oil crisis

9 Stories

Feds Sue Big Oil Traders for Goosing Prices

Regulators say they scored $50M by manipulating '08 spike

(Newser) - Federal regulators have charged a pair of big-time traders and their firms with illegally manipulating oil prices during the 2008 oil crisis. According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the firms made $50 million in “unlawful profits” by hoarding nearly two-thirds of the oil available in one major US...

Finish My Fight With Big 3: Gore to Obama

We need urgent action, Gore warns

(Newser) - Al Gore doesn't want a White House job, but he does have advice for Barack Obama: Use the bailout plan to transform the Big Three automakers. As vice-president, Gore rolled out a billion-dollar program to pay for fuel-efficient Detroit vehicles—"but as soon as they felt they were...

India's Effort to Boost Biofuel Encounters Growing Pains

Country aims to feed boom with hardier crops, though it's a tough sell

(Newser) - Just months after India’s finance minister called converting food crops to biofuels “a crime against humanity,” the government has launched a program that aims to get 20% of India’s diesel from plants by 2017, relying heavily on hardy plants that won’t keep rob needed land....

Palin All for Drilling—and Has Been Tough on Big Oil

Positions put McCain's running mate in good stead with more than just conservatives

(Newser) - Gov. Sarah Palin wants the US to drill for oil, offshore or in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in her home state. Not only does recent drilling convert John McCain get backup, Andrew Leonard writes in Salon, but Dems will have a hard time branding Palin a pawn of Big...

Saudis May Boost Oil Supply Even Higher

But OPEC blames speculators and credit crisis for high prices

(Newser) - A hastily organized summit meeting in Saudi Arabia today offered little relief to oil consumers, Bloomberg reports. The Saudis did vow to increase production if needed, but OPEC blamed speculators and the credit crisis, not markets, for surging oil prices. "Saudi Arabia is prepared and willing to produce additional...

Oil Expected to Stay Above $100 This Year

Fed agency ups forecast as world laps up Texas tea

(Newser) - A barrel of crude could end up averaging more than $100 this year, federal handicappers are predicting, just weeks after the triple-digit mark seemed like a troublesome anomaly. OPEC’s parsimony with its reserves, spiking demand worldwide and a dwindling supply outside the Middle East are conspiring to squeeze rates—...

Oil Flirts With Record-High $104
Oil Flirts With Record-High $104
Mar 3, 2008 11:45 AM CST

Oil Flirts With Record-High $104

Passes inflation-adjusted all-time peak

(Newser) - As oil soared to nearly $104 a barrel today, it set an all-time, inflation-adjusted record, surpassing even the height of the oil crises of the '70s and '80s, the New York Times reports. Futures touched $103.95 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, beating out the April 1980 record of...

$100 a Barrel Oil Triggers Crisis

New energy shock caused by runaway demand

(Newser) - The planet is headed for the third major energy crisis in a generation, but this one may be more serious and last longer than the others, the New York Times reports. Energy crises in the '70s and '80s were triggered by interruptions in supply from the Middle East....

Supply Worries Send Oil Near $80 a Barrel

US inventory drops, and OPEC production boost won't cover shortfall

(Newser) - Crude oil hit nearly $80 a barrel today—its highest price ever—thanks to dwindling supply. US inventories fell by 7M barrels last week, much more than the 2.7M analysts predicted. OPEC announced a production increase of only 500K barrels, which Bloomberg reports will not meet seasonal demand increases....

9 Stories