Oil Prices

The biggest repercussions from Hurricane Gustav's brush with the Gulf Coast oil complex played out in energy markets Tuesday instead of at refineries and oil rigs, as reports trickled in that damage to key facilities was mostly minor and oil prices plunged below $110 a barrel in response. Teams of oil industry and government employees fanned out across the region, inspecting shut-down refineries responsible for more than 10% of the nation's gasoline production and boarding helicopters and planes to fly over oil platforms that account for 25% of U.S. oil output.

NEW YORK -- Stocks posted sharp losses in Monday trading as commodities fell sharply following disappointing economic data out of China. Gold was also suffering a sharp sell-off. The Dow Jones industrial average, which had been in striking distance of 15,000, was off 156.85 points, or 1.1%, to 14,708.21 in late-day trading on Wall Street. The Dow had been down more than 200 points earlier. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 22.67 points, or 1.4%, to 1,566.18. The technology-focused Nasdaq was off 52.73 points, or 1.6%, to 3,242.22 Downbeat data out of China fueled worries over slowing growth.

World oil prices are rising sharply as violence spreads through Libya, the first major petroleum exporter to be threatened by unrest sweeping North Africa and the Mideast. As fears mounted that soaring energy costs could derail the global economic recovery, the benchmark price of crude in London on Monday surged $5.48, or more than 5%, to $108.20 a barrel, its highest level since September 2008. The rise knocked European stock markets sharply lower. U.S. oil prices also jumped, hitting $91.42 a barrel in electronic trading on a day when most U.S. financial markets were closed for the Presidents Day holiday.

JUNEAU, Alaska - Over most of the last several decades, Alaska's North Slope was America's energy powerhouse. The legendary oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk gushed 2 million barrels a day out of the frozen tundra and down the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The state abolished its income tax and paid its citizens generous annual oil dividends. Then in an alliance with Democrats that enraged the GOP old guard, former Republican Gov. Sarah Palin in 2007 helped push through an unabashedly liberal tax plan that boosted oil production taxes, in some cases up to 350% above 2005 levels.

The smoke rising from more than 150 flaming Kuwaiti oil wells is darkening more than the desert horizon: It is casting a pall over the emirate's prospects of resuming oil production at pre-invasion levels any time in the near future. Analysts believe that the damage to the wells may significantly impair Kuwait's ability to pump oil for months or years once the war ends. Already the destruction is "massive," said Ole Bjerregaard, a spokesman for Kuwait Petroleum International in London.

Some broadcast and cable programs contain material included in the public school curriculum and on standardized examinations. Here are home-viewing tips: Today--"48 Hours" (KCBS 8-9 p.m.) Report on the cultural conflict that arose when a U.S. Marine on duty in the Persian Gulf was betrothed to a member of Bahrain's royal family, putting both their lives in peril. Also, "Flashback: The Quest For Gold" (TLC 9-10 p.m.) Historical documentary about gold-seekers in Africa covers ancient Egypt, King Solomon's marriage to the Queen of Sheba and the founding of the Palace of Great Zimbabwe.

Crude oil prices have rebounded slightly after falling last week to their lowest levels in six months. Retail gasoline prices were falling in California after a painful 18.6-cent jump over the last two weeks. Nationally, the average retail price for gasoline was entering its seventh straight week of declines. The U.S. oil commodities trading benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, was up 61 cents to $92.09 a barrel during trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, European benchmark Brent North Sea crude was up 86 cents to $108 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange.

You wouldn't like these odds in Las Vegas. As oil prices have surged amid the escalating turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa, Wall Street has been reminded of an inconvenient truth: All five U.S. recessions since 1973 either followed or coincided with a spike in energy costs. It's still early to be calling for a new recession this time around, but the $12 jump in crude prices this week has left every economic optimist at least somewhat unnerved. Since the brutal recession of 2008-09 officially ended, the U.S. economy has been struggling to gain enough momentum to reach "escape velocity," meaning a growth rate strong enough to become self-sustaining.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve's latest report of regional economies paints a picture of a nation continuing to grow moderately, with car sales going strong, manufacturing adding to recent gains and the long-depressed housing market showing flickers of life. But throughout the county, many industries are feeling the pinch of higher oil prices, says the Fed's so-called beige book, released Wednesday. And some employers around the nation are having trouble finding qualified workers, especially to fill high-skilled jobs.

