http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/000804/n04453963.html

Friday August 4, 3:32 pm Eastern Time

NYMEX crude rockets ends up over $1 near $30/bbl

NEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Bullish fundamentals sent NYMEX crude oil up over a $1 Friday to $30 a barrel, led by concerns over large U.S. inventory draws and questions over OPEC production levels.

Front month September on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) crude last traded at $29.92 a barrel, up $1.26 cents.

Front-month crude has been gaining since Tuesday, triggered by weekly inventory data released Tuesday and Wednesday showing strong crude stockdraws in the United States last week.

In addition, traders said refinery glitches helped firm crude, with three U.S. Gulf plants currently troubled: BP Amoco's (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: BPA.L) 120,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) cat cracker at Texas City, Texas; Motiva's refinery in Convent, La. (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: SHEL.L) (NYSE:TX - news); and the Shell-Pemex Deer Park refinery in Texas.

Traders also cited as bullish a Reuters survey released Friday indicating crude production from the OPEC 10, was up only 210,000 bpd for July.

NYMEX crude last touched $30 a barrel on July 20, before being dragged down by reports of higher output from Saudi Arabia.

But markets are now questioning whether the kingdom will fully implement plans to increase production by 500,000 bpd.

Players were also eyeing the season's first tropical storm, Alberto, developing in the eastern Atlantic.

Gains in U.S. crude futures were matched in London, where September crude oil ended up 99 cents at $29.30, keeping the West Texas Intermediate/North Sea Brent around a narrow 61 cents.

Traders said at least one play afoot in the Brent market was contributing to strength versus the U.S. benchmark.

NYMEX products were pulled up with crude, with heating oil futures up 2.54 cents to 82.00 a gallon and unleaded gasoline up 1.98 cents to 87.90 cents.

-- CPR (GetsIt@Wrong.again), August 05, 2000

Answers

So creeper finally admits he might be wrong. Next Andy Gay will issue an apology. One can always hope.

-- posting incognito (not@real.address), August 05, 2000.

CPR didn't post this. He will never admit that he is wrong, about anything.

-- (here_we@go.again), August 05, 2000.

The Oil-A-Holics are back. A temp Tech rebound before the slide continues and like the DRUNKS they are, they come back online to brag. Just like drunks. So predictable. For 2 weeks they were SO NICE AND QUIET. They will be quiet again by the end of next week.

Monday and Tuesday after the OPEC traders have sold enough at 30, you will get another announcement and the price of crude will resume its downward trend.

SUCKERS.

-- cpr (buytexas@swbell.net), August 05, 2000.

Monday or Tuesday, cpr? Which Monday are we talking about? Monday, August 7, 2000?

OK, I guess we'll see.

But what if you are wrong, cpr? Will you admit that you are wrong, if this doesn't come to pass?

Yea, right.

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

-- (here_we@go.again), August 06, 2000.

I have a few comments to this thread which you may find relevant. All summer long I have been building locations here in East Texas for primarily BP Amaco and EOG. Out of the thirty or so I have completed in the last five months not one was for oil. Every single one of them was for natural gas drilling on known fields. There is ZERO new oilfield development or exploration going on here.

There has been a resurgence of uncapping marginally productive old oil wells, but either the powers in control of operations think the field is just too deleted to support additional drilling, or they do not think the price support will be in place long enough to justify the expense of new drilling. I think the answer lies somewhere in between. That prices have more or less hit an equilibrium, and oil drilling funds are being allocated to the areas of greatest return on investment, mostly offshore. At these current prices natural gas is a real competitor to oil for home heating, industrial use, and even automotive fuel use, which explains the frantic drilling pace for it. Might as well adjust your budget to the current price of gas, it's here to stay.

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), August 06, 2000.

Its now Tuesday. DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR $30 /BBL OIL IS? How about that Gold that Gareeeee pushed at $320 now sub-$275??. As for Nat. Gas, "its about time". Boone Pickens was right. And what do we have here in the Great State of Texas?? 150 years of it?? 200? 300? Of course, the gas from the Doomzies would make even that last longer if it could be trapped before rising.

MY TURN TO LOLOLOLOL.......SHIT HEADS.

