CRUDE OIL TRADED ABOVE $40 FOR MOST OF MONDAY - 3RD CONSECUTIVE DAY

The following press release was published by the Senate Committee On Energy & Natural Resources on July 12, 2004. It is reproduced in full below.

Washington, D.C. - The price of crude oil today traded over $40 for the third trading day in a row. The continued high price for oil futures foretells higher pump prices through the summer, pinching consumers already pressed by fat utility bills. Chairman Domenici’s statement: “As long as energy prices keep climbing, I will continue to press Senate Democrats to pass the energy bill. Natural gas prices began climbing four years ago. Coal prices have been rising steadily for more than a year. Gasoline prices are now routinely held hostage to terrorism, international politics and OPEC’s greed. Each time pump prices spike, they set new records we once thought impossible. “We need more traditional energy. We need more renewable energy. We need a profound investment in research to develop new, alternative energies. We need it all yesterday. Let’s stop stalling and get this done."

Source: Senate Committee On Energy & Natural Resources