OIL

Laboratory tests show that oil washing up on Northern California beaches did not come from the cargo ship that slammed into the Bay Bridge last fall. Investigators say tar balls found this week from Pacifica to Monterey probably came from naturally occurring pools of oil beneath the sea floor. California Department of Fish and Game Lt. Brian Arnold said heavy storms were typically responsible for washing oil ashore during the winter. The Cosco Busan leaked 58,000 gallons of toxic bunker fuel into San Francisco Bay after hitting a bridge support in November.

Not even an extraordinarily cohesive effort by oil producers to rein in production was enough to keep crude oil futures from falling Monday in the face of more bad news about the global economy. Meanwhile, the lack of demand that has depressed oil markets since last summer was beginning to show up in retail gasoline prices. The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline fell 0.9 of a cent to $1.

OPEC decided Friday against pumping more oil in a rebuff to Washington, a prelude to possible cuts as early as next month should the wounded U.S. economy lessen demand for crude. The decision arrived despite U.S. urgings -- backed by other major consumers -- for more oil on the market to cool prices and relieve inflationary pressures that have contributed to fears of a global economic downturn. In New York futures trading, light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $2.79 to $88.

Oil companies under pressure from a wave of nationalization worldwide will probably remain on the sidelines of Exxon Mobil Corp.'s legal fight with Venezuela before launching into a similar battle, analysts said Friday. The biggest U.S. company has won court orders to freeze as much as $12 billion of Venezuela's oil assets around the globe as it fights for compensation for a project lost in President Hugo Chavez's nationalization drive.

Venezuela moved Tuesday to take a greater cut of windfall oil profits, approving a 50% tax on foreign oil companies when crude tops $70 a barrel. The tax rate would rise to 60% when the average monthly price for crude exceeds $100, according to the bill approved by the National Assembly. Revenue from the tax could reach $9 billion annually, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said. "That's why, for the executive branch, it is urgent to create this law," Ramirez said.

Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled energy company, offered to buy all oil and gas available for export from Libya, threatening to grab greater control of Europe's energy supplies. Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller made the proposal to Libyan leader Col. Moammar Kadafi during a visit to Tripoli, the Moscow company said. Libya exported about 1.53 million barrels of oil a day in 2006, almost enough to supply Italy.

Rising production and skyrocketing prices could more than double the Iraqi government's expected bonanza in oil revenue this year, leading a top U.S. government auditor to call for an end to American funding of Iraqi reconstruction projects. The Iraqi government had projected 2008 oil revenue of about $35 billion. But a U.S. report to be issued today by the special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction will say that oil production in the second quarter of the year hit 2.

Russia and Belarus on Friday resolved a dispute over oil taxes and transit fees that had disrupted energy supplies to European customers, but the harsh tactics used by each side left both countries politically bruised. After two days of negotiations in Moscow, Russia agreed to reduce a newly imposed $180 per metric ton export tax on crude oil sent to Belarus to $53 a ton, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Y. Fradkov said. The rates will rise in 2008 and 2009, he said.

One turn of a valve can have rippling consequences. The recent oil price dispute between Russia and Belarus has jolted Europe, reviving debates on alternate energy and highlighting the continent's reliance on fuel flowing through the volatile politics enveloping Moscow and the former Soviet republics. The unfolding scenario is a fascinating game of wily players, big business and diplomacy connected by pipelines and exploration projects.

The former head of the United Nations oil-for-food program for Iraq and a brother-in-law of an ex-U.N. leader were charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit wire fraud tied to the program. Benon V. Sevan, 69, the first U.N. official to be charged with wrongdoing under the program, and Fred Nadler, 79, a businessman and brother-in-law of former Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, were named in an indictment unsealed in Manhattan.