Oil falls below $90 as financial turmoil spreads

Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down $4.69 to $89.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late afternoon in Singapore.

U.S. crude dropped $7 to $94.18 barrel

A sign board above the oil futures pit at the New York Mercantile Exchange September 9, 2008. Crude oil was trading around $103 a barrel at mid day after OPEC ministers were to hold a meeting and hurricane Ike was heading towards Gulf of Mexico oil platforms. (Chip East/Reuters)

U.S. crude dropped $7 to $94.18 barrel at 1135 GMT, the lowest level in seven months. U.S. oil dropped below $100 briefly on Friday for the first time since early April, and trade was open for a special session on Sunday due to Hurricane Ike.

Oil officials given sex, gifts, investigators say

The alleged transgressions involve 13 Interior Department employees in Denver and Washington. Their alleged improprieties include rigging contracts, working part-time as private oil consultants, and having sexual relationships with — and accepting golf and ski trips and dinners from — oil company employees, according to three reports released Wednesday by the Interior Department's inspector general.

Oil falls below $106 in Asia on stronger dollar

"Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell $1.15 to $105.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange midday in Singapore. The contract inched up 11 cents overnight to settle at $106.34."

In Singapore??? How is that helping the poor smuck in Jersey City???

Oil rises, Mideast tension offsets Saudi pledge

"Oil rose 30 cents on Monday as escalating tensions between Israel and Iran countered the impact of Saudi Arabia's promise to pump more oil and a vow by Nigerian militants to halt attacks on oil facilities in the delta."

Limelight to Shine on Saudis at Energy Forum as Oil Prices Continue to Soar

"Saudi officials acknowledge that fast growth in China and India has stimulated demand and contributed to the oil price spike. But they say the chief causes of the price increase are speculation in oil futures markets and a shortage of capacity to refine oil into gasoline in rich countries. For that reason, there is widespread anger that oil producers here are being blamed for high prices."

Other OPEC members may join Saudi oil output hike

"Saudi Arabia has said it will pump 9.7 million barrels per day in July, the fastest rate in decades. No other producer from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has followed suit, and some member countries have reacted coolly to the Saudi plan."

Gulf to earn $1.3 trillion from oil in two years: report

"Oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia's earnings in the two years will be just under 700 billion dollars. The kingdom posted 194 billion dollars in oil revenues in 2007."

The big pander to big oil

"There is no doubt that a lot of people have been hurt by the high price of gas. But their suffering will not be relieved by drilling in restricted coastal areas. The Energy Information Administration says that even if both coasts were opened, prices would not begin to drop until 2030. The only real beneficiaries will be the oil companies that are trying to lock up every last acre of public land before their friends in power - Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney - exit the political stage."

Bush to Congress: Embrace energy exploration now

"With gasoline topping $4 a gallon, President Bush urged Congress on Wednesday to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, saying the United States needs to increase its energy production. Democrats quickly rejected the idea."

McCain's Energy Drill

"Behold, a miracle: Public anger over $4 gas is forcing at least some of our political class to confront their energy contradictions. Last week, Republicans Jim Walsh of New York and Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland -- two longstanding opponents of offshore drilling -- asked for a mulligan. We can now add John McCain to the roll: In a speech in Houston yesterday, the Senator finally came out in favor of increasing domestic energy supplies."

Ahmadinejad to OPEC: Dump weak dollar

"I again repeat my previous proposal; we should have a basket of different international hard currencies as the basis or the member countries should come up and produce a new hard currency for petroleum contracts," he stressed. " They get our oil and give us a worthless piece of paper," Ahmadinejad said earlier after the close of the summit in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

The man's got a point!

Oil futures shoot to a record near $140 a barrel on falling dollar, North Sea fire

"Crude oil futures hit a record near $140 a barrel Monday as investors shrugged off Saudi Arabia's promise to boost production and instead focused on a weaker dollar. Retail gas prices rose to a record $4.08 a gallon."

Saudi King: "We will pump more oil"

Saudi Arabia is keenly aware of the political and economic effect of the oil market on the upwards spiral of food prices, and contributed $500m to the World Food Programme ahead of the food summit in Rome to enable the UN agency to cope with escalating problems in feeding the world's poor. Mr Ban thanked King Abdullah for that gesture.

I wonder if folks will fully appreciate the Saudis for this significant humanitarian gesture? Well, these are the Saudis and we are talking primarily about Western countries - so, probably not...

Saudi Arabia plans to increase oil production by 200,000 barrels a day

"The king believes that the current oil prices are abnormally high, and he is ready to restore prices to their appropriate levels," SPA quoted Ban as telling reporters in Jiddah."

If the King is saying that oil prices are abnormally high, that means that somebody, other than the Saudis are artifically inflating oil prices and making a killing in the process.

G8 concludes no quick fix for oil prices

"There are no quick fixes to soaring oil and food prices, Group of Eight finance ministers concluded on Saturday, although disagreements emerged about the role that speculators were playing in exacerbating price rises."

Plan Would Lift Saudi Oil Output to Highest Ever

"Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is planning to increase its output next month by about a half-million barrels a day, according to analysts and oil traders who have been briefed by Saudi officials."

ExxonMobil to sell 2,220 gas stations

"The nation's largest oil company, which earned nearly $41 billion last year, says it will sell more than 2,000 stations over the next few years."

Why the Oil Price Is High

"Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi recently stated, “There is no justification for the current rise in prices.” What the minister means is that there are no shortages or supply disruptions. He means no real reasons as distinct from speculative or psychological reasons."

Gas hits national average of $4 for first time

"Drivers are paying an average of $4 for a gallon of gasoline for the first time. AAA and the Oil Price Information Service say the national average price for a gallon of regular gas rose to $4.005 overnight from $3.988. But consumers in many parts of the country have already been paying well above that price for some time."