A striking series of headlines

Australia: Miners hobbled by gas shutdown at Apache Energy

HUNDREDS of millions of dollars in revenue could be wiped from the balance sheets of mining companies affected by the shutdown of Apache Energy's Varanus Island gas processing plant in Western Australia.

Power Shortages Hit LUKoil Output

The company's crude production in western Siberia was 5.5 percent lower in the first quarter, at 14.3 million tons (1.2 million barrels per day), compared with a year earlier, according to a statement on its web site. LUKoil pumps about 62 percent of its oil in western Siberia.

Electricity outages anger, frustrate Pakistanis

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan is experiencing its worst electricity shortages in years, and the signs are everywhere.

Traffic lights have been switched off, making already treacherous roads even more so. Dinner parties often take place by candlelight. And air conditioners and fans are idle as temperatures rise.

India: Widespread shock, anger over fuel prices

CHANDIGARH: The increase effected by the Union Government in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas on Wednesday came as a shock for the residents of Chandigarh and Panchkula and many of them rushed to the nearby petrol pumps to fill the tanks of their vehicles at the old rates as the new prices would be effective from midnight.

AFGHANISTAN: Fund shortage may shut UN humanitarian air service

Fuel prices have gone up by about 100 percent in the past 12 months, making flights very expensive, according to Lataste.

Malaysia: River, land transport in rural Sarawak comes to a standstill

MIRI: River and land transportation in many parts of rural Sarawak came to a standstill Thursday as petrol and diesel supply ran out following massive panic buying hours before the Government’s new price took effect.

Iran Expects New Record for Crude Prices

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's governor at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Monday he expected the oil price to hit more records due to increased transportation during the summer.

QANTAS: Flying mean and nasty skies

The same week Qantas announced it was on track for a record $1.4 billion annual profit, the airline announced the scrapping of several services and said it would be making make deep cuts in staff numbers. Management blames fuel prices for the measures and, through company CEO Geoff Dixon, has said that if the price per barrel for oil drifts up to $US200 "all bets are off".

Continental Cuts 3,000 Jobs as It Grounds Planes

“The airline industry is in a crisis,” the two executives said in the message to employees. “Its business model doesn’t work with the current price of fuel and the existing level of capacity in the marketplace. We need to make changes in response.”...

Continental said that at current prices for jet fuel, it would pay $2.3 billion more than in 2007 — or about $50,000 per employee. It said “a large number” of its flights are losing money, and that fare increases have not been enough to cover the rising cost of fuel.

Mexico sees lower oil exports for 2008

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's average oil exports will remain well below target all year, and beneath last year's levels, due to lower crude production, the head of state oil monopoly Pemex said on Wednesday.

Pemex Chief Executive Jesus Reyes Heroles said the state-run company's oil exports were headed for an average of 1.40 million to 1.45 million barrels per day over 2008, around 15 percent below a goal set in Mexico's 2008 budget of 1.683 million bpd.

Border battle brews over Mexico's undersea oil

Mexicans fear that companies drilling in U.S. waters close to the border will suck Mexican crude into their wells. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis' fictional oilman in "There Will Be Blood" likened the concept to siphoning a rival's milkshake.

Chile truckers extend strike to protest fuel prices

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Truckers across Chile said late on Wednesday they would continue their national protest against high diesel prices, potentially restricting the movement of goods to local and export markets.

Thousands of Chilean drivers started what was meant to be a 48-hour strike on Tuesday, parking their trucks along national highways in protest of soaring fuel prices.

Crude 'oil' reality- NO easy Energy

After observing no back off in the price of international oil and natural gas markets, the government of India had no option but to hit the consumer by raising the prices of diesel and petrol by Rs 3 and Rs 5 respectively and that of LPG by Rs 50 per cylinder. The present price hike presses hard on the fact that the age of fossil energy is over; a worthy assertion on the very occasion of World Environment Day.

Kyrgyzstan plans to increase coal production

It is reported that to cope with the current energy crisis, Kyrgyzstan needs to address a number of possible remedies, one of which is a broader use of coal by industries and the population at large. Experts say Kyrgyzstan has sufficient coal reserves to meet its energy needs.

Alaska: Local officials look to coal gasification to curb rising energy costs

“The rising cost of energy has taken $300 million from our economy in the last three years,” said Steve Lundgren, Fairbanks Economic Development Corp. board chairman. That figure came out of the FEDC’s recent Cost of Energy report. Lundgren, speaking at the corporation’s annual investors’ luncheon Wednesday, urged Fairbanks to find ways to solve energy problems quickly. A coal gasification plant, which is under study now by the FEDC, could provide an oil alternative while potentially solidifying the continued presence of the area’s top economic sector — the military.