U.S. could tap Strategic-oil reserves..[ 2153 ]

U.S. could tap oil reserves as gasoline price surges

• Strategic oil reserves remain an option for U.S.
  3:02am EST

A woman stands in front of gas prices at a petrol kiosk in Dal Mar, California March 1, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake

By Jackie Frank and Lewis Krauskopf

WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE | Mon Mar 7, 2011 3:02am EST

 

WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The U.S. government reiterated that it could tap its strategic oil reserves in order to safeguard economic growth as surging gasoline prices increase pressure for action.
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While longstanding U.S. policy is to release reserves only in the event of a significant and immediate supply shortage, some analysts say the Obama administration may feel compelled to try to tamp down prices that are being fueled both by outages in Libya and concern unrest could spread in the Middle East.

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Reflecting market worries over unrest, crude futures prices were trading in Asia on Monday around their highest levels in more than two years.

Echoing comments made by a number of Obama officials over the past week, White House Chief of Staff William Daley told NBC television's "Meet the Press" on Sunday: "We are looking at the options. The issue of the reserves is one we are considering."

"It is something that only is done -- has been done -- in very rare occasions. There's a bunch of factors that have to be looked at and it is just not the price," he added. "All matters have to be on the table when you go through -- when you see the difficulty coming out of this economic crisis we're in and the fragility of it."

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He spoke just before a survey showed the second-largest two-week rise in gasoline pump prices ever. The national average for a gallon of self-serve, regular gas was $3.50 on March 4, according to the influential Lundberg Survey of about 2,500 gas stations, up 32.7 cents from the February 18.

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Congress has pressured the Obama administration to look to the emergency oil supplies as an option to ease consumers' fears over rising U.S. gasoline prices, which are nearing the all-time high of $4.1124 per gallon hit on July 11, 2008, according to the Lundberg Survey.

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Higher oil prices could undermine the fragile U.S. economic recovery and damage President Barack Obama politically as he moves toward a 2012 re-election bid.

NOT 2008

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 727 million barrels of oil, or about 38 days of consumption, and has only been tapped a handful of times since it was created in the mid-1970s after the Arab oil embargo. It was last used in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina.

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Thus far the International Energy Agency (IEA) -- which coordinates reserves policy among the world's major energy consuming countries -- has made clear it will rely first on OPEC to fill the void left by the violence in Libya, which has cut off an estimated 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of output.

IEA members South Korea and Japan, among the world's top 5 crude oil importers, have no immediate plans to tap into strategic reserves, sources said.

"There is no concern at all over supply shortages," said an official with Japan's Trade Ministry, which is in charge of the country's strategic oil reserves.

The official declined to be identified because he is not authorized to be quoted by the media.

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OPEC powerhouse Saudi Arabia has stepped up production significantly, but oil prices remain high. The risk for markets is that the wave of North African and Middle East protests could spread to major Gulf oil producers, cutting off supplies that would be impossible to make up from other producers.

Libyan Rebels battle Gaddafi offensive in 2 towns..[ 2152 ]

Rebels battle Gaddafi offensive

 

Anti-government fighters are starting to feel pressure from Col Gaddafi's forces

LIBYA REVOLT

• Libya revolt Live
• In pictures: Conflict in Libya
• Civil war looms for Libya
• Rebels on the run?

BBC., 7 March 2011 Last updated at 09:34 GMT
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The UN has appointed a new envoy to Libya and is to send in a humanitarian team as the battle between forces loyal to Col Gaddafi and rebels intensifies.

The BBC has confirmed that pro-Gaddafi forces have taken the coastal town of Bin Jawad as they advance eastwards towards the oil port of Ras Lanuf.
The UN says Col Gaddafi has agreed to allow an assessment team into Tripoli.
It has also demanded urgent access to the western town of Misrata after fierce fighting there.
Rebels have been trying to fight off a counter-offensive by Gaddafi forces, which have been attacking both near Tripoli and in the east after recent rebel gains.
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'Hospital bombed' A statement from Mr Ban's office said the UN secretary general "notes that civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence, and calls for an immediate halt to the government's disproportionate use of force and indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets".

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At the scene

John Simpson BBC world affairs editor, eastern Libya

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During the hours of darkness, the shooting and rocketing here died down. But as the sun came up over the eastern Mediterranean, explosions started again.
The rebels are at a real disadvantage here, for two reasons: Col Gaddafi's troops, who are now fighting in his tribal heartland, are better equipped and stronger than they were during the fighting farther back to the east.
And according to the rebels, the Gaddafi loyalists have taken over houses in the town and forced the inhabitants to stay there as human shields.
The rebels had been planning to bring up some heavy weapons during the night, and were hoping this would frighten the pro-Gaddafi troops into retreating.
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There's no doubt, though, that the rebels are having a much harder time of it now than they were last week.

