINGAPORE - Oil prices rose Monday on persistent supply fears tied to Iran's tense diplomatic standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions and militant attacks in oil-rich Nigeria. Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 53 cents to $68.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in Asian electronic trading. The contract on Friday rose $1.50 to settle at $67.76 a barrel. Heating oil rose 1.16 cents to $1.8185 a gallon while gasoline gained 2 cents to $1.7564 a gallon. March Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose 49 cents to $66.73 a barrel. Prices also rose...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil climbed further on Tuesday as a militant threat to Nigerian oil exports and Iran's standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions kept the market worried about supply disruptions. London Brent crude for March was up 27 cents to $63.45 a barrel by 0329 GMT, after rising 58 cents on Monday. U.S. light crude for February jumped 86 cents to $64.78 in catch-up gains after being closed for a national holiday on Monday. U.S. crude earlier touched $64.95 a barrel, its highest since October 4. Crude flows from Nigeria, the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, are being...

U.S. Resists Building Refineries As Overseas Firms Move Ahead By THADDEUS HERRICK in Houston, BHUSHAN BAHREE in New York and KEITH JOHNSON in Madrid Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL December 28, 2005 A surge in investment in new refineries is under way overseas even as U.S. refiners remain leery of adding facilities -- a development that could make the U.S. more reliant on imports of refined products like gasoline and heating oil in coming years. About 100 projects representing as much as 12 million barrels a day of added refining capacity, most of them outside the U.S., could...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil futures fell Tuesday as unseasonably mild weather along the U.S. East Coast spurred hopes that this year's Northern Hemisphere winter could be warmer than expected, weakening demand for heating fuel. Light, sweet crude for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 34 cents to US$57.02 a barrel in Asian electronic trading. The contract fell US$1.36 to settle at US$57.35 a barrel Monday. In London, January Brent fell 53 cents to US$54.35 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. In recent weeks, the market has been fixated on weather patterns in the northeastern U.S.,...

SINGAPORE - Oil futures fell nearly a dollar, dropping below $58 a barrel, as forecasters predicted warmer weather early this week in the U.S. Northeast, the world's largest heating oil market, easing fears of a spike in fuel demand. Light, sweet crude for January delivery slipped 86 cents to $57.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in electronic trading late afternoon in Singapore. In London, January Brent crude rose 29 cents to $55.30 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. "The market's reacting to forecasts that heating oil demand will be 20 percent below normal this week, giving...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Oil dipped to a four-month low under $57 a barrel on Wednesday as dealers braced for a fresh increase in U.S. oil inventories amid unseasonally warm weather. U.S. crude fell as low as $56.82 a barrel in electronic trading, its weakest since July 21. It was trading down 2 cents at $56.96 a barrel by 0746 GMT, extending an 11-week slump that has wiped 20 percent or nearly $14 off prices. London Brent crude was down 3 cents at $55.15. Although some analysts continue to predict a turnaround once temperatures fall and if OPEC opts to cut...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil futures drifted lower Tuesday as an International Energy Agency official said high pump prices have hurt fuel demand. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 6 cents to US$57.63 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract Monday rose 16 cents to settle at US$57.69. In London, December Brent crude fell 8 cents to US$54.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. High oil prices have started dampening global demand and the slowdown in consumption growth could in turn push prices lower, Noe Van Hulst, the International Energy Agency's...

SINGAPORE - Crude oil futures opened the week slightly higher, briefly rising above $58 a barrel, on predictions a cold snap was headed for the northeastern United States, the world's biggest winter heating fuel market. Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose as much as 57 cents to $58.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, before slipping to $57.78. The contract fell to $56.93 a barrel last week before closing at $57.53 Friday. December Brent crude on London's International Petroleum Exchange was 20 cents higher at $55.19 a barrel. Friday's close was the benchmark contract's...

