World oil prices eased today, but held close to a recent record in London as a pipeline leak forced UK major BP to shut the biggest oil field in the US and US authorities mulled releasing emergency stockpiles.
Brent North Sea crude for September delivery eased 51 cents to $77.79 a barrel in electronic deals, off its new peak of $78.64 set yesterday. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, dropped 53 cents to $76.45 a barrel in pit trading.
The contract remained below its historic record of $78.40 a barrel reached in mid-July as violence escalated between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Crude futures, which are winning support also from disruption to supplies in Nigeria, the ongoing Iranian nuclear energy crisis and strong demand, surged yesterday after BP announced the shutdown of its Prudhoe Bay oil field.
BP scrambled today to ease the crisis over an oil spill at its Alaska operations caused by corrosion, saying it would replace all main pipelines, halting production indefinitely.
Prudhoe Bay is the biggest field in the US but the spill was tiny, amounting to four to five barrels, BP said. However, the company's main concern was the discovery of evidence of 'unexpectedly severe' corrosion.
The oil field's shutdown, which could reduce US oilput by 8%, prompted the US administration to signal that it might allow refiners to draw