The statement continued:  

"He stresses that those who violate international humanitarian law or commit grave crimes must be held accountable."

Mr Ban has appointed Jordan's former foreign minister, Abdelilah Al-Khatib, as his special envoy "to undertake urgent consultations with the authorities in Tripoli and in the region on the immediate humanitarian situation," the statement said.
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Mr Ban also said Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Kusa had agreed to accept the immediate dispatch of a humanitarian assessment team to the capital.
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The town of Bin Jawad has fallen to pro-Gaddafi forces, the BBC has confirmed. Bin Jawad lies about 60km (40 miles) west of Ras Lanuf, a key oil port which is in the hands of the rebels.
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UN relief co-ordinator Valerie Amos said that after heavy fighting in Misrata, 200km (125 miles) east of Tripoli, "people are injured and dying and need help immediately".
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Government troops with tanks and artillery fought their way into rebel-held Misrata on Saturday before being forced back.
"I call on the authorities to provide access without delay to allow aid workers to help save lives," Baroness Amos said.
A local doctor told the BBC that 21 dead and more than 100 wounded had been brought to his hospital, which he said was also targeted by government troops.
He said the fighting went on for at least six hours.
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"They bombed all the houses with heavy weapons. They intentionally gunned and exploded our drug store. They bombed even around our hospital but fortunately nobody was injured. More than five mosques which I know are bombed."
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A resident of Misrata, Mohamed Benrasali, told the BBC there were joyous scenes there as the Gaddafi forces were turned back.
He said one government tank had been blown up and 16 Gaddafi soldiers killed. Other soldiers had been captured and would be interrogated on Monday.
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With a population of 300,000, Misrata is the largest town controlled by rebels outside their stronghold in the eastern part of the country.
'Bigger attack' Residents have called for the international community to establish a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent Col Gaddafi's air force from attacking.

 

The violence has seen tens of thousands flee

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In the US, ex-ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson and ex-national security adviser Stephen Hadley were among those advocating the supply of arms to rebels.
Rebels in Zawiya, 50km west of Tripoli, also said they repulsed an attack by government forces on Sunday.
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"There was a new attack, bigger than yesterday," rebel spokesman Youssef Shagan told Reuters.
"There were one-and-a-half hours of fighting... Two people were killed from our side and many more injured. We are still in full control of the square."
The anti-government forces are centred in the eastern city of Benghazi.
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The rebels have set up a Transitional National Council that has called on the international community to recognise it as Libya's sole government.
On Sunday troops backed by helicopter gunships had attacked the major oil town of Ras Lanuf which was taken by rebel forces on Saturday. It is 160km east of Col Gaddafi's well-defended hometown of Sirte.
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Rebels said their forces withdrew from Bin Jawad - about 50km north-west of Ras Lanuf - after coming under attack when they advanced.
The UN estimates that more than 1,000 people have died in nearly three weeks of unrest in Libya, which follows public protests in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt that saw their longtime authoritarian leaders overthrown.

Libyan Warplanes Launch Attacks on Rebels..[ 2151 ]

Libyan Warplanes Launch Attacks on Rebels as Gunfire Breaks Out in Tripoli

Published March 06, 2011

  Associated Press

March 6: Pro-Qaddafi soldiers and supporters gather in Green Square in Tripoli, Libya. Thousands of Muammar Qaddafi's supporters poured into the streets of Tripoli on Sunday morning, waving flags and firing their guns in the air in the Libyan leader's main stronghold, claiming overnight military successes. (AP)

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RAS LANOUF, Libya -- Libyan warplanes launched airstrikes and forces loyal to leader Muammar Qaddafi engaged in fierce ground battles Sunday with a rebel force advancing west toward the capital Tripoli along the country's Mediterranean coastline.

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The opposition fighters pushed out of the rebel-held eastern half of Libya late last week and have been cutting a path west toward Tripoli. On the way, they secured control of two important oil ports at Brega and Ras Lanouf. By Sunday, the rebels were advancing father west when they were hit by airstrikes and confrontations with ground forces.

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Associated Press reporters at the scene said Qaddafi loyalists retook the town of Bin Jawad, about 110 miles east of Qaddafi's stronghold city of Sirte, which could prove to be a decisive battleground. The reporters witnessed airstrikes on the rebel forces and heavy fighting on the ground.