SINGAPORE - Crude oil futures slipped further below $58 a barrel Friday amid reports of rising supply and falling demand. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 9 cents to $57.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in electronic trading in Singapore. On Thursday, the contract fell to $57.80, the lowest level for the front-month contract since July 21. The U.S. Energy Information Administration released data that showed natural gas in storage grew more than expected last week, surpassing a level that many analysts believe is necessary to meet winter demand. The Paris-based International Energy Agency said in...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil prices held steady just below US$60 a barrel on Wednesday after predictions of warmer weather in the United States sparked a big drop two days earlier. Market experts said prospects for rising demand could keep prices at current levels. Light, sweet crude for December delivery gained 5 cent to US$59.90 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract rose 9 cents to settle at $59.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where a day earlier they had fallen nearly US$1.50 to a level about 15 percent...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil shed nearly a dollar on Monday, sinking below $60 after Hurricane Wilma bypassed storm-battered U.S. oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. light crude fell as low as $59.56 a barrel, the lowest since July 28. It was down 93 cents by 0922 GMT to $59.70, reversing a gain of 61 cents on Friday on fears Wilma could hinder the recovery of oil operations in the Gulf. Prices were 16 percent below the record-high of $70.85 a barrel struck in late August in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. London Brent crude lost 96...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell $1 a barrel on Tuesday as a threatened hurricane was expected to miss rigs and refineries in the U.S. Gulf and the world's top banker said record prices were eroding demand. U.S. crude lost 98 cents to $63.38 a barrel by 1125 GMT, after a gain of 2.8 percent on Monday. London Brent crude was $1.06 down at $59.51 a barrel. Tropical Storm Wilma gained strength in the Caribbean Sea and was expected to become a full-blown hurricane, but its path was set to shift east toward Florida and away from the heart of U.S....

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil climbed back above $62 on Tuesday after the International Energy Agency said it saw no lasting damage to demand that has pushed producers and refiners to the limit and could lead to fuel shortages this winter. There have been signs recently that persistent high prices are taking their toll on the economies of the world's big consumers. Hurricanes that battered U.S. Gulf rigs and refiners catapulted oil to new record highs, finally crimping fuel use. But the IEA, adviser to 26 industrialized nations, forecast demand growth would quicken to 1.75 million barrels per day next year...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for a fifth day on Thursday, dipping to their lowest level in two months after U.S. government data showed a drop in oil demand in the world's largest consumer. U.S. crude futures for November slid 19 cents to $62.60 a barrel, having earlier traded as low as $62.23. London Brent crude was down 32 cents to $59.80. Oil prices have fallen sharply from their August 30 record high of $70.85 on signs that soaring costs are eroding demand, offsetting fears over tight supplies in the wake of hurricanes that toppled production platforms and shut...

SINGAPORE -- Oil prices slipped Tuesday after the U.S. government indicated it might release emergency stockpiles of heating oil to combat supply disruptions from recent hurricanes. But energy futures were not expected to continue their retreat for long, analysts said, because a U.S. petroleum inventories report due later in the week was likely to show that Hurricane Rita hurt supply ahead of the coming Northern Hemisphere winter. Midmorning in Singapore, light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 16 cents to $65.31 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 77 cents to settle...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil held firm above $66 a barrel on Thursday stoked by fears that hurricane-wrecked U.S. refineries would be unable to churn out ample heating fuel to warm American consumers this winter. But Europe was riding to the rescue again, booking tankers of gasoline and heating oil to move transatlantic to help prevent a full-blown fuel crisis in the world's biggest oil consumer. Strikes in France, a leading U.S. oil products supplier, meant French refiners might sit on the sidelines. U.S. crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 6 cents at $66.41 a barrel by 1000...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil raced toward $68 on Thursday as Hurricane Rita bore down on Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production and forced six refineries in Texas to shut down. Companies scrambled to close facilities and evacuate staff as Rita, now a maximum Category 5 storm, aimed her 175 mph (280 kph) winds on Texas, home to a quarter of U.S. refining capacity. It is expected to hit land by early Saturday. "Rita will remain the market's focus ... unless it unexpectedly breaks apart. But with it being such a fierce storm we wouldn't play the short side of...

