Oil prices jump above $119 on report US ship fired on Iranian vessel

AP ^ | 4/25/08

[bjs1779]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices rose sharply Friday on news reports that a ship under contract to the U.S. Navy fired warning shots at two Iranian boats.

The report on Fox News raised concerns that a conflict between U.S. and Iranian forces could cut oil supplies from the Persian Gulf region. Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose $2.85 to $118.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier rising as high as $119.50.

Prices were already up before the report on news of a pipeline attack in Nigeria and a looming refinery strike in Scotland.

At the pump, meanwhile, gas prices rose another 2.1 cents Friday to a record national average of $3.577 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices have been following oil futures higher, but are also rising due to concerns about whether gasoline supplies are adequate to meet peak summer driving demand.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Enough with the warning shots.

Sink em!

[bronxboy]

We should just go into these ragheads countries and take over. Oil is the life blood of our, and the world’s economy. Let the Useless Nations complain, they hate the US anyway.

[dawn53]

Betcha it was the Iranians that fired on that Japanese oil tanker the other day.

[RightWhale]

Shutting the oil pipeline in GB would be a major cause of the sudden crude oil price rise. England will be having a problem.

[straps]

As Mr Fred G Sanford puts it so eliquently,” Hey Boy you want 5 cross yo lips sucker “?
Sink the azz holes and then use the State Dept Building in DC for a target for the US Navy Warships. Its time for GW to send in the folks and blow up there little tin hat navy once and for all. As for the AP screw them for hiring taliban supporters throw all there correspondents in jail for 2-12 years. They are terrorists in disguse just read there names. GO USA KICK BUTT!

Before the General idiots in the USAF retire the F117 send them in on a night raid to destroy the sampan navy of Iran.

[SengirV]

Yep people here will still back the oil companies. The price goes up on ANY negative news, but never go down because it’s simply “demand”. Yeah, right.

It’s futures market people. Futures have artificially inflated the price. “Events” like this that cause the price to go up, without any drop in quiet times is the proof. The oild companies smile with glee anytime something like this happens, they know it’s billions more in their pockets.

[RC2]

I agree....the hell with them. Go in and go in hard and fast. So fast that the Democrats can’t say a word. We should also start drilling now. You can’t develop oil fields until you start.

[thackney]

-—but never go down-—

Did you buy gasoline, diesel or fuel oil in the late 90s?

[uncbob]

We should just go into these ragheads countries and take over. Oil is the life blood of our, and the world’s economy. Let the Useless Nations complain, they hate the US anyway.

Yep we should HAVE back when we had enough military man power to do it

[NY.SS-Bar9]

I’m beginning to think that with all the money in play, the probability is that when the price of oil dips, those with long positions pay off some miscreant to start trouble.

</paranoia>

[SengirV]

Yep. And the oil companies still prospered back then. But once they get a taste of this easy money, it’s going to take A LOT for the oil companies to move away from the money trough.

The oil companies have grown mighty powerful since the late 90s. They don’t bow to pressure anymore, like they used to back then.

[BurbankKarl]

the F117s were retired earlier this week....

[count-your-change]

What are the profit margins for the large oil companies?
Are they far greater than other industries of businesses?

[RightWhale]

The oil companies have grown mighty powerful since the late 90s

LOL

[thackney]

-—And the oil companies still prospered back then.——

Prospered? Most survived, but not all. None “prospered”. The lack of drilling and capital investment from those days is part of our high prices today.

Now they are drilling and building at fast rates.

-—But once they get a taste of this easy money, it’s going to take A LOT for the oil companies to move away from the money trough.-—

Boom and Bust has been the oil industry cycle for many decades for many cycles.

-—They don’t bow to pressure anymore, like they used to back then.-—

The big difference today is the amount of reserves controlled by OPEC nations instead of investor owned companies.

[BurbankKarl]

The end of an era began April 21st at Holloman AFB in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Following a morning ceremony at the base, the final four operational Lockheed F-117A Nighthawks took off and headed west, towards Palmdale, California’s famous Lockheed Skunk Works facility, for one last ceremony before they are officially retired to their ‘ancestral’ home at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, near the mysterious Groom Lake airfield. At Tonopah, their wings will be removed and they will go into storage. Due to their sensitive nature, they will not be coming to the ‘Boneyard’ in Tucson, Arizona. One aircraft will remain in use with the 410th FLTS at Plant 42, and it will be retired in the fall of this year. The USAF sped up the retirement of the Nighthawk in order to free up funds for the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II programs.

For the final flight ceremonies, the formation arrived over Palmdale’s USAF Plant 42 at eleven am on the 21st of April, 2008. Aircraft serial numbers included #80-0843 which wore the American flag on its belly and was the final F-117 delivered to the Air Force; #84-0809,wearing the 9th FS ‘Iron Knights’ colors; #82-0800 sporting the 8th FS ‘Black Sheep’ colors; and #84-0824, which wore the 49th OG colors. Aircraft #843 and #809 are Desert Storm veterans, with #843 being known by its maintainers as ‘Affectionately Christine’, after the Stephen King movie depicting a Plymouth Fury that had a life of its own. On Tuesday, April 22nd, there was one last ceremony near the Skunk Works, before the aircraft headed for Tonopah. With crowds of spectators and photojournalists watching from various areas off and on-base, the four Nighthawks did one last flyover, in fingertip formation, southeast over Plant 42, before they turned back to the northeast and headed into the history books.

[mainerforglobalwarming]

What’s the profit for a gallon of gas? 10 cents for oil companies?

[gathersnomoss]

A buck-nineteen a barrel will seem like a bargain in the very near future. Has anyone else noticed that drivers are increasingly driving at or very near the speed limit?

[rlmorel]

"...The oil companies have grown mighty powerful since the late 90s. They don’t bow to pressure anymore, like they used to back then..."

Muaaahhhaaaahaaaaa!

For your pleasure (In Rush Limbaugh's lowered hissing voice):

"Big Oil!"