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The uprising that began on Feb. 15, inspired by rebellions in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt, has been sliding toward a civil war that could be prolonged, with rebels backed by mutinous army units and arms seized from storehouses going on the offensive to try to topple Qaddafi's 41-year-old regime. At the same time, pro-Qaddafi forces have tried to conduct counteroffensives at

Brega and in the rebel-held city of Zawiya west of Tripoli -- where bloody street battles were reported over the weekend.

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The U.S. has moved military forces closer to Libya's shores, but has expressed wariness about talk of imposing a "no fly" zone over the North African nation to prevent Qaddafi from using his warplanes to attack the population. The U.N. has imposed sanctions, and Libya's oil production has been seriously crippled by the unrest. 

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The turmoil has caused oil prices to spike on international markets.

In Tripoli, the city of 2 million that is most firmly in Qaddafi's grip, residents were awoken before dawn by the crackle of unusually heavy and sustained gunfire that lasted for at least two hours.

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The reason for the gunfire was no immediately clear, though Libyan authorities said it was to celebrate the regime taking back Ras Lanouf near the rebel-held east and the city of Misrata close to Tripoli. Despite those claims, AP reporters saw the rebels in control of Ras Lanouf early Sunday and residents of Misrata said the city remained in opposition hands.

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By early morning, thousands of Qaddafi's supporters poured into Tripoli's central square for a rally, waving green flags, firing guns in the air, and holding up banners in support of the regime.

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Hundreds drove past the Bab al-Aziziya military camp where Qaddafi lives, waving flags and cheering. Armed men in plainclothes were standing at the gates, also shooting in the air. Qaddafi's whereabouts were unknown.

Libya : Fights of Gaddafi forces with rebels...[ 2150 ]

Gaddafi forces step up attack on western rebel town

Related Video

Rebels turn tour guides in Gaddafi home

1 / 16

A rebel fighter takes aim with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher (RPG) outside Bin Jawad March 5, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic

Rebels turn tour guides in Gaddafi home (01:33) Report

By Maria Golovnina and Mohammed Abbas

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TRIPOLI/BIN JAWAD, Libya | Sat Mar 5, 2011 4:58pm EST
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TRIPOLI/BIN JAWAD, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan government forces unleashed fierce attacks on the western rebel stronghold of Zawiyah on Saturday, while in the east, rebels advanced on Muammar Gaddafi's home town of Sirte.
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Fighters in Zawiyah, just 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, repelled two attacks by pro-Gaddafi forces who used tanks and artillery. Dozens of rebels armed with rifles manned rooftops, watching nearby streets from behind piles of sandbags. Roads and side streets were barricaded with rebel checkpoints.
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"After the morning attack they attacked again. They entered from the west and started shooting rockets at buildings in the square," rebel spokesman Youssef Shagan said by telephone.
"We are in a good position ... They will attack again at night, we think."
A doctor in Zawiyah said at least 30 people, mostly civilians, had been killed during fighting in the day, bringing to at least 60 the death toll from two days of battles.
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Abu Akeel, a Zawiyah resident, told Reuters that government forces had shelled houses and fired on a mosque where people were taking shelter. Another resident said he saw more than 20 tanks advance across the main square during the second assault.
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"We captured 3 APCs, two tanks and one pick-up after an hour and a half of fighting," spokesman Shagan told Reuters after the first battle.
People opposed to Gaddafi's 41-year rule have been fighting his forces in Zawiyah for more than a week, after rebels took over large parts of eastern Libya in an uprising inspired by the overthrow of veteran rulers in Egypt and Tunisia this year.
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A reporter for Britain's Sky News television said she had seen at least eight dead soldiers and five burning armored vehicles in the central square.
The doctor said Gaddafi's tanks had fired at residential buildings and civilian cars trying to flee.
"There is a lot of destruction in the city, I look around and all I see is destruction. Bombed buildings and burning cars everywhere -- I cannot even count how many," he said.
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GADDAFI HOMETOWN

One fighter vowed to fight to the death.
"Gaddafi will never enter this city. He will never set foot here. The only way for him to enter the city is when we are all dead. He has to kill us all to control the city," the rebel, who gave his name as Ibrahim, said by telephone.
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Rebels in eastern Libya said they were pushing further west after driving forces loyal to Gaddafi from the oil town of Ras Lanuf on Friday.

NASA Image of the Day, Mar 5th ..[ 2149 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day"

Anchored

Anchored to a Canadarm2 mobile foot restraint, NASA astronaut Steve Bowen participates in the STS-133 mission's second spacewalk as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. 

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During the six-hour, 14-minute spacewalk, Bowen and fellow astronaut Alvin Drew tackled a variety of tasks, including venting into space some remaining ammonia from a failed pump module they moved during the mission's first spacewalk. 

Image Credit: NASA

Σάββατο, 5 Μάρτιος 2011 7:00:00 πμ