 SYDNEY (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed more than 1 percent on Monday as a new storm system appeared to be headed for the U.S. Gulf Coast, and as OPEC ministers appeared to favor leaving crude output unchanged for now.U.S. light crude rose 78 cents to $63.78 a barrel as the season's 17th tropical storm formed near the Bahamas and OPEC members leaned toward taking no immediate action on extra supply. London Brent crude jumped 93 cents to $62.74 a barrel. Those gains helped prices rebound from a near $2 fall on Friday, which took oil to its lowest close in...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil eased further below $65 on Friday on fears that record high prices are undermining global demand, overshadowing nagging worries about refined fuel supplies in the United States, the world's top consumer. U.S. light crude was trading down 26 cents at $64.49 a barrel by 0515 GMT, extending a loss of 34 cents on Thursday. London Brent crude slipped 16 cents to $63.50 a barrel. U.S. prices have fallen sharply from a record high $70.85 on August 30, just a day after Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, toppling oil platforms and shutting down refineries. Oil's...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices slid in post-holiday trade on Tuesday, while Brent crude was steady as industrialised countries began to release oil from emergency stocks to make up for U.S. output disrupted by Hurricane Katrina. Fears that the aftermath of the storm could dent consumer confidence and trim U.S. economic growth also weighed on prices, while battered Gulf of Mexico refineries began to restart. U.S. light crude fell $1.03, or 1.5 percent, to $66.54 a barrel by 0508 GMT, following London Brent crude's $1.22 losses on Monday when U.S. trade was closed for a holiday. Brent crude edged...

SINGAPORE, Aug 29 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures surged more than $4 in opening trade on Monday, hitting a new record high above $70 a barrel after Hurricane Katrina forced Gulf of Mexico producers to shut in more than a third of their output. Katrina, which strengthened into a rare, maximum power Category 5 hurricane as it spun through key oil and gas fields toward New Orleans, shut in a total 633,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to company figures on Sunday. It also forced the closure of seven refineries and a major U.S. crude import terminal. Crude oil...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil rose above $62 a barrel on Wednesday, just shy of its record high, as expectations of tight U.S. supplies and disruptions added to concern over the long-term stability of Saudi Arabia after the death of King Fahd. U.S. light sweet crude for September delivery was up 16 cents at $62.05 a barrel in Asian trade, within striking distance of the all-time peak of $62.30 set on Monday, after hitting a high of $62.08. London Brent crude was at $60.83 a barrel, up 21 cents from Tuesday and also near its record high of $60.98. The firmer...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose above $60 on Friday to their highest level in more than two weeks as refinery fires in the United States revived fears of tight supplies. U.S. light sweet crude for September delivery was up 45 cents to $60.39 a barrel in Asian trade, off an earlier high of $60.42 triggered by news of a fire at BP's giant Texas City refinery, the country's third-largest. Prices were just 2.7 percent below record-highs of $62.10. London Brent crude was up 50 cents to $59.26 a barrel. BP said the fire at a 60,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) residual...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices slid below $59 a barrel on Monday as worries about damage to U.S. oil and gas facilities eased following the passage of Hurricane Dennis. U.S. crude for August delivery fell 75 cents to $58.88 a barrel, extending losses of $1.10 on Friday. London's Brent crude shed 83 cents to $57.37 a barrel. "People perceived that the hurricane may not be as damaging as Hurricane Ivan. That's why people are taking profits, but the true extent of the damage is not known yet," said Tony Nunan, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp.'s international energy business. Hurricane Dennis...

WASHINGTON - Oil prices fell below $60 a barrel on Friday, reversing course late in the day as traders booked profits following a runup predicated on the fear of hurricane-related supply disruptions. Early on, crude futures prices rose as high as $61.90 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with traders shrugging off the shock of the London bomb blasts and focusing instead on Hurricane Dennis' approach in the Gulf of Mexico. Traders fear a repeat of last year's Hurricane Ivan, which damaged oil platforms and resulted in months of lost production in the region.But the rally lost steam...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped to a record high above $61 on Thursday as the year's first hurricane threatened already reduced U.S. Gulf production, stoking fears that an active storm season would hamper winter stock-building. U.S. light sweet crude for August delivery hit a high of $61.63 a barrel in early Asian trade, having broken above $61 for the first time on Wednesday. It was trading at $61.51 by 0734 GMT, up 23 cents. Brent crude oil in London climbed 22 cents a barrel to $60.07 after hitting a record high at $60.26. Oil prices have gained some 9...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices held above $60 a barrel on Tuesday as speculators sought to test the resilience of strong world demand and as Iran's presidential election sowed fresh geopolitical worries. U.S. crude futures, which hit a record $60.95 on Monday, were trading 26 cents lower to $60.28 a barrel. Futures closed above $60 the first time since trading started in 1983. London Brent crude slid 33 cents to $58.97 a barrel after hitting a record $59.59 on Monday. Dealers said markets were pausing after U.S. crude crossed the $60 psychological barrier but the bull run would resume. A...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices leapt one percent to a record above $60 a barrel on Monday as robust U.S. demand appeared undaunted by soaring fuel costs, threatening to strain global production capacity later this year. U.S. August crude oil futures traded as high as $60.47 a barrel, up 63 cents, extending a rally that has added 12 percent to prices in two weeks and 39 percent since January. Oil was up 61 cents at $60.45 a barrel by 0216 GMT, surpassing the $60 mark for the first time since it began trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange in...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices soared to a record high above $59 a barrel on Monday, extending last week's surge as a threat against Western consulates in OPEC-member Nigeria jolted traders already worried about tight supplies. Oil climbed more than 9 percent, or nearly $5, last week, drawing buying interest from trend-following hedge funds as prices surpassed the previous early April high. U.S. light crude for July delivery hit a front-month record $59.18 per barrel, before paring gains to stand up 59 cents at $59.06 at 0439 GMT. The August contract rose 62 cents to $59.80 a barrel and contracts...

