Oil & Gas

US: Stalled clean coal plant moving ahead in Illinois

APNewsNow

WASHINGTON - The Department of Energy has decided to move forward on a stalled futuristic coal-burning power plant in central Illinois that languished under the previous administration. The project known as FutureGen would burn coal for power but store... Full story

As debt grows, desperate car owners turn to fraud

BREE FOWLER

LOS ANGELES  - Driven to desperation, a growing number of financially strapped car owners are torching, sinking or ditching their vehicles and then reporting them stolen to cash in on the insurance. SUVs have been found ablaze in the Nevada desert,... Full story

Oil soars above $71, hitting 2009 high

GEORGE JAHN

VIENNA  - Oil prices soared above $71 a barrel Wednesday to reach a 2009 high, as investors poured money into crude markets to protect themselves against the inflation risks posed by a weakening U.S. dollar. Oil, which typically trades inversely... Full story

Crude passes $70 but gas prices flatten

JOHN PORRETTO

HOUSTON  - While crude passed $70 a barrel Tuesday, gasoline prices failed to rise overnight for the first time in 42 days, signaling a possible break for motorists as summer driving shifts into high gear. Benchmark crude for July delivery rose... Full story

Odds of energy price spike from hurricanes fades

ERNEST SCHEYDER

NEW YORK (AP) - The chance of a severe 2009 hurricane season continues to fade, according to the most recent forecasts, a potential break from recent years when violent storms smashed in the Gulf Coast and sent energy prices spiking. Even if a storm... Full story

Oil prices briefly pass $69 per barrel

DIRK LAMMERS

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Oil prices briefly passed $69 per barrel Tuesday in a week long rally that appears short on fundamentals, yet exceedingly full of momentum. Average retail gasoline prices continued to march upward: A gallon now costs about 46... Full story

GM to sell Hummer to Chinese company

AP Auto Writers

BREE FOWLER

DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Corp. took a key step toward its downsizing on Tuesday, striking a tentative deal to sell its Hummer brand to a Chinese manufacturer, while also revealing that it has potential buyers for its Saturn and Saab brands. GM has... Full story

Culprits in last year's energy spike reappear

MARK WILLIAMS

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Oil prices pushed to new highs for the year Monday on a weak dollar and new data suggesting manufacturing in China has strengthened. Both of those factors helped send energy prices to record highs last summer. The national average... Full story

Oil slides below $68 as investors eye inflation

GEORGE JAHN

VIENNA (AP) - Oil prices slipped below $68 a barrel Tuesday as traders took profits on recent gains, which were driven by speculation that a massive global fiscal stimulus could spark an economic recovery and inflation. Benchmark crude for July delivery... Full story

General Motors in tentative deal to sell Hummer

NEW YORK (AP) - General Motors Corp. said Tuesday that it has tentatively agreed to sell its Hummer brand, a day after the U.S. automaker filed for bankruptcy protection with hopes that it will transform its most profitable assets into a new company within... Full story

Obama talks up wind power, green jobs on Earth Day

MIKE GLOVER

NEWTON, Iowa - Marking Earth Day with a pitch for his energy plan, President Barack Obama on Wednesday called for a "new era of energy exploration in America" and argued that his proposal would help the economy and the environment at once. "The choice... Full story

Paper companies get unexpected tax-credit windfall

STEPHEN OHLEMACHER

WASHINGTON - A law to make the earth a little greener is giving paper mills an unintended multibillion-dollar tax windfall with the help of a little diesel fuel. The bonanza, however, could be short-lived. Struggling paper companies recently discovered... Full story

Oil chiefs urge offshore drilling

By H. JOSEF HEBERT

WASHINGTON (AP) - Executives of the biggest oil companies sought to convince lawmakers Wednesday that expanded offshore drilling will produce jobs and help the nation's economy, although new leases in areas that have been off limits would not be issued... Full story

Oil prices rise ahead of US inventory report

By CHRIS KAHN

NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices rose above $40 Wednesday ahead of a government report that is expected to show U.S. crude inventories continue to swell. The same pattern emerged last week when investors appeared to ignore forecasts that unused crude in storage... Full story

Oil above $40 as market digests Bernanke comments

By GEORGE JAHN

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Oil prices rose above $40 a barrel Wednesday after the Federal Reserve chief said U.S. banks will not be fully nationalized and that the U.S. economy may emerge from recession by year-end. The rise in prices was kept in check,... Full story

