Yukos freeze hikes oil prices

CRUDE oil prices soared again as the price war moved to the Russian front. Moscow's public prosecutor won the right to freeze £1.5bn funds of oil giant Yukos. The company warned: 'The arrest paralyses our productive capacity.'

A pipeline bombing in Iraq renewed supply worries. US crude went up more than $1 to over $45 a barrel in New York. North Sea crude rose to $42.50.

Yukos produces 1.7m barrels daily and exports 1m. But with its bank accounts frozen the taps may be turned off.

President Putin apparently assured George W Bush last month that Russia's oil would keep flowing.

But his strategy seems to be to force all or part of Yukos into State - or at least State-friendly control - blocking all of its attempts to raise money to meet its huge tax bills.

Meanwhile, the pace of disposals at Shell is accelerating. In what would be a radical-move, it may put Intergen, its global power venture with 20 plants, on sale. Shell owns 68% of Intergen, engineer Bechtel owns 32%.

Shell is unloading petrol stations and refineries to focus on finding oil and gas.

Cairn Energy joined the sales rush, raising $135m (£75m) by selling part of two exploration blocks off India's east coast, and other assets, to Indian State company ONGC. Cairn rose 15p to 1497p.