Oil prices gained a dollar today to approach last week’s record high of $133 a barrel after Nigerian rebels blew up a pipeline belonging to Royal Dutch Shell, forcing it to cut production. This from the Financial Times:

Crude prices jumped on Monday in electronic trading as news of the attack broke, but analysts said the impact on prices spilled over into Tuesday, when exchanges on both side of the Atlantic re-opened after the long weekend.

I don’t believe nuclear energy is the solution to this problem, at least not in its current form. The dirty secret of the nuclear industry is that we still don’t have an adequate waste disposal system. While carbon dioxide pollution may let New Yorkers grow palm trees, radioactive waste will kill you.

If you were running an oil company, what would your number one priority be? Jacking up production, right? I mean, prices have just shot up from $50 to $120. And you know that whatever you produce, you’ll sell. Can it get any simpler than that? Whatever it takes, push product out.

This from Bloomberg:

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said a militant attack on a pipeline has cut as much as 169,000 barrels a day of Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude production as rebels claimed responsibility for two more strikes today.

Crude futures contracts in New York have hit fresh highs of $117+ a barrel on the news of the attacks. Crude oil prices climbed to a new record after Shell said exports would be cut — the highest since futures started in 1983.

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.

In the energy market Friday, crude for May delivery resumed its upward arc, closing at $116.69/barrel, up $1.83. May reformulated gasoline gained 3.15 cents and inched closer to the $3 mark, ending at $2.9893/gallon.

In the energy market Monday, crude for May delivery advanced, closing at $111.76/barrel, up $1.62 from Friday. May reformulated gasoline gained 1.45 cents, to $2.8218/gallon.

Last night, the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) made a massive adjustment to its oil-price forecasts for this year… and about time too. Its forecast is getting closer to reality.