NEW YORK - The oil gushing unchecked from an undersea well in the Gulf of Mexico could permanently scar coastal lands and bring down some of the energy companies tied to the accident if efforts to control the spill are unsuccessful, experts said on Tuesday.

The financial impact from the oil well blowout on April 20 that killed 11 workers and created a massive slick remains difficult to measure precisely, but the estimates of the damage continue to grow.

"This is going to be protracted and consume years, and the liability will have to measured in the billions of dollars. The only question is it in the tens of billions or hundreds of billions," said David Kotok, chairman of money management firm Cumberland Advisors.

First at risk are the smaller energy companies linked to the spill -- Transocean Ltd, owner of the rig that exploded and sank, and Cameron International Corp, which sold it the well head equipment.

BP Plc, one of world's largest oil companies, is unlikely to feel the financial heat because of its massive size, but its promise to pay damages to those hurt by the spill will still squeeze its cash reserves and stock price.

It has been almost two years since the last run up in gasoline prices. This time of year always sees a spike in price due to the “summer blends” in gasoline. Stockpiles go down as refineries prepare to make the special blends for summer driving. Then it takes a few weeks to get production back up in time for the increased driving during the summer months.

It has been almost two years since the last run up in gasoline prices. This time of year always sees a spike in price due to the “summer blends” in gasoline. Stockpiles go down as refineries prepare to make the special blends for summer driving. Then it takes a few weeks to get production back up in time for the increased driving during the summer months.

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The front-month contract for crude-oil futures fell below $82 per barrel on Globex late Monday afternoon in Asia, extending recent declines to touch its lowest level in three weeks on continued concerns over U.S. regulators' fraud charge against Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Crude for May delivery, the front-month contract, fell $1.49 to $81.75 per barrel in electronic trading on Globex. It touched a low of $81.66 so far in Globex trading, the lowest intraday level the contract has seen since March 26, according to data from FactSet Research.

June crude, the most active contract, was last down $1.14 at $83.53 per barrel on Globex.

Crude futures suffered from a big selloff Friday amid news that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Goldman Sachs, one of the largest commodities brokers, with fraud. Read complete story about Goldman Sachs.

BP will press ahead with its plan to invest in Canada’s controversial oil sands, the company will signal at Thursday’s annual general meeting, in spite of protests from environmentalists and concerns among some shareholders.

More than 140 investors have backed a resolution calling for a review of BP’s plans, including Calpers and Calstrs, the California state pension funds, as well as Co-operative Asset Management and the Unison union’s pension fund from the UK.