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-post-reply-form.tcl

LINK Name Time Open Hi/Lo Last Settle Change Open Int. LIGHT CRUDE (NYM)
September 00 ($US per bbl.) 8/8 15:09 29.00 29.34/28.80 29.15 29.12 +0.210 96109 BRENT CRUDE (IPE)
October 00 ($US per bbl.) 8/8 15:11 27.72 28.00/27.51 27.78 27.78 +0.160 76926 HEATING OIL (NYM)
September 00 ($US per gal.) 8/8 15:09 0.786 0.801/0.784 0.800 0.798 +0.016 36371 NATURAL GAS (NYM)
September 00 ($US per mmbtu) 8/8 15:08 4.45 4.48/4.39 4.41 4.40 +0.061 44793 UNLEADED GAS (NYM)
September 00 ($US per gal.) 8/8 15:09 0.851 0.867/0.844 0.862 0.862 +0.014 29504

-- cpr (buytexas@swbell.net), August 08, 2000.

What's your point here, cpr? Do you like punching yourself in the face?

Look at the CHANGE column. .21+ .16+ .016+ .061+ .014+

Once again, the great cpr tries to change the topic.

THIS ISN'T ABOUT GOLD, GENIUS, IT'S ABOUT OIL!

Didn't you say that oil would be lower, starting today?

-- (here_we@go.again), August 09, 2000.

Thursday August 10, 10:39 am Eastern Time

Mogas up over 5 cts on Exxon Mobil plant outage talk

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Gulf Coast cash gasoline values rose over five cents a gallon Thursday morning, mostly on talk of problems at Exxon Mobil's (NYSE:XOM - news) refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The company has not returned phone calls.

The Baton Rouge refinery, with an overall capacity of about 450,000 barrels per day, is one of the largest in the United States.

Traders in Houston said Thursday that regular unleaded gasoline in the cash market were up about three cents from Wednesday to 4.00/3.50 cents a gallon under the front-month gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

NYMEX traders said talk on the outage also boosted the futures up 2.50 cents to 90.70 cents in early trade.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/000810/n10183022.html

-- Cave Man (caves@are.us), August 10, 2000.

Commodity Movers

http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/crb.html

-- Cave Man (caves@are.us), August 10, 2000.

Posted at 7:52 a.m. PDT Thursday, August 10, 2000

Iraq denies threatening Kuwait

BAGHDAD, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Iraq denied on Thursday it had made any threats against Kuwait after the emirate said it had put some of its armed forces on alert in reaction to comments by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The political editor at the state Iraqi News Agency (INA) wrote in an article that the alleged threats were a fabrication of ``panic-stricken'' Kuwaiti leaders.

``No Iraqi leader, whether directly or indirectly, has threatened the Kuwaiti regime,'' the editor wrote.

``The rulers of Kuwait...are panicking these days not from statements by Iraqi officials but because they now realise the size of the crime they commit daily against the Iraqi people through participating in the continued American and British aggression against Iraq,'' he wrote.

U.S. and British planes based in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia patrol a no-fly zone over southern Iraq. They have frequently bombed targets when they are challenged by Iraqi defence forces.

Iraq says around 300 civilians have been killed in raids on northern and southern Iraq since December 1998.

Saddam, in a speech this week, lashed out at Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries for hosting Western military bases since the 1990-91 Gulf conflict over the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

Kuwait Defence Minister Sheikh Salem Sabah al-Salem al- Sabah said on Wednesday Kuwait's military was prepared for any ``emergency in light of the recent Iraqi statements and threats.''

http://www.mercurycenter.com/breaking/docs/025867.htm

-- Cave Man (caves@are.us), August 10, 2000.

