OPEC's Refining Capacity Rises on New Investments in Saudi Arabia, Iran

(Bloomberg) -- OPEC's refining capacity increased by
more than 140,000 barrels a day last year because of new investment
in Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Refining capacity for the 12-nation group totaled 9.23 million
barrels last year compared with 9.09 million barrels the year
before, OPEC said today in its Annual Statistical Bulletin.


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Iran Doesn't Back OPEC Output Increase in September, Ministry Agency Says

(Bloomberg) -- Iran, the second-largest producer in
OPEC, doesn't support an increase in oil production at the
group's next meeting because high prices are being caused by
geopolitical issues and U.S. gasoline shortages, Shana reported.

Iran won't favor a production increase if the oil market
situation remains the same, the Tehran-based oil ministry press
agency said, citing Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh.


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Oil Rises to $75 in New York on Expectations Refineries to Use More Crude

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $75 a barrel in
New York for the first time in more than 11 months on
expectations that U.S. demand will rise as refiners bolster
gasoline production.

Valero Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP Plc, three of the
four biggest U.S. refiners, started up units over the past week.
A government report tomorrow may show that U.S. oil supplies
fell last week as refineries increased production. Iran, OPEC's
second-biggest producer, said there was no need for the group to
hold an emergency meeting.


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U.S. SEC's country watch list draws fire

(Reuters) - Both business and humanitarian groups say the list,
available on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Web
site, is ill-conceived. The tool provides links to companies
whose annual reports contain "some reference" to business
related to Sudan, Syria, North Korea, Iran and Cuba.




"Not only has the SEC named and shamed the wrong companies,
it's missed many with significant operations in countries like
Sudan," Adam Sterling, director of the Sudan Divestment Task
Force, and Todd Malan, president and CEO of the Organization
for International Investment, wrote in an opinion piece in
Thursday's Wall Street Journal.


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IEA Expects Oil Prices to Remain Near $70 a Barrel, Economist Birol Says

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil prices will probably remain
near $70 a barrel during the next year because of political
tensions in Nigeria, Iran and Iraq, the chief economist of the
International Energy Agency said.

``I would be surprised if prices go down significantly,'' the
IEA's Fatih Birol said in an interview today at an energy
conference in Istanbul. ``We are going through difficult times.''


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Persian Gulf Crude Oil Tanker Rates May Rise as Producers Reveal Programs

(Bloomberg) -- The cost of shipping Middle East
crude to Asia on supertankers may extend four days of gains as
oil-producing nations tell companies when to have vessels in
place to load at Persian Gulf ports.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer, Iran, and
the United Arab Emirates this week may release port-loading
schedules for July crude shipments, stoking demand for tankers,
said Per Mansson, a tanker broker for Nor Ocean Stockholm AB, in
an e-mailed note today.


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Oil Falls From Close to Nine-Month High; Earlier Gain Seen as Unjustified

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell from near a nine-month
high in New York as some analysts and traders speculated recent
gains weren't justified.

Oil rose this week after the U.S. Department of Energy said
refineries cut processing to a six-week low last week, as demand
for gasoline grew. Oil also rose after Iran, the second-largest
producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries,
rejected United Nations demands to quit enriching uranium.


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Crude Oil Rises on Concern About U.S. Fuel Supplies, Iran's Nuclear Plans

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose after a U.S. government
report showed refineries cut their operating rates, raising concern
fuel supplies may fall short of demand this summer.

U.S. refiners used 89.2 percent of their plant capacity last
week, the lowest since May 4 and the lowest rate in 15 years for
that time of year. Iran, the Middle East's second-largest producer
of crude, is advancing its nuclear research, which has been opposed
by the U.S. and allies.


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