Crude advanced 11 cents as the euro extended gains following an announcement by Moody’s Investors Service that it may place the U.S. government’s rating under review for possible downgrade. Oil fell earlier after a government report showed an unexpected increase in inventories to the highest level in two years.  More »

While members of the 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agree more crude is needed, they have yet to decide whether to formally change production quotas. The oil cartel meets on June 8.  More »

Crude prices slipped 2.4 percent after economic reports showed motorists buying less fuel, private employers adding fewer jobs than expected and U.S. manufacturing growth slowing dramatically.  More »

The Houston-based driller is purchasing its first two drillships to work in up to 12,000 feet of water and has an option to order a third from Hyundai Heavy Industries.  More »

Crude rose 2.1 percent on news that European Union leaders will decide on a new Greek aid package by the end of June. Prices also advanced after TransCanada Corp. shut the Keystone pipeline that sends Canadian oil to the U.S.  More »

The Persian Gulf, home to three-fifths of the world’s oil reserves, has largely escaped the violence of uprisings in Egypt, Libya and other countries this year. But Bahrain’s Saudi- backed rulers are using force to suppress an opposition that mostly shares Iran’s Shiite faith — exacerbating a rivalry between the region’s two most powerful and oil-rich countries.  More »

Cushing, Okla., has been the center of the oil market for decades, housing millions of barrels of the light, sweet crude that make up the world’s most actively traded oil contract. But that contract isn’t what it used to be. (Via W$J)  More »

Oil dropped in New York, headed for its first monthly decline since August, on speculation fuel demand may falter amid a slowdown in the U.S. economic recovery and Europe’s continuing debt crisis.  More »

People in Midland like to say God felt such remorse for the dry, dusty landscape that he decided to give it oil. He also gave it the dunes sagebrush lizard, a reptile that could put a halt to oil and gas exploration and production in parts of West Texas and harm school budgets across the state.  More »

By EconMatters Public Relation people at Goldman Sachs can not be too happy about this. Fadel Gheit, a veteran of Oppenheimer and oil and gas industry dating back to the Mobil era, went on record and called the Big Banks–Goldman Sachs. along with Morgan Stanley–out on manipulating the oil market during a Bloomberg TV interview on May 25.   More »

Prosecutors this week dropped a cooperating witness from charges that several men allegedly bilked refiner LyondellBasell out of tens of millions of dollars, while pulling a New York firm into the scheme as part of money laundering charges.  More »

Two senators met with CFTC chair Gary Gensler in a closed meeting to discuss what steps the regulatory agency will take to halt oil speculation. One exited the meeting unimpressed, he said, over the priority Gensler is giving the matter.  More »