Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a record $44.98 a barrel after Iraq cut shipments to tankers in the Persian Gulf because of warnings of possible attacks on petroleum-industry infrastructure.
Iraq's Southern Oil Co. stopped pumping oil after militia troops threatened to attack oil facilities, Agence France-Presse reported, citing an official at the company. OAO Yukos Oil Co., Russia's largest oil exporter, said the government renewed a freeze on shares of its main Siberian oil unit, reviving concern its assets will be seized to settle a $3.4 billion tax bill.
``There is no limit to how high crude oil can go,'' said Carl Larry, an associate director of energy futures at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York. ``There is too much demand and terrorism. There are problems in Iraq, Russia and Venezuela that threaten supply.''
Crude oil for September delivery rose 89 cents, or 2 percent, to settle at $44.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price since futures began trading in New York in 1983. Futures reached $44.98, a record intraday price. Oil has passed intraday records every day since July 30. Prices were up 39 percent from a year earlier.
In London, the September Brent crude oil futures contract rose 93 cents, or 2.3 percent, to settle at $41.56 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange, the highest closing price since the contract began trading in 1988.
Security measures have already increased at oil facilities in southern Iraq, which is the only outlet for oil exports following repeated attacks to the country's northern export pipeline.
Russian Shipments
A Yukos official confirmed the Justice Ministry's action, without commenting further. The Moscow-based company late Friday won a court appeal that the government's earlier plan to confiscate and sell the subsidiary was illegal. The unit, called OAO Yuganskneftegaz, accounts for 60 percent of Yukos's output.
Today's reversal is the latest in a series of turnarounds in Yukos's fortune that have boosted oil prices. Concern that Yukos may be unable to pay for its oil shipments by rail or that the sale of Yuganskneftegaz may bankrupt Yukos has helped pushed crude oil prices to records.
Deutsche Bank's oil strategist Adam Sieminski said in a note today that oil prices may temporarily rally ``toward $100'' if an accident, disaster or sabotage cuts supplies from two major oil- producing countries at the same time.
Venezuelan Recall
Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the state oil company, said it will increase security at its facilities prior to Sunday's recall vote on President Hugo Chavez to safeguard against possible disruptions and ``terrorist attacks.''
Petroleos de Venezuela Vice President Felix Rodriguez said in a press conference in the eastern city of Cumana that the company would take measures to guarantee continued operations. He said military units would reinforce security at company facilities. Venezuela is the fourth biggest source of U.S. oil imports this year, according to Energy Department figures.
The company is seeking to avoid a repeat of last year when output and revenue were slashed after opponents of Chavez went on a two-month nationwide strike to force the former paratrooper from office. The company fired about 18,000 of its 33,000 workforce to break the strike.
`Near Full Capacity'
Oil producers worldwide are at ``near full capacity,'' said U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. Demand ``looks strong well into the future, which is why we need an energy bill,'' he said.
Gasoline for September delivery rose 0.54 cent, or 0.4 percent, to settle at $1.2401 a gallon in New York. Prices reached $1.47 on May 20, the highest since the contract began trading in 1984. Futures were 30 percent higher than a year earlier.
Abraham called on Congress to pass the stalled energy bill to lower prices for consumers.
``We're not happy seeing the price that people pay for gasoline or home heating oil be very high,'' Abraham said in an interview. ``We want to see that ameliorated,'' he said.
Economists reduced their forecasts for U.S. economic growth this quarter amid concern that record oil prices will sap consumers' ability to spend, according to a monthly Bloomberg News survey.
The world's largest economy will probably grow at a 3.9 percent annual rate from July through September, slower than the 4.2 percent estimated last month, according to the median of 54 economists surveyed. For the year, the economy is forecast to grow 4.4 percent, a tenth of a percentage point less than what was estimated in the June survey.
Speculators
Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators have boosted their bets on higher prices for crude oil futures, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Speculative long positions, or futures and options bought, in Nymex crude oil outnumbered shorts by 40,299 contracts in the week ended Aug.3, up 10 percent from the previous week, the commission said Friday.
Speculators are still short of the net-long position of 65,287 they had at the start of June, or the 82,451 in early March, which was the most since 1999.