Market watch, Aug. 10

International oil markets continued to rally Wednesday, with the September contract for the benchmark US crude climbing $1.23 to $30.35/bbl on the New York Mercantile Exchange. http://ogj.pennnet.com/Content/cd_anchor_article/1,1052,OGJ_7 _NEWS_SUB_79864_1,00.html

-- Not CPR (justpassingby@today.here), August 10, 2000.

http:// www.brecorder.com/story/S00DD/SDH10/SDH10158.htm

Iraq warns UN delays threaten oil production levels ..........BAGHDAD (August 10) : A senior Iraqi oil official said on Wednesday new delays in approving contracts designed to upgrade its dilapidated oil industry were threatening its production levels. .........."What is being done at the United Nations and by the 661 (Sanctions) Committee is not encouraging Iraq to keep on producing at these rates and eventually increasing them," Faleh Khayat, head of the planning and studies department at the oil ministry, told a news conference. ..........He said the US and British delegates of the Sanctions Committee were continuing to obstruct many oil sector contracts for equipment and material required to sustain oil production and export. .........."This was compounded lately by the long delays in contracts processing by the Office of the Iraqi Programme (OIP) for periods ranging from one month to one year," Khayat said. ..........He added that there were also delays in opening letters of credit of the holding bank of the Iraqi account, BNP Bank, "for periods ranging from two weeks to five months." ..........Iraq said last month that it was planning to raise its production to between 3.3 and 3.4 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the year from its current 3.1 million bpd. .........."The rates of production and exports are related and coupled to the equipment and materials actually received...as well as prospects for improving that," Khayat said. .........."Obstructing or delaying the receipt of this equipment will definitely lead to the diminishing of the oil sector capabilities to fulfil its obligation in production and exports and would adversely affect the record rates achieved lately," he said. ..........IRAQ WILL NOT DAMAGE RESERVOIRS: Khayat said Iraq would not abandon yet its aim to lift production but would not jeopardise its oil reservoirs in its efforts. .........."One thing we will not do, we will not damage irreversibly our reservoirs just to achieve a production level," he said. ..........He said as of August 7, the total of contracts registered with the OIP numbered 2,718 worth a total $1.53 billion, of which 1,313 contracts worth $790 million were either held or delayed. ..........Of those contracts, 256 valued at $214 million were being processed and evaluated by the OIP. Contracts on hold with committee 661 numbered 494 worth $278 million, while contracts awaiting opening of credits totalled 563 at $273 million. ..........Khayat said Iraq had thus far received equipment and material worth $306 million, or 20 percent of the total of registered contracts. ..........Iraq, under stringent economic sanctions imposed after it invaded Kuwait 10 years ago, is allowed to sell oil for food and other essential material including spare parts for its dilapidated oil industry. ..........Under the rules of the UN pact, all contracts must be passed to the Sanctions Committee in New York before shipments can be made.-Reuters ..........Copyright 2000 Reuters (Published under arrangements with Reuters) ..........

-- Cave Man (caves@are.us), August 10, 2000.

Thursday August 10, 3:13 pm Eastern Time

US oil surges on tight supplies, less Saudi Arabian crude

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Tight supplies pushed U.S. oil prices up more than a dollar a barrel for the second day running on Thursday amid reports that No. 1 world oil producer Saudi Arabia was shipping less crude to its major customers.

Crude oil gained on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for the front month September contract, which was up 85 cents to $31.20 a barrel at 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) after trading as much as $1.17 a barrel higher.

September supply from Saudi Arabia to major customers would be less than August supplies, traders said on Thursday. ``In our case, we're almost back to June levels,'' said one.

That news came on top of surprise drawdowns of about 10 million barrels on crude stocks reported by the statistics branch of the Department of Energy earlier this month --supplies that had been expected to be flush with new stock from Saudi Arabia.

After the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to open the taps an additional 708,000 barrels per day (bpd) from July 1, Saudi Arabia said it would produce an additional 500,000 bpd to temper the OPEC basket of crudes down to $25 a barrel.

But those barrels have not shown up in the United States yet.

Heavy gasoline buying by one of the largest refineries in the United States ahead of going into maintenance also boosted prices, traders said.

Exxon Mobil Corp.'s 465,000 bpd Baytown, Texas was scheduled to go into planned turnaround September spot market traders said. Exxon Mobil said it would only comment on turnarounds just before they happen.

Refiner buying also pushed up West Coast prices where BP Amoco (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: BPA.L), Chevron (NYSE:CHV - news), Tosco (NYSE:TOS - news), and Equilon were all seen as strong buyers.

Shares in leading U.S. oil companies gained on the higher oil prices. In late trade on the New York Stock Exchange leading independent refiner Valero Energy Corp (NYSE:VLO - news) gained 1 3/8 to 28 1/16 per share while No. 1 U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil were up 1 3/16 to 81 1/4 per share.

