Oil rose to $70 a barrel on Monday after Nigeria’s main militant group said it attacked a Royal Dutch Shell oil platform, outweighing a fairly bearish report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

* Nigerian rebels say blow up Shell wellhead in Niger Delta

Oil rose towards $71 a barrel on Friday after Nigerian rebels said they blew up a wellhead in a Royal Dutch Shell oilfield and as equity markets rallied on perceptions the global recession was easing.

Crude for July delivery jumped more than $5 per barrel in New York yesterday (Wednesday) to close at $136.38 per barrel on declines in U.S. supplies and refinery activity.

Exactly 12 months ago, West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at just under $63 a barrel.

In the energy market Monday, crude for May delivery hit a record intraday high of $117.76, before also closing at a record $117.48/barrel, up 79 cents. May reformulated gasoline dropped 1.02 cents, to $2.9791/gallon.

It takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong – and, when it comes to the oil business, there doesn’t come any bigger than T Boone Pickens.