also in press today:

China to start filling strategic oil reserve

 <ET Net News> - China Petroleum & Chemical (0386) president Wang Jiming revealed that the Chinese strategic oil reserve could be in services at the end of this year. He said that the construction progress of the Zhenhai Oil Reserve Base was beyond scheduled and the first phase was expected to be completed within this year. There are a total of 16 storage tanks and all tanks will start to store oil by the end of the year, mainland Oriental Morning Post reported.

http://corpsv.etnet.com.hk/webservice/jsp/ETNETP1/NEWS/ENG/NewsContent.jsp?MAINTYPE=NEWS&ENCODIN G=ENG&SUBTYPE=DETAIL&CLIENT=ETNETP1&NEWSID=150909193

and, venezuela must be on someone's 'hit' list:

Guyana could access oil under PetroCaribe pact within a month - PM Hinds
Guyana could begin to access fuel under the PetroCaribe bilateral agreement signed with Venezuela within a month, saving millions through a deferred payment scheme that might include bartering sugar.

However, the government is being cautious given a past experience with Trinidad and Tobago which in the 1970s cut off a line of credit, Prime Minister Sam Hinds said.

Under the agreement Guyana stands to receive some 10,000 barrels of oil per day.

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_general_news?id=29544911

and...

Oil Aids Venezuelan Leader's Influence
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - When nine Caribbean countries signed oil trading agreements with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, it was a marriage of convenience.

Fragile Caribbean economies scored modest relief from rising fuel prices, while the leftist South American leader advanced his campaign to become a counterweight to U.S. influence in the region, analysts say.

``A lot of what Chavez is doing right now is just bravado,'' said Vinay Jawahar of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue. ``But it's going to make the United States' life harder.''

Jawahar said Chavez is trying to increase his influence in the 34-nation Organization of American States, whose top human rights panel has often criticized the Venezuelan government.

The OAS also is the venue for negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas, a U.S.-backed effort that Chavez opposes. Caribbean countries, who have concerns about how the FTAA would affect their struggling industries, often try to vote in a bloc in the OAS, making their support pivotal to many decisions.

Jawahar said Chavez also is trying to build regional support for his friend and ally, Cuban President Fidel Castro. The United States routinely backs resolutions condemning Cuba's human rights record in the United Nations. In recent years, votes on the resolutions have been close.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5269741,00.html

Still in the pause phase, recovery essentially stuck...

Hurricane Katrina Evacuation and Production Shut-in Statistics Report
as of Saturday, September 10, 2005

Today's shut-in oil production is 897,605 BOPD. This shut-in oil production is equivalent to 59.84% of the daily oil production in the GOM, which is currently approximately 1.5 million BOPD.

Today's shut-in gas production is 3.821 BCFPD. This shut-in gas production is equivalent to 38.21% of the daily gas production in the GOM, which is currently approximately 10 BCFPD.

The cumulative shut-in oil production for the period 8/26/05-9/10/05 is 17,121,430 bbls, which is equivalent to 3.127 % of the yearly production of oil in the GOM (approximately 547.5 million barrels).

The cumulative shut-in gas production 8/26/05-9/10/05 is 84.232 BCF, which is equivalent to 2.308% of the yearly production of gas in the GOM (approximately 3.65 TCF).

http://www.mms.gov/ooc/press/2005/press0910.htm

I'm in UK and local Shell filling station seems to have gotten around the display problem.  4 star (which is more expensive than unleaded gasoline or diesel) hit 102p / litre last week and big sign simply showed '102'.  Prior to this latest hike they would have charged something like 97.9p so they've simply given up on the decimal point and rounded to a whole penny.  I would assume most filling stations could do likewise - it's quite simple to display a '1' in the left hand slot of the big signs.