Petroleum (L. petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit. "rock oil", first used in the treatise De re metallica published in 1556 by the German mineralogist Georg Bauer, known as Georgius Agricola) or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds.

Oil News : Oil falls in Asia as bailout talks falter!!

SINGAPORE -Oil prices fell below $107 a barrel in Asia Friday on investor concern that faltering negotiations in Washington may sabotage a bailout plan to stabilize the U.S. financial system, which could drag on global growth and undermine crude demand.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down $1.32 to $106.70 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange midday in Singapore. The contract rose overnight $2.29 to settle at $108.02.
"The bailout is a real focus of the market because it's seen as being quite important to the direction of the economy," said David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
"To the extent that the latest news suggests it's not going to be passed as quickly as markets had thought, that would have an impact on the oil price," he said.
Negotiations among congressional leaders broke down late Thursday. Democrats blamed the House Republicans for the apparent stalemate. Those conservatives have complained that the $700 billion plan would be too costly for taxpayers and would be an unacceptable federal intrusion into private business.
One group of House Republican lawmakers circulated an alternative that would put much less focus on a government takeover of failing institutions' sour assets.
Talks were to resume Friday on the effort to bail out failing financial institutions and restart the flow of credit that has begun to starve the national economy.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. President George W. Bush hosted presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama and top congressional leaders at the White House in a bid to show unity in resolving a national financial crisis, but it broke up with conflicts in plain view.
"The stronger the commitment to the relief program, the more positive that would be seen toward stabilizing the U.S. financials," Moore said. "As these negotiations wax and wean, it's affecting a whole range of markets."
Prices were supported by tight global supply, especially in the U.S., where the impact of Hurricane Ike and Gustav is still being felt on Gulf of Mexico oil operations.
Oil companies are restaffing Gulf platforms and rigs after the storms plowed through the region, but most production remains offline. Nearly 63 percent of crude output and 57 percent of natural gas production was still shut-in as of Wednesday, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said.
Damage to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries prompted Mexican state oil company Pemex to reduce its daily output by 250,000 barrels a day. The company said it expects production to be back to normal by the end of the week.
"The hurricanes and their aftermath have disrupted production," Moore said. "It's run down stocks in the U.S. and tightened market conditions."
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 2.58 cents to $3.00 a gallon, while gasoline prices dropped 3.13 cents to $2.666 a gallon. Natural gas for October delivery fell 0.2 cents to $7.722 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, November Brent crude fell $1.17 to $103.43 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Consumption rates
There are two main ways to measure the oil consumption rates of countries: by population or by gross domestic product (GDP). This metric is important in the global debate over oil consumption/energy consumption/climate change because it takes social and economic considerations into account when scoring countries on their oil consumption/energy consumption/climate change goals. Nations such as China and India with large populations tend to promote the use of population based metrics, while nations with large economies such as the United States would tend to promote the GDP based metric

Oil News : Oil falls in Asia as bailout talks falter!!

NEW YORK - Oil prices spiked to a new record above $147 a barrel Friday, as rising hostilities between the West and Iran and the potential for attacks on Nigerian oil facilities gave investors reason to rush back into the energy markets.

Another drop in the U.S. dollar also lured buyers.

The resurgence in crude prices not only raises the concern that $4-a-gallon gasoline is here to stay for U.S. drivers — it also means that heating homes could get significantly more expensive this winter. Heating oil futures surged on the New York Mercantile Exchange to a record of more than $4.15 a gallon, and natural gas also rose.

"If you think your gasoline bills are expensive now, wait till you get your home heating bill this winter," said Stephen Schork, an analyst and trader in Villanova, Pa.

The problem is that while U.S. consumer demand is waning as people try to save money, other factors are keeping energy costs high. Those factors include the weak dollar, refineries cutting back on production and relatively resilient demand for diesel fuel. Diesel is a distillate fuel that is produced and distributed similarly to heating oil, so diesel demand often affects the price of heating oil.

The other big reason gasoline and heating bills are likely to stay high: unrest in the Middle East and Africa.

"The bulls are still able to spin a bullish case on this — not based so much on the fundamentals, but on a lot of 'What if?' scenarios," Schork said.

Iran, which has long been under U.N. scrutiny for its uranium enrichment program, has been testing missiles this week, including a new missile capable of reaching Israel. On Thursday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned the oil-producing nation that the United States will defend its allies, and Iran responded with another missile launch. Neither the United States nor Israel has ruled out a military strike on Iran.

Traders fear the oil producing nation could block the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 40 percent of the world's tanker traffic passes.

"There's always a fear premium in pricing. The tensions in Iran and the threat of supply disruption will help support oil prices," said Jeff Brown, managing director of FACTS Global Energy in Singapore.

On Friday, light, sweet crude for August delivery soared to an all-time high of $147.27 a barrel, before pulling back slightly to trade at $146.60, up $4.94.

Crude had fallen by nearly $10 a barrel over two days at the start of the week, but rebounded by more than $5 a barrel Thursday as anxiety heightened about Middle East and Nigerian supplies being disrupted.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries warned Thursday it cannot replace the shortfall if Iran is attacked and takes its crude supplies off the market.

Also Thursday, Nigeria's main militant group said it would resume attacks in the oil-rich region because of Britain's recent vow to back the government in the conflict there. Over the past two years, attacks have lowered the nation's typical daily oil output by a quarter.

JBC Energy in Vienna, Austria, said the news about Iran and Nigeria — as well as a reported threat of a strike by oil workers in Brazil — were "enough to wake the market from its two-day slumber."

Meanwhile, the dollar weakened against other major currencies Friday. The falling dollar has been a major factor behind the surge in crude oil, which is denominated in dollars; oil's rise has not been as severe for countries with stronger currencies, and meanwhile, traders have been using commodities as a hedge against the tumbling U.S. currency.

August Brent crude rose to a new trading record of $147.50 before pulling back to trade $4.82 higher at $146.85 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose to a trading record of $4.1586 before retreating to $4.1457 a gallon, up 10.83 cents.

Gasoline futures also rose to a new trading record of $3.631 a gallon before easing back to $3.6140, up 10.31 cents.

The average U.S. retail price for gasoline was at $4.096 a gallon, down slightly from the record $4.108 a gallon reached on Monday, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.

Natural gas futures rose 2.7 cents to $12.329 per 1,000 cubic feet, after rising as high as $13.694.

Natural gas, because it is not a crude oil product, is inexpensive compared to heating oil. But as the winter approaches, the fuel has the potential to shoot higher as energy traders look for cheaper places to put their money, Schork said.

Heating oil is used mostly in the Northeast United States; homes in most other regions of the country use natural gas.

It's possible for people to save some money on heating, but it's not easy to slash the bill significantly.

"We've been building these ridiculous McMansions over the past few years. It's harder to trade in a McMansion than it is an SUV," Schork said. "But you can turn your thermostat down and throw on a sweater."