"There's so much that could go wrong right now," said Phil Flynn, an energy analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago. "This is the scariest time we've seen in oil in a long period of time."

In addition to the looming showdown with Iran over its nuclear ambitions, terrorists have repeatedly threatened to attack oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia; Nigerian rebels have disrupted exports by 25%; Iraq is pumping out 30% less crude than it did before the war; production in the Gulf of Mexico has yet to return to normal after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and Bolivian President Evo Morales yesterday seized control of the country's oil and gas fields and gave foreign companies 180 days to agree to new deals with the government.

"We're on a hair trigger," said John Kilduff, senior vice president of energy risk management at Fimat USA, a New York commodities trading firm.

"Unfortunately for consumers, we're on the brink of [$100 a barrel] as we speak," he said. "It's been a parade of horribles."