The oil export duty of Russia will rise to a record $398.1 per metric ton from June 1, 2008, in line with global market trends.

The price of crude oil could reach $200 per barrel if current market conditions persist, Iran's oil minister said on Thursday.

The national security of the United States of America is tied first and foremost to our energy requirements. These requirements MUST be independent of all foreign entanglements, they must be purely American. There is no legitimate reason why Americans should be paying $3.00 to $3.50 at the pump for regular gasoline while Corporate Oil giants are reaping billions of dollars in pure profits. This simply should not be. It is tantamount to an economic rape of the American consumer and our role in the national economy.

Oil prices surpassed $103 a barrel for the first time on Friday as persistent weakness in the US dollar and the prospect of lower interest rates attracted fresh money to the oil market.

In the February issue of Geotimes magazine, now available on newsstands and online at http://www.geotimes.org, Geotimes examines the complicated issues surrounding Iraq’s oil exploration and production.

With oil hovering around $90 a barrel, Geotimes magazine examines emerging trends and issues in several obvious, and some not-so-obvious locations, in this month’s cover story “Oil Around the World.”

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM): The net income in 2007 reached to 40,610 million dollars of oil and gas sales.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries kept oil production targets unchanged at a meeting Friday in Vienna, rebuffing a request from President Bush to increase output.

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), the 3rd largest oil refiner in the world, inked an agreement for comprehensive strategic cooperation on in Beijing, Jan. 23. Sinopec President Wang Tianpu and CAS Vice President Shi Erwei were present at the event to witness the event.

Sinopec Corp, Asia's largest refiner, processed 6.3 percent more crude oil last year, after the government called for local plants to boost production.

Oil prices fell further on Wednesday amid a growing belief that the US economy is slowing and that energy demand will weaken as a result.

Iran has proposed that Russia's largest independent crude producer LUKoil [RTS: LKOH] expand its participation in oil and gas projects in the Islamic Republic, the LUKoil press office said on Thursday.