Free Republic

U.S. crude oil production is expected to rise this year for the first time in nearly two decades, buoyed mostly by new offshore projects in the Gulf of Mexico but also getting a boost from a so-far quiet Atlantic hurricane season. Last year, hurricanes Ike and Gustav forced oil and gas companies to shut down wells and evacuate workers from offshore facilities, resulting in 63 million barrels of lost oil production. This year, the government predicts only 3.4 million barrels of outages due to Gulf storms, although hurricane season is still far from over. U.S. oil output is benefiting from...

Standing 60 feet above sea level on this oil platform 130 miles southeast of New Orleans, Rab Bruce pointed to where the huge wave slammed into a tangle of grated steel and multicolor pipes. The Petronius deep-water platform, which was hit by a 90-foot wave during Hurricane Ivan last September, is now back on line. "I was just in shock at the damage," said Mr. Bruce, a longtime field coordinator on Chevron's Petronius deepwater platform, which was hit by a 90-foot wave during Hurricane Ivan last September. "I had never seen anything like this. Everything was busted, dangling and messed...

On Patrol in An Najaf Cemetery Soldiers from Alpha and Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, prepare to throw a grenade into an underground catacomb where anti-Iraqi forces are thought to be hiding in the An Najaf cemetery, Aug. 15, 2004. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt Ashley Brokop opfopfopfopfopfopfopfo Soldiers from Alpha and Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, search through tombs and catacombs in the An Najaf cemetery for weapons caches, improvised explosive devices and anti-Iraqi forces that might be hiding in tombs or catacombs within the...