Reply #2: Oil rises to near $89 after Alaska pipeline leak [View All]

[Pale Blue Dot]

SINGAPORE – Oil prices rose to near $89 a barrel Monday in Asia after a pipeline leak cut Alaskan crude output.

Benchmark oil for February delivery rose 72 cents to $88.75 a barrel late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 30 cents to settle at $88.03 in Friday.

The 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) trans-Alaska pipeline, which normally carries between 630,000 and 650,000 barrels a day, was shut Saturday after a leak was discovered at a North Slope pump station, said Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which manages the line. North Slope production was reduced to 5 percent of normal.

Alyeska Pipeline said cleanup crews have contained the leak, but the company didn't know when the pipeline would restart operations.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices