"There was a directive that the workers should start
returning to the terminals and fields from yesterday [Thursday] evening, but
we don't expect restart of production until the weekend." Though ExxonMobil
workers in Nigeria had returned to work after a week-long strike, normal
crude production at 800,000 b/d would resume only over the weekend, company
and union officials said Friday.
"We understand that consumers are being hurt by
high [gasoline] prices, and the commission remains vigilant in using its
full authority to prevent unlawful behavior that affects gas prices." The US Federal Trade
Commission plans to decide by the end of the year whether to adopt
regulations prohibiting manipulation of petroleum markets, FTC Chairman
William Kovacic said in a statement Thursday. The commission said it would
start by collecting public comments on the appropriate way to enforce a
provision of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that outlaws
such behavior.