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Saudi oil
Here we go again, soon as the price at the pump was finally dropping.
LONDON - Crude-oil futures soared nearly $2 a barrel Friday after a Saudi official reported an explosion at a major oil refinery in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose $1.97 to $62.51 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by afternoon in Europe. Brent crude futures for April initially jumped $1.96 to $62.50 on London's ICE Futures exchange.
Nymex gasoline advanced more than 3 cents to $1.550 a gallon, while heating oil gained 4 cents to $1.7066 a gallon. Natural gas futures fell 12 cents to $7.335 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya TV reported the authorities foiled an attempt to bomb the refinery with two vehicles packed with explosives. The channel did not give a source for the report.
Earlier Al-Arabiya quoted its reporter in the kingdom as saying shots and an explosion were heard, and they may have been part of an attempt to attack the refinery.
The oil official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he did not know the cause of the explosion.
Oil prices had already started the day higher as persistent concerns over Nigerian supply disruptions and
Iran's nuclear program overshadowed U.S. government data showing gains in domestic crude supplies.
Nigeria is Africa's leading oil exporter and the United States' fifth-largest supplier, usually exporting 2.5 million barrels daily. Iran is the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
"Despite the inventory data, people are still concerned about the geopolitical risks in Iran and Nigeria, because of the potential for supply disruptions," said Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo.
Militants in Nigeria issued more photos Friday of what they claimed were nine foreigners kidnapped in this West African nation, and threatened more attacks on oil workers and the country's volatile oil industry.
Oil prices spiked earlier in the week on news that the militants had attacked a pipeline switching station operated by Royal Dutch Shell PLC and a boat they claimed housed Nigerian military personnel. That, and an earlier attack, has forced Shell to halt the flow of about 455,000 barrels a day.
The militants, who are pressing for the release of two of the region's leaders from prison and greater control of oil revenues, have threatened to fire rockets at any ships transporting crude oil from Nigeria.
Traders also remain concerned over the situation in Iran, which has offered the
International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, information on a secret project that U.S. intelligence has linked to a possible nuclear arms program, two diplomats said Thursday.
Iran,
OPEC's No. 2 producer, and Russia completed two days of inconclusive talks Tuesday. Russia had made an offer, backed by the U.S. and Europe, to enrich uranium to avert suspicions that Iran could divert the nuclear fuel for atomic weapons. That comes amid Western pressure to impose sanctions against Iran.
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