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Originally posted by madOIL:
Oil Prices Rise Above $73
Thursday May 11, 9:54 am ET
By George Jahn, Associated Press Writer
Oil Prices Jump More Than $1 a Barrel, Rising Above $73 on Renewed Supply Concerns


VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Crude oil futures jumped more than $1 a barrel Thursday after police said gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped at least two foreign oil workers from a bus in a second day of attacks targeting overseas workers. The news intensified worries about supply disruptions.
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A senior police official in Port Harcourt said the workers were riding on a bus to work in the oil industry city when they were abducted. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

In Italy, the Foreign Ministry said an Italian and possibly two more people were kidnapped in Port Harcourt -- presumably referring to the same incident although that couldn't be immediately confirmed.

The news sent light, sweet crude for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange up $1.04 to $73.17 a barrel in electronic trading by afternoon in Europe. Brent crude rose $1.33 to $73.77 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange.

Gasoline was up 2 cents to $2.1895 a gallon while heating oil was up nearly that much at US$2.0845 a gallon. Natural gas gained 2 cents, fetching US$6.920 per 1,000 cubic feet.

It was the second attack in about 24 hours on foreigners in Port Harcourt, where many oil-services companies keep their main Nigerian operations.

An unidentified gunman riding a motorcycle Wednesday shot and killed an American riding in a car to work at the offices of the U.S. drilling equipment maker Baker Hughes Inc.

A new militant movement whose attacks on oil installations have cut more than 20 percent of Nigeria's of 2.5 million daily barrel production said Tuesday it would target oil workers with fresh attacks.

But a spokesman for the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in an e-mail to The Associated Press Thursday that the group wasn't responsible for either the slaying or the kidnappings.

Concerns about Iran, a major oil exporter, also continued to support prices. The country's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday dismissed Western concerns over its nuclear program as "a big lie," even as other voices in the regime appeared to suggest that international cooperation was possible.

The comments came a day after key U.N. Security Council members agreed to present Tehran with a choice of incentives -- including energy security and civilian nuclear power -- or sanctions in deciding whether to suspend its uranium enrichment program. The move delays a U.S.-backed draft U.N. resolution that could lead to sanctions, or even possible military action, if Iran does not suspend enrichment.

The geopolitical worries overshadowed the weekly petroleum report from the United States on Wednesday, when the U.S. Energy Department said crude-oil inventories rose last week by 300,000 barrels to 347 million barrels, or roughly 5 percent above year-ago levels.

Gasoline inventories climbed by 2.4 million barrels to 205.1 million barrels, or almost 4 percent below last year. It was the second straight week in which gasoline stocks rose.

Traders also focused on a 15,000 barrels-per-day reduction in gasoline output over the next few days due to repairs at a Valero Energy Corp. refinery unit in Texas City, Texas.

"So we've had two weeks of stock builds in gasoline, but the market says: 'Big deal, the absolute level of gasoline stocks is still below year-ago levels, and we're two weeks away from the summer driving season,'" said Victor Shum, energy analyst at Purvin & Gertz.

Any hint of a disruption to refinery operations, with global demand strong and the supply cushion thin, can affect prices.

"The surplus production capacity within OPEC remains limited, giving rise to concerns that supply may have a difficult time catching up with demand -- that has always been the main issue behind the surge in oil prices," Shum said.

Associated Press Writer Gillian Wong contributed to this article from Singapore

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Originally posted by Repoman75:
And I am still LONG the stock ... so before any of you desperate pumpers call me a basher/shorter, I am LONG.

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Originally posted by Bearclaw:
I got in at .0015 this morning and just got out at .0018...green day...Good luck guys

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Originally posted by buck*******:
Careful who you call a desperate pumper...I have been here longer than you, and have NEVER pumped a stock...and by the way...I don't remember anyone calling you a basher/shorter. Relax...

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Originally posted by Repoman75:
And I am still LONG the stock ... so before any of you desperate pumpers call me a basher/shorter, I am LONG.

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