AP - Oil tanker operator Tidewater Inc. said Wednesday that Jeffrey M. Platt, its executive vice president, has been promoted to chief operations officer.

Reuters - Canadian parliamentarians tucked into a meal of seal meat on Wednesday to defy both animal right activists and the European Union, which has banned imports of seal products. Some two dozen guests, surrounded on all sides by media, crammed into a small room off the main parliamentary restaurant to hear speeches backing the annual hunt off Canada's East Coast, which the EU says is inhumane.

Reuters - The Canadian dollar ended stronger for a ninth straight session against the U.S. dollar after touching its highest level in almost five months on Wednesday, helped by talk it is set to test parity with the greenback.

AP - Crude inventories rose less than expected last week, while gasoline supplies dropped, the government said Wednesday.

AP - World oil demand is projected to grow by 900,000 barrels per day in 2010, OPEC said Wednesday, revising up its previous month's forecast while cautioning that the increase is hinged on a sustained global economic rebound, particularly in the United States.

The OPEC oil producers' cartel on Wednesday slightly upgraded its forecast for modest growth in world oil demand this year but warned that the slow pace of economic recovery was clouding the outlook.

Oil failed to find momentum in either direction for a clear move away from $81.50 on Wednesday as investors waited for data on U.S. stocks or OPEC's monthly report ahead of next week's meeting to provide impetus.

East Africa has become a promising new frontier for oil exploration and major multinationals are jostling for the rights to search for black gold, industry experts said.

As the economy recovers, energy prices are rising and that is placing extra strain on families' budgets.

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