Oil hits new highs on Yukos worries, U.S. refinery fire

[NickB79]

"LONDON — Oil prices hit record highs Friday, climbing close to $45, after a renewed threat to Russian oil producer Yukos and a big refinery fire in the United States added to concerns about world supplies."

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""Fifty, sixty dollars a barrel is thinkable for the first time since 1979 ... But so much has changed between then and now that prices might have to go even higher before demand growth slows down," said Deborah White, senior economist at SG Commodities in Paris."

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"Yukos, which pumps 1.7 million barrels per day, or two percent of world supplies, is battling bankruptcy from a multi-billion dollar tax debt that is threatening its ability to continue exports."

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"A fire on Thursday shut a gasoline-producing unit at BP's 470,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Texas, third-biggest plant in the United States. The flash fire was quickly extinguished, but it was unclear how long the unit would be down."

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2004-08-06-oil-prices_x.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno

[NMDemDist2]

1. another refinery fire in Texas? look for gas to jump by Monday n/t

[Kagemusha]

2. Hey Yukos is scaring the markets as bad as it can

to save its own ass. This isn't just innocent victimization by the evil Russian Empire here...

[HuckleB]

3. Interesting piece: THE DEATH OF CHEAP CRUDE

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/416F7BA6-90FC-48E6-8F4C-CA30FDD6EB39.htm

[David__77]

4. A major crisis would blow up the global economy.

Only China would be relatively immune thanks to its self-sufficiency. But oil is the grease making the machine work. So far, even these milder jitters and crises have caused this--imagine if Venezuela embargoed, or if war spread to Iran and Syria and disrupted production in the Arabian peninsula as well...