"LONDON — Oil prices hit record highs Friday, climbing close to $45, after a renewed threat to Russian oil producer Yukos and a big refinery fire in the United States added to concerns about world supplies."
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""Fifty, sixty dollars a barrel is thinkable for the first time since 1979 ... But so much has changed between then and now that prices might have to go even higher before demand growth slows down," said Deborah White, senior economist at SG Commodities in Paris."
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"Yukos, which pumps 1.7 million barrels per day, or two percent of world supplies, is battling bankruptcy from a multi-billion dollar tax debt that is threatening its ability to continue exports."
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"A fire on Thursday shut a gasoline-producing unit at BP's 470,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Texas, third-biggest plant in the United States. The flash fire was quickly extinguished, but it was unclear how long the unit would be down."
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2004-08-06-oil-prices_x.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno