Oil Prices

Still pretty early to tell, but following Looney Dunes: Alaskan Oil we have CNN Report:

" Global oil prices are slightly lower Tuesday, a day after the market jumped 3 percent on news BP was shutting down Alaska's giant Prudhoe Bay oilfield, possibly for months.

The 400,000 barrel-per-day Alaskan field accounts for eight percent of U.S. domestic production.

U.S. light, sweet crude oil was down 28 cents at $76.70 a barrel by 0641 GMT Tuesday, Reuters reported. It jumped 3 percent to $76.98 a barrel on Monday, within sight of its record of $78.40 reached in July.

London Brent crude is down 41 cents to $77.89 a barrel. It hit a record high Monday of $78.64.

Share markets in Asia, which fell sharply on Monday as part of a global slump, recovered Tuesday, with Japan's Nikkei up more than 2 percent at the close. South Korea, Taiwan and Australia were all up more than 1 percent.

BP said on Monday it would shut down its Prudhoe Bay operation for an indefinite period after finding "unexpectedly severe corrosion" on one line and a small oil spill.

In a subsequent statement, BP said it would replace all of the field's transit lines, potentially putting it out of service for months.

BP America President Bob Malone said in a news release dated Tuesday, August 8: "We have now taken the decision to replace the main oil transit lines at Prudhoe Bay. This will be accomplished as part of our overall plan for ensuring the integrity of the field."

Malone said BP deeply regretted that it was necessary to take the "drastic action" of a shutdown.

Crude oil prices began climbing as soon as the first BP announcement was made and analysts said consumers could expect an increase in gas prices at the pump.

"We apologize to the nation and to the state of Alaska for any adverse impact, however this decision was made due to discovery of unexpectedly severe corrosion and a small spill from a crude oil transit pipeline," BP spokesman Daren Beaudo told CNN. (Watch BP man apologize -- 4.26)
Oil reserve

The U.S. Department of Energy said it was willing to release supplies from the nation's emergency oil reserve to prevent a crisis.

BP, which is already facing a criminal investigation over a large corrosion-related spill in March at Prudhoe Bay, saw its stock drop several percentage points on the London Stock Exchange after the shutdown announcement, The Associated Press said.

Beaudo said it would take a "few days" to shut down production on the affected pipeline.

He said approximately four to five barrels of oil had leaked, but the spill had been contained. He said pumping would resume until it was environmentally safe to continue.

BP said tests had revealed 16 anomalies in 12 locations in an oil transit line on the eastern side of the oil field.

According to AP, the oil firm confirmed in June that it had received a subpoena from a U.S. grand jury investigating the March spill at Prudhoe Bay.

Also last week, BP said it would shut down 12 oil wells on Alaska's North Slope as a precaution after whistle blowers alleged more than 50 were leaking, AP said. Most of the closed wells were in Prudhoe Bay.

Monday's announcement follows more than a year of escalating oil prices with violence in the Middle East and Africa, wranglings over Russian energy firms and adverse weather in key North American oil fields all piling pressure on a jittery market.

But there are some hopes for a breakthrough in the Middle East conflict."



And from July 12 International Energy Agency:
Supply ahead of demand

International Energy Agency - Oil Market Report:

"Benchmark NYMEX WTI crude futures rallied above $75/bbl in early July driven by strong gasoline prices, refinery problems and geopolitical uncertainty. Supply constraints remain in Nigeria, although Iraq’s northern pipeline is providing additional supplies. Headline-driven reactions to developments involving Iran’s nuclear programme continue to have a major impact on market sentiment.

World oil product demand growth is largely unchanged for 2006, at 1.21 mb/d, as weak 2Q06 OECD consumption is counterbalanced by Chinese demand strength. Demand projections for 2007 show growth of 1.57 mb/d based on recoveries in North America and Southeast Asia.

Non-OPEC oil supply growth accelerates to 1.7 mb/d in 2007 from 1.1 mb/d in 2006. Supply (including biofuels) averages 53.0 mb/d next year. The FSU and Africa account for 60% of growth, and the Americas for 30%. New oilfields and an assumed rebound after severe 2005/2006 outages underpin the increase in 2007. The North Sea and OECD Pacific also see a temporary respite in 2007 from recent declines."


Now back to our regularly scheduled nonsense ...