NEW YORK, May 4: Oil futures in New York touched $19.00 a barrel for the first time since late 1997, again lifting oil shares, which were also buoyed by the Dow Jones Industrial Average move beyond 11.000 for the first time in history, says Reuters.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil prices surged to $19.00 a barrel, before settling at $18.80, up 19 cents on the day and marking six up sessions in a row.

Among the oil companies, Atlantic Richfield Co ARC N. the Los Angeles-based oil major. reported first quarter profits well above consensus forecasts. helped by a more than six-fold rise in refining and marketing earnings.

ARCO, which has most of its business on the West Coast where gas prices have remained very high, finished up $1.25 at

$85.1875 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Other oil majors gained, with Exxon Corp ending up $3 at $86.0625, Mooil Corp surging $3.9375 at $108.6875, Chevron Corp adding $2.3125 at $102.0625 and Texaco closing up $1,625 at 64.375.

"People are surprised at what is happening in the oil markets, but there is the realisation among oil companies that oil at $12 a barrel is over." said David Garcia, an analyst at Everen Securities.

Indeed, despite lower first quarter earnings turned in by oil majors in the past two weeks, industry captains see better financial results in the upcoming quarters.

Underpinning that rise is the latest production cuts pledged by major producers belonging to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries

and other major producers such as Mexico and Norway. The new cuts went into effect April 1 and early estimates suggest a high rate of compliance among OPEC members.

All oil Industry indices rose on Monday.

The Standard & Poor's International Oil Index, which tracks major global integrated oil companies, ended up 26.57 points, or 2.69 per cent, at 1013.37 points.

The S&P Oil & Gas Producers Index gained 2.03 points, or 3.33 per cent, to 62.92 pts while the S&P Oil and Gas Refining Index added 0.68 points, or more than half a percentage point, at 123.71 pts.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Oil Services Index, which gauges performance of drillers and similar companies, ended another big day.