Assam Doesn't Just Produce Tea  

Indian oil production is already reduced by the recent heavy weather around Bombay, and has now taken another hit from rebel activity in Assam (via PeakOil.com).

Suspected rebels launched renewed attacks overnight on pipelines in eastern India, leaving oil operations in the remote region in critical shape, a top oil official said Monday.

The explosions came hours after bombings shook a crowded market and crippled two oil pipelines elsewhere in the area in apparent terror attacks ahead of India's Aug. 15 Independence Day.

Oil officials gathered Monday in New Delhi to review the security situation in the region.

"Our production is on, but our storage capacity is going down, and our operations are turning critical," G.K. Talukdar, the head of state-owned Oil India Limited's operations in the eastern state of Assam told The Associated Press by telephone from Duliajan, 550 kilometers (380 miles) east of Gauhati.

Late Sunday night, a crude oil pipeline was blown up in a small village outside of Duliajan, while a natural gas pipeline, which had been feeding an electricity power plant, was blown up in another nearby village, Bokuloni.