Oil Industry

Venezuela's state oil company reportedly moved to protect its assets from Exxon Mobil Corp.'s legal reach Monday as experts speculated that the South American energy giant may be suffering a severe cash shortage. Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA, instructed its traders to deposit oil receipts with UBS bank in Switzerland, the Reuters news agency reported Monday. The move follows Exxon Mobil's victory last week persuading U.S.

The Alaska Supreme Court has said that owners of the 800-mile trans-Alaska oil pipeline charged too much in the past to ship North Slope crude oil to refineries in the state. The opinion from the state's high court upholds a 2002 ruling by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska that said pipeline owners should refund the excess revenue collected from shippers -- about $80 million plus interest. The refund would cover overcharges from 1997 to 2003.

The petroleum world produced a record Tuesday, which was bad news for consumers. Frenzied trading sent crude oil surging above $100 a barrel -- to $100.01 -- the highest closing price ever for oil on the New York commodities market, making it likely that gas prices soon will jump too. In addition, prices for gold, copper and other commodities soared as investment funds sought places to park their money in the face of inflation concerns and a weaker dollar.

Re "Lost in the Hollywood jungle," Opinion, Feb. 19 I had a different reaction from Ernest Freeberg to the movie "There Will Be Blood." Granted that Upton Sinclair's socialist message was not explicit, I thought that the character of Daniel Plainview and his ruthless, evil drive was a metaphor for the strengths and evils of the oil industry itself. Shirley A. Conger Corona del Mar -- Sinclair's book, "Oil!," was published shortly after the Teapot Dome scandal. We continue to celebrate a crook named Edward L. Doheny, who made a fortune from a bribe.

United Airlines increased its fuel surcharge on domestic U.S. flights Friday by as much as $10 round-trip, a move quickly matched by Delta Air Lines Inc. as oil hit a new record again this week. United, the No. 2 U.S. airline, said it increased its domestic U.S. fuel surcharge by $3 to $5 each way. Delta matched United's move, said Rick Seaney, chief executive of fare tracker FareCompare. Delta said earlier in the day that it had not yet raised fares again.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. Chief Executive Ray R. Irani reaped $77.6 million in 2007, continuing a long string of lucrative payouts that have often aggravated shareholder advocacy groups. The compensation tally for last year represented a 40% increase from the $55.5 million Irani received in 2006, according to a securities filing by the company Tuesday. Westwood-based Occidental, which has posted record-high earnings amid soaring prices for the oil and natural gas it produces, said 91% of Irani's 2007 compensation was based on performance measurements.

Chevron Corp. raised Chief Executive David O'Reilly's compensation by 19% last year to $15.74 million after record oil prices lifted annual profit to an all-time high. O'Reilly's salary rose 1.9% to $1.65 million, the San Ramon, Calif., company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. His bonus climbed 2.9% to $3.6 million.

President Felipe Calderon on Tuesday called for a sweeping modernization of Mexico's state-owned oil company, outlining a series of reforms that would allow private firms to assume a greater role in the petroleum industry. "We must act now," Calderon said in a televised address timed to coincide with the formal presentation of his initiative to the Senate. "Time and our oil are running out." The reserves of Pemex, as the oil company is known, could disappear in a decade, officials say.

A surprise decline in U.S. crude supplies pushed oil futures to $112.21 a barrel Wednesday before settling at $110.87, both records that could doom drivers to even higher pump prices. Predictions of $4 gasoline have already come true at a smattering of service stations around California, including a Chevron in downtown Los Angeles where self-serve regular began the day at $4.139 a gallon before rising to $4.199. Wednesday's $2.

Two Ecuadoreans who have waged a 14-year fight to bring a U.S. energy giant to account for what they allege is massive oil contamination in the Amazon are among the winners of an international environmental prize. Pablo Fajardo Mendoza and Luis Yanza each will receive $150,000 today from the San Francisco-based Goldman Environmental Prize for organizing half a dozen indigenous communities to pursue legal action against Texaco and then Chevron Corp. after the two companies merged in 2001.