Oil stays above $91 as Alaska oil pipeline remains shut

SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : Global oil prices steadied in Asian trade Wednesday after an overnight surge mainly on short supplies due to a major Alaskan oil pipeline shutdown.

Light sweet crude for February contract was seen trading at $91.11 a barrel at 12.00 noon Singapore time while Brent crude for February settlement was at $97.65 in London.

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which operates the pipeline from Prudhoe Bay, said Tuesday it was seeking permission from regulators to temporarily restart the flow of oil to keep ice from forming amid frigid winter temperatures. Alyeska had no prediction for when the pipeline would be permanently restarted.

Analysts also attributed black gold’s recovery to Japan’s pledge to buy euro-area bonds, alleviating the region’s debt crisis.

American Petroleum Institute said US crude stockpiles rose 57,000 barrels to 337.1 million barrels last week. US Energy Department will release its weekly report on country’s inventories.

The Department released its forecast for 2011, predicting that crude prices would average $93 a barrel over the year.

In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil fell 0.4 cent to $2.61 a gallon while gasoline futures slid 1.3 cents to $2.47 per gallon. February natural gas futures gained 2.2 cents to $4.50 per 1,000 cubic feet.

On Tuesday, oil prices surged as the Trans Alaska Pipeline, which carries 12 percent of US production, was shut down for a fourth day.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, jumped by $1.86 to $91.11 a barrel by the close of trading.

In London, the price for Brent crude from the North Sea settled at $97.61, up $1.91. Earlier it reached $97.82, its highest level since October 1, 2008.