Regarding "Hussein Threats Send Oil Prices to Record $38.25" (Sept. 25): Hussein has Bush over a barrel! MARY M. MOORE Van Nuys

TAFT, Calif. - This two-stoplight town was built on petroleum, and residents here never miss a chance to pay tribute. A 38-foot monument to wildcatters stands downtown; locals brag it's the tallest bronze sculpture west of the Mississippi. Every five years, the city throws an "Oildorado" festival. There's even a beauty pageant in which young women dubbed "the maids of petroleum" vie to be crowned queen. It's all an homage to the bustling days when Taft boasted two giant oil fields and Standard Oil Co. of California was headquartered there.

The city of Whittier and a Santa Barbara oil company prompted outrage Thursday as they began clearing trees and brush from a nature preserve that was bought with Los Angeles County tax dollars to protect it from development. Whittier purchased the land and its mineral rights 19 years ago with $9.3 million in county Proposition A funds, which are designated for conservation purposes only. But the city later reversed course, learning that oil deposits could bring the city up to $100 million a year in royalties - nearly double its $55-million budget.

Step back, Saudi Arabia and Russia. The U.S. will become the world's top producer of oil by 2020, a net exporter of oil around 2030 and nearly self-sufficient in energy by 2035, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. It's a bold set of predictions for a nation that currently imports some 20% of its energy needs. Recently, however, an "energy renaissance" has begun in the U.S., marked by a boost in oil, shale gas and bioenergy production made possible by new technologies such as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and horizontal drilling, said the report by the Paris agency, which acts as an energy watchdog for industrialized nations.

Re "Gas market's structure hits drivers hard," Oct. 22 The graph that accompanied this article, which shows how crude oil prices, taxes, refiners and station owners have influenced the price of gas recently, proves that practically all of the recent run-up in California gasoline prices is going to the refinery owners: Chevron, Tesoro, BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and four others. Chevron, BP, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips are, along with Shell, the five largest oil companies in the world, and in 2011 they made record profits of $137 billion.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. and ConocoPhillips posted lower earnings but still beat analyst expectations, leading off what is expected to be a weaker third-quarter earnings performance for the U.S. oil and gas industry compared with a year earlier. Occidental, the nation's fourth-biggest oil and gas company, reported net income of $1.4 billion, or $1.70 a share, compared with a profit of $1.8 billion, or $2.18 a share, in the third quarter of 2011. Analysts had been expecting the Westwood company to report $1.63 a share, according to Thomson Reuters.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. of Westwood led off what is expected to be a lower third-quarter earnings performance for the oil and gas industry compared to a year ago. But the company still made a $1.4-billion profit while setting another production record. Occidental is the nation's fourth biggest oil and gas company. It's $1.4-billion and $1.70-a-share performance compared with a profit of $1.8 billion and $2.18 a share in the third quarter of 2011. The main difference in performance involved lower commodity prices.

Crude oil on Monday reached its highest closing price since January on concern that oil producers might agree to hold back more production when they meet in Vienna this weekend. But the cost of a gas tank fill-up still provided a measure of relief in the midst of otherwise gloomy economic news. The average U.S. price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline climbed to $1.941, up 0.7 of a cent from the previous Monday, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of filling stations.

[Updated, 1:49 p.m. Oct. 5: An earlier version of this story said the state's gasoline record was set during a run up of oil prices that eventually topped $1.47 a gallon.] The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in California jumped a whopping 17.1 cents overnight. That makes it almost certain that the state's motorists will see a new all-time record high for gas sometime this weekend. Friday's average price for a gallon of unleaded regular in California is $4.486 a gallon, which is by far the highest in the nation.

With average gas prices approaching $4 nationally and already above that in California, American consumers are watching their hard-earned dollars go down the gas tank. For President Obama, that's not great news because voters hate high gasoline prices. According to a Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted in March, when prices were about where they are now, 68% of Americans disapproved of Obama's handling of gas prices. Republicans have since pounced, arguing that gasoline prices have more than doubled under his leadership.