us oil

US oil groups were all but shut out of Iraq as the country completed the biggest oil field auction in history at the weekend.

There was no stopping commodities as the benchmark US oil price briefly topped $58 a barrel to touch a six-month high.

It is now two years since the Chinese authorities tried to mount an outright purchase of the US oil company Unocal.

ExxonMobil, the US oil group, has made a "potentially significant" gas discovery off the coast of Vietnam in an area also claimed by China.

'The drop in US oil demand dwarfs the increase in oil demand from China, ' he said.

Somalia has been a no-go area for US oil companies since it descended into anarchy in the early 1990s.

Now interest from the US is intensifying and not just in the oil industry in which the big US oil companies have long had a huge stake.

It has just moved back into the US oil and gas market and will soon open offices in Moscow and Shanghai.

In a reversal of the abortive 2005 bid for US oil major Unocal, Chinese buyers are willing to settle for minority stakes.

Petrol taxes are far lower in the US than in Europe; many complain that US oil, gas and coal companies still get too many tax breaks.

Beijing's concerns date from the failed 2005 purchase by CNOOC, a state energy company, of Unocal, a US oil and gas company.

The leading customers for US oil products are in Latin America, where refineries often cannot keep up with fuel consumption.

An oil spill in March 2006 caused the closure of the oil field for several months, resulting in an 8pc decrease in US oil production.

The US oil business is more lightly regulated than Britain's, putting more responsibility on the industry to ensure procedures are safe.

China National Offshore Oil Corp withdrew its 2005 bid for Unocal, the US oil company, after a political backlash in Washington.

Cushing is the delivery point for US oil futures and, thus, the most crucial point in US oil trading.

US oil companies cannot bid for Cuban drilling rights due to the 50-year embargo.

Cnooc's abortive bid for Unocal, the US oil group, in 2005 has lingered in Chinese memories.

US oil imports have not increased in almost three years.

Shortly after the attack, Nymex West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark US oil contract, was 58 cents higher at $96. 55 a barrel.

"US oil demand won't recover soon. "

US oil imports have fallen steadily since 2006.

African oil is projected to account for 25 percent of US oil imports by 2015.

The US oil group and Shell each own 25 per cent of Gorgon.

US oil futures closed on Friday at $73. 36 a barrel.

In some way thats US Oil watch and see!

US oil prices yesterday rose to $78. 23 a barrel, just below the $78. 40 nominal high.

Indeed, US oil demand is below its level of 10 years ago.

Total US oil demand over 2008 is down 1m barrels a day compared with last year.

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