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Non-Tech : $2 or higher gas - Can ethanol make a comeback? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: richardred who wrote (1563)	8/13/2006 8:20:54 PM
From: Ish	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2801

You nailed that one.

To: richardred who wrote (1563)	8/25/2006 1:02:45 PM
From: richardred	Respond to of 2801

Storm Fear-It's getting started. Oil, Gas Prices Rise on Storm Fears Friday August 25, 12:41 pm ET By Brad Foss, AP Business Writer Oil, Gas Prices Rise on Fears That Storm May Strengthen, Threaten Gulf of Mexico Production WASHINGTON (AP) -- A relatively weak storm hundreds of miles south of Puerto Rico captured the attention of energy traders Friday, sending oil and natural-gas prices higher on fears that it could strengthen and threaten Gulf of Mexico production by next week. Large oil producers operating in the Gulf of Mexico said they were prepared to evacuate nonessential personnel should that become necessary. World energy markets also remained focused on Iran's stand-off with the West over its nuclear program. Oil prices fell earlier in the week after U.S. Department of Energy weekly data showed a rise in gasoline stockpiles, but heading into the weekend traders seemed nervous about the possibility that a tropical depression with wind of about 35 miles per hour could look more menacing by next week. At 11 a.m. EDT, the tropical depression located 340 miles south of San Juan had maximum sustained winds near 35 mph, below tropical storm strength of 39 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. It was moving west at about 15 mph and was expected to become Tropical Storm Ernesto later Friday. The system was expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico in about five days, but forecasters said it was too early to tell where exactly it was headed and how strong it would be. Most offshore oil and natural-gas facilities are located in the eastern and central Gulf. "The threat is, at best, nebulous, but memories are still raw from last year's storm damage," Fimat USA broker Mike Fitzpatrick wrote. BP PLC, which is responsible for 2,500 employees and contractors working on offshore rigs and platforms, has in-house meteorologists tracking the storm and has begun assessing the amount of time it would take to evacuate various facilities. BP spokesman Hugh Depland said one of the key factors behind any decisions about when to evacuate employees is whether the winds are light enough for helicopters to land on offshore rigs and platforms. "Helicopters that we have historically flown, they don't like to shut down if the wind is above 60 knots," Depland said. Light sweet crude for October delivery rose 54 cents to $72.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where natural gas futures climbed 24 cents to $7.32 per 1,000 cubic feet and gasoline futures rose more than 2 cents to $1.88 a gallon. On London's ICE Futures exchange, October Brent crude rose 91 cents to $73.61 a barrel. "The Iranian nuclear issue will keep a floor under prices for a long time, and we are entering into the peak of the U.S. hurricane season," said Victor Shum, an analyst at Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. Traders are concerned about the possibility of Iran, the world's fourth-biggest oil producer, blocking oil exports if it's sanctioned by the United Nations over its nuclear program. The U.N. set an Aug. 31 deadline for Iran to halt its nuclear program but Tehran said Tuesday that it wants to negotiate further. The United States said Iran's response fell far short of U.N. Security Council demands it halt uranium enrichment. Associated Press writer George Jahn contributed to this report from Vienna, Austria. biz.yahoo.com