The price of oil soared Thursday as an insurgency in Iraq raised the risk of disruptions to supplies at a time when other major oil-producing countries are already pumping near capacity. The al-Qaida-inspired group that captured two key cities in Iraq earlier this week vowed Thursday to march on to Baghdad. One of those two cities, Mosul, lies in an area that is a major gateway for Iraqi oil. While the loss of the city has no immediate effect on oil exports, now at over 3 million barrels a [Read more]

EDMONTON - The Alberta New Democrats have released what they say is a blueprint for how the governing Tories plan to reform energy industry regulations.The draft paper proposes tailoring environmental requirements to specific risks in different areas.The document says managing development should rely less on government-set targets and more on groups working together to establish what's appropriate.The draft suggests that's a better way to take into account the cumulative effects of many [Read more]

NEW YORK - The world oil market has set up quite nicely for OPEC.Dramatic changes in oil production around the globe are balancing each other out instead of wreaking havoc. This has helped world oil prices stay high enough to provide OPEC countries with robust income, but not so high that they scare customers away from buying more of their precious product.Brent crude, the most important international oil benchmark, has hovered in the range of $110 per barrel over much of the last 4 years, with [Read more]

The price of oil bounced around before finishing with a slight gain Wednesday. U.S. supplies declined more than expected, but a reduction in the World Bank's estimate of global economic growth raised concerns about demand.Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery rose five cents to US$104.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Brent crude, the benchmark for international varieties, gained 43 cents to US$109.95 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London amid increased [Read more]

VIENNA - All is not well within OPEC as the oil cartel focuses on how much crude to pump for the rest of the year. Kurds in Iraq are defying the central government and selling their oil directly abroad. Nigeria is hurting due to shale oil production in the United States, its most important customer. While worrisome for the two countries, such problems may help global supplies. But there is trouble in production, as well. Sales from Iran, normally second only to Saudi Arabia, are severely [Read more]