OIL rose yesterday in choppy trading, with US crude reaching $100 a barrel, as violence in Iraq and news of upcoming Iranian navy exercises raised fears of potential supply disruptions.

TULLOW OIL has signed a critical Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Uganda after several months of discussions.

David O’Shea, investment manager with Quintas, examines how oil could have knock-on effects on other sectors

Mining stocks weighed the FTSE 100 Index down today amid fears that further Chinese monetary tightening will choke demand.

TULLOW OIL, the Irish-founded oil and gas exploration company, has kept up its steady stream of positive news ahead of its interim results next month, by announcing a further significant oil find in one of its African bases.

TULLOW OIL, the explorer with the most licences in Africa, and Interoil Exploration & Production found oil and natural gas at Ghana’s Tano Block, boosting prospects for oil recovery at the nearby Tweneboa field.

OIL and gas exploration company Providence Resources has confirmed that drilling at its AJE Field off the coast of Nigeria will commence during the first quarter of next year.

OIL is set to reach $100 a barrel by the end of next year, with production set to peak as early as 2015, a conference on the subject was told yesterday.

OIL is a key factor in keeping Australian troops in the US-led war in Iraq, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said yesterday, before his boss Prime Minister John Howard sharply contradicted him.

OIL rose above $63 yesterday on concerns that export cartel OPEC would cut output to halt a 20% slide in prices over the past two months.

OIL and Gas exploration company Providence has secured a rig slot from Island for next year’s drilling programme.

OIL hit a record high above $78 a barrel yesterday as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon heated up, while US stocks slid on investors’ worries about the Middle East conflict and General Electrics’ poor outlook.

The ISEQ fell 36.68 points to stand at 7177.65 at 10.30am today.

OIL giant Shell said yesterday it was banking over €2 million an hour in profits, as it almost bettered its record 2004 haul in the space of just nine months.

Brian O’Mahony, Chief Business Correspondent

OIL’S not called black gold for nothing. The cost of the commodity soared last week, reaching a record high of $66 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

OIL and gas exploration company Tullow Oil said yesterday that it had completed the acquisition of oil giants Esso and Shell’s interests in the Schooner and Ketch gas fields in the North Sea.

It was a day to forget for Dublin's stock exchange as the Iseq index of shares fell 47.28 points to 5,587.91 with most stocks losing value.

OIL and gas company Petroceltic, which changed its name from Ennex last year, said yesterday that it had signed a deal to take a 40% stake in two exploration sites in Italy.

OIL exploration firm Petrel Resources plans to submit a tender to develop three oil fields in Iraq.

TULLOW OIL has been given a strong buy rating in advance of its results announcement yesterday

OIL prices rose to a two-year high after Iraq said ‘no’ to United Nations peacekeeping troops in Iraq under a Franco-Germany strategy to avoid Gulf war II.

OIL and gas company Aminex’s decision to farm out €7.5 million of the cost of drilling two oil exploration wells off the Tanzania coast is regarded as good news for the company by Davy stockbrokers.

TULLOW OIL'S purchase of North Sea oil assets has been given the thumbs-up by its broker Davy Stockbrokers.