Oil high.

• Position: Petroleum hike - Brief article

See "Peak Oil Forum," January/February 2006, p. 9

In April, Brent North Sea crude, the standard used to price 65 percent of the world's crude supplies, passed the $70 level for the first time ever. The price hike was attributed to a worsening international relationship with Iran, instability over oil in Nigeria, and concerns about ethanol production and delivery in the United States.

Saudi Slump Saudi ARAMCO's mature oil fields are likely to decline at a gross rate of 8 percent a year without additional maintenance and drilling--a production loss of 760,000...