--

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/000810/n03599181.html

-- Cave Man (caves@are.us), August 10, 2000.

Top News

Crude Oil Futures Trade Above $31 a Barrel Amid Continuing Supply Fears

Dow Jones Business News

NEW YORK - Crude oil and petroleum-product prices continued to rally Thursday, with crude trading above $31 a barrel, on continued supply worries.

At midsession at the New York Mercantile Exchange, September crude oil was up 79 cents, or 2.6%, at $31.14 a barrel.

With 'virtually no resistance,' prices could reach the post-Gulf War high of $34.37 a barrel hit in March unless the Saudis deliver on their promise to raise production by 500,000 barrels a day, said John Kilduff, senior vice president at Fimat, USA, Inc. 'We need more oil,' he said. 'We need it now and we need it in the U.S.'

October crude traded up 70 cents, or 2.3%, to $30.65 a barrel.

September gasoline surged 2.80 cents, or 3.2%, to trade at 91 cents a gallon.

Gasoline rallied on talk of a slew of refinery problems on the Gulf Coast. There were reports that Exxon-Mobil Corp.'s Baton Rouge refinery's fluid catalytic crack is down and talk of an undisclosed problem at Motiva's refinery in Norco, La. Both companies were seen buying gasoline in the cash market, people in the market said.

September heating oil climbed 1.56 cents, or 1.9%, to 85.10 cents a gallon.

Crude oil, gasoline and heating oil have sustained strong gains since the American Petroleum Institute and the Department of Energy last week reported a huge drop -- estimated between nine million and more than ten million barrels -- in crude oil inventories.

This week, the API reported that crude stocks declined again -- by more than two million barrels to 282.6 million barrels, their lowest level since 1976, reviving memories of a time when the country was in the midst of an energy crisis.

September crude futures have soared more than three dollars a barrel since last week's API and DOE reports first indicated how tight crude inventories have become.

In addition, global oil inventories remain tight. Although the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has lifted its output ceiling twice this year by a total of 2.5 million barrels a day, and non-OPEC producers also have boosted production, the additional oil has fallen short of demand, resulting in a decline in stocks.

The International Energy Agency reported Wednesday that OPEC members, excluding Iraq, exceeded their production quotas of 25.4 million barrels a day by a mere 40,000 barrels a day in July.

Also on the Nymex, September natural gas rose 1.1 cents to trade at $4.43 per million BTUs.

http://dowjones.work.com/index.asp?layout=story_ind_news&vertical=Ener gy&industry=Oil+%26+Gas&doc_id=3139

-- Cave Man (caves@are.us), August 10, 2000.

NYMEX Oil Review:Crude up on Saudi's Europe cuts, Iraq tension

By Robert Gibbons Bridge News New York--Aug. 10

NYMEX crude oil futures spiked Thursday with Middle East tensions, reports of less Saudi Arabia oil slated for Europe and refinery snag talk supported by heavy refiner buying sending the whole complex higher. Sep crude settled up 99c, or 3.26%, at $31.20 per barrel. Sep heating oil settled up 274 points, or 3.28%, at 86.28 cents per gallon. Sep gasoline settled up 444 points, or 5.03%, at 92.64c per gallon.

Reports of increased tensions at the Iraq-Kuwait border, the scene of the Iraq invasion of Kuwait 10 years ago helped support a market already in an upswing over crude inventory declines reported earlier in the week.

Thursday morning also saw the crude and gasoline futures markets responding to reports of problems at ExxonMobil's Baton Rouge, La., catcracker.

BridgeNews reported that Louisiana officials said ExxonMobil reported an Aug. 2 catcracker snag Monday and that the officials said ExxonMobil reported a naphtha release from No. 12 catcracker. ExxonMobil refused comment.

More uplift to the crude market came from reports citing European oil traders stating that Saudi Arabia was cutting supply from nominated levels for September. "Whether its 20% or 25% below August levels or just back to the August levels, it still means no new production showing up," one broker said.

http://www.petroleumworld.com/story341.htm

-- Cave Man (caves@are.us), August 10, 2000.