NASCAR owner Roush promotes propane power for cars

By CHRIS JENKINS

If Jack Roush has anything to say about it, propane soon will be used for more than grilling hamburgers and hot dogs at the infield cookout. In the wake of Sunday's Daytona 500 victory by Roush-Fenway NASCAR team driver Matt Kenseth, Roush was back at... Full story

Oil above $35 amid grim economic news

By JAKE NEUBACHER

VIENNA (AP) - Markets shrugged off a steady barrage of grim U.S. economic news to push oil prices above $35 a barrel Thursday, with a drop in the dollar encouraging investors to buy crude. A report by the Fed predicting a sharper economic contraction... Full story

Oil prices steady after US rescue plan unveiled

By JAKE NEUBACHER

VIENNA (AP) - Oil prices remained steady around $40 a barrel Tuesday as the Obama administration announced a program that could raise more than $1 trillion in public and private funds to revive the economy. Energy prices have slumped with millions losing... Full story

Democrats say list means end of Craddick tenure

By Jim Vertuno, Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN (AP) - House Democrats say they've lined up enough opposition to oust Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick, releasing a long list of lawmakers who say they won't vote for him "under any circumstances." The list released Monday - and disputed... Full story

Houston-based company plans regional office in Arkansas

By CHUCK BARTELS

CONWAY, Ark. (AP) - Propelled by its finds in the Fayetteville Shale natural gas reservoir, Southwestern Energy Co. announced Thursday it will build a $25 million regional headquarters in Conway and add to the 600 workers it already has in the state. The... Full story

China cut prices for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel

AP Wire

Photo's of China's Gas Prices Photo I:  A worker changes gas price on a board at a gas station in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, Friday, Dec. 19, 2008. China cut prices for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel Thursday, giving a break to Chinese... Full story

Oil rises on strengthening dollar, auto bailout

By DIRK LAMMERS

Oil prices stabilized Friday as the White House's $17.4 billion auto industry rescue package gave Wall Street a boost and the dollar strengthened against the euro. Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose 92 cents to $42.59 a barrel on the New York... Full story

Advocates of blind fault TV skit about NY Governor

The Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A "Saturday Night Live" skit portraying New York's blind governor as a bumbling leader didn't get a laugh from Gov. David Paterson. Paterson's office said the skit ridiculed people with physical disabilities and implied that disabled... Full story

France Oil Prices

Christophe Ena

A board at a gas station shows the price of fuel under euro 1 ($1,29) a liter, in Paris, Monday, Dec. 8, 2008. Oil prices bounced off four-year lows to trade above $43 a barrel Monday.... Full story

Oil rebounds from 4-year lows to above $43

By DIRK LAMMERS

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.  - Oil prices rebounded from four-year lows and shot above $43 a barrel Monday as OPEC floated the possibility of a "severe" production cut and several countries announced new measures to boost their economies. Chakib Khelil, president... Full story

Return to $1 gas? Energy prices evaporate

By MARK WILLIAMS

COLUMBUS, Ohio  Oil prices hit four-year lows Friday as employers cut the highest number of jobs in 34 years. The continuing decline in prices is so dramatic and so sudden that it is raising the prospect that gas prices could soon fall below $1 a... Full story

Dakota Snyder

David Duprey

Cattaraugus Indian Reservation, NY Dakota Snyder lowers the price of unleaded gasoline at the Catt-Rez Enterprises gas station on the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation, in N.Y., Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008. With the state a signature away from collecting tax... Full story

Oil tumbles below $50 as recession called

By MARK WILLIAMS

COLUMBUS, Ohio  Oil prices tumbled below $50 a barrel Monday as National Bureau of Economic Research reported that the U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007. Crude had already fallen 8 percent on reports showing that manufacturing... Full story

Thanksgiving Travel

Mia Berke

A large turkey played by actor John Mortone, left, greets 7-month-old Mia Berke as she arrives for her flight at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2008 in Grapeviine, Texas. Despite plummeting gas prices and unusual last-minute... Full story

Economy keeps more Americans home for Thanksgiving

By DON BABWIN

CHICAGO (AP)  Scott Fuchs will spend Thanksgiving with his family in Florida like he's done for 20 years or so. But like thousands of other Americans, his brother is staying home - travel isn't possible after he was laid off from his job in Maryland. "Lack... Full story

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