Special report: oil and petrol

Latest
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Putin diverts new oil pipeline from Lake Baikal after protests
April 27: Vladimir Putin backed down in the face of popular protest yesterday and ordered that an oil pipeline be diverted from Lake Baikal, the world's largest mass of fresh water.

Business
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Bush tries to head off panic over petrol prices
April 26: Poll rating drops to new low amid election fears
· Measures unlikely to ease pain at the pump

Oil crisis gives energy to new world order
April 24: The dangers to the global economy concentrated minds in Washington.
24.04.06: Kuwait offers 2m barrels a day to cool oil market
21.04.06: Inflation falls to lowest rate in a year despite soaring oil
19.04.06: Further rises in petrol prices expected after oil reaches new peak above $72 a barrel
20.04.06: Oil rises on Iran tensions and fall in US reserves
18.04.06: Oil prices rise amid Iran fears
12.04.06: Shell ordered to stop flaring off excess gas
05.04.06: Exxon Mobil is biggest US firm thanks to price rises

Opec
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Oil cooler as Opec promises to keep output at maximum
April 25: Oil prices fell sharply from the record highs hit on Friday after the Opec producers' cartel promised to keep output near maximum capacity.

BP
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Fear and speculators driving oil prices too high, says BP chief
April 26: Energy groups unable to predict effect on economy
· Britain's biggest company making £1bn a month

Hurricanes hit BP profits
April 25: The oil giant BP posts a 4% fall in first quarter profits due to the effects of storm damage to rigs and the shutdown of its biggest refinery.

BP attacked over CO2 emissions
April 21: BP drew fire yesterday from environmentalists for quietly halving its estimate of the carbon emissions that result from all the oil and gas it produces.
20.04.06: Green group attacks BP's safety record
19.03.06: At BP, can small ever be beautiful?

Comment and analysis
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Fuelling the uncertainty
April 27, leader: If there is any overall rationale for the current slow-motion oil-shock, there may be no alternative but to rely on that old standby, market uncertainty. Market jitters are currently centred on Iran.

Oil price blame game misses point
April 25, Nils Pratley: The hunt for a culprit for $75-a-barrel oil has begun and, as usual when the price is debated, the single biggest reason for the rise will probably be lost in rhetoric.
07.03.06: Join Brazil in planting oil

Nigeria
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One dead after rebels set off car bomb at barracks
April 21: Militants fighting for a bigger cut of Nigeria's oil revenue exploded a car bomb inside a military base, killing at least one person.

Arctic project
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UK scientists attack oil firms' role in huge Arctic project
April 18: Sixty-country survey to search for fossil fuels in pristine environment.

Chad
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Chad regime under threat after rebel attack on capital
April 14: Guerrillas claim to control 80% of African country.

Interactive guides
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Caspian oil pipeline
May 26: Our guide to the1,100-mile pipeline bringing oil from the Caspian Sea to the west, a project that has sparked environmental and human rights concerns.
Prestige oil tanker disaster
Iraqi oil reserves
Global oil reserves
Arctic oil exploration
Prestige oil tanker disaster 2002

Graphic
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Oil prices
Crude oil price per barrel from 1947 to the present day.

The issue explained
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Q&A: Oil
August 12: Mark Tran looks at the reasons behind the surge in oil prices and its possible impact on the world economy.
Q&A: The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline

Quiz
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Do you know your oil?
Oil: What do you know about black gold?

From the Guardian archive
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Arabs will cut and cut again in oil war
October 23 1973: The Arab states have used their most potent weapon in the Middle East conflict.
04.12.1973: Petrol cuts fail to stop pumps running dry


Recent articles

27.04.06 Putin diverts new oil pipeline from Lake Baikal after protests
27.04.06 Fuelling the uncertainty
26.04.06 Bush tries to head off panic over petrol prices
26.04.06 Fear and speculators driving oil prices too high, says BP chief
25.04.06 Oil price blame game misses point
25.04.06 Oil cooler as Opec promises to keep output at maximum
25.04.06 Hurricanes hit BP profits
24.04.06 Oil crisis gives energy to new world order
24.04.06 Kuwait offers 2m barrels a day to cool oil market
22.04.06 As unleaded petrol heads towards £1 a litre Brown urges oil producers to help cut prices
21.04.06 BP attacked over CO2 emissions
21.04.06 One dead after rebels set off car bomb at barracks
21.04.06 Inflation falls to lowest rate in a year despite soaring oil
20.04.06 Oil rises on Iran tensions and fall in US reserves
20.04.06 Campaigners attack BP's safety record

Comment

07.03.06 Join Brazil in planting oil
02.02.06 It's capitalism or a habitable planet - you can't have both
21.01.06 Russia is in retreat
12.12.05 Millions of us have to accept we must live duller lives
06.12.05 The most destructive crop on earth is no solution to the energy crisis
30.11.05 The two grand bargains being offered by the 21st-century tsar
28.11.05 Transparency made visible
08.11.05 Running on empty
27.10.05 The market will provide sufficient power this winter
27.09.05 It's better to cry wolf now than to wait until the oil has run out
13.09.05 Face down the protests
19.08.05 This was the most glaring scandal of all
15.06.05 Casualties of the oil stampede
10.06.05 A noose, not a bracelet
03.06.05 Iraq's other resistance