Oil prices shooting up 15% from the middle of February.

• Position: Eastern

Oil prices shooting up 15% from the middle of February--when civil war erupted in Libya--to the end of March should have been a shot in the arm for ethanol production, but rising corn prices have shut down the Clean Burn Fuels LLC plant in Dundarrach less than a year after it opened. The company suspended production and furloughed 30 workers in March, then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April. Plant manager Doug Archer says a 90%...