WASHINGTON - Crude oil prices hit a new high above $58 a barrel on Friday, sustaining a rally built on strong demand for gasoline and diesel and on concerns about refiners' ability to keep up. "This is a pivotal point we're at now," said oil analyst John Kilduff of Fimat USA in New York. "We're one hiccup away from $60."Light sweet crude for July delivery darted $2.02 higher to $58.60 a barrel in late afternoon trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That topped the previous intraday high of $58.28 set on April 4 and the market was all but...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices hit their highest level in over 10 weeks on Friday, extending this week's rally to nearly $57 a barrel as demand in the world's largest consumer showed little signs of succumbing to near record fuel costs. U.S. crude oil climbed 36 cents to $56.94 a barrel in early trading, taking this week's gains to over 6 percent. Prices are now at their highest since early April, when the front month contract reached an all-time peak of $58.28. Prices rallied as fresh U.S. data showed consumption of transport fuels was still brisk, raising concerns about refiners'...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil maintained its steady decline on Monday after OPEC's president said he saw no need to rein in output and oil major Total said it would restart its French refineries after a strike shut five of them. U.S. light sweet crude for July delivery eased 17 cents to $48.48 a barrel in light Asian trade. The June contract expired on Friday after ending down 12 cents at $46.80 a barrel, the lowest front-month closing price in three and a half months. London Brent crude was down 3 cents at $48 a barrel. "OPEC has not shown signs...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Monday after OPEC pledged to keep pumping at almost full tilt even as crude stockpiles in the United States remained abundant. U.S. crude oil prices shed 22 cents to $48.45 a barrel, after making a shaky recovery on Friday from a three-month low. Prices had fallen almost 17 percent from the record high at $58.28 struck in early April. Brent crude oil edged down 30 cents to $48.36 a barrel, erasing Friday's gains. OPEC president Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah said on Sunday the cartel was supplying more than 30 million barrels per day...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices plunged below $50 a barrel on Thursday due to persistently high crude stocks in the United States and concerns of slowing global demand growth, while a strengthening dollar looked to spur further selling. U.S. crude fell 58 cents to $49.87 a barrel, after diving to a low of $49.82. Prices are more than 14 percent below the record-high of $58.28 struck in early April. London's Brent crude oil fell 55 cents to $49.52 a barrel. "We saw a larger-than-expected rise in U.S. crude inventories overnight, which is the key to the big fall. There are...

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is considering easing environmental requirements for a multitude of gasoline blends and streamlining permits for new refineries to increase fuel supplies and fight soaring prices, Commerce Secretary Donald Evans said Wednesday. Evans, a former Texas oil company executive, said in an Associated Press interview that the cost of gasoline, which hit a record national average of $2.06 per gallon this week, was affecting driving habits, with people making fewer trips to the store. Mindful that oil shocks in the 1970s and 1980s were severe enough to push the country into a series of recessions, Evans...

Flint Hills works to be a refuge for birds, wildlife A flock of lanky, white ibis landed on a marshy pond, where they huddled together less than a half mile from the labyrinth of pipes and tanks at Flint Hills Resources oil refinery earlier this week on Suntide Road. Dozens of water birds swooped and swirled over the pond, next to a railroad near the Flint Hills property on the company's Wildlife Learning Preserve. Beyond the stream is a rolling field with clusters of cactus and craggy mesquite trees. When the refinery's security alarm sounds in the morning, coyotes come...