Britney Spears, Jay-Z, Adam Sandler and Plains Exploration and Production Co. have one thing in common. They’ve all been sighted at Beverly Center, an eight-level mall near Beverly Hills, where celebrities shop for clothes and the oil company pumps crude.

The rising price of oil, which hit a record $140 a barrel Thursday, has sent exploration companies scurrying to squeeze additional supplies from the fields underlying Los Angeles and its celebrity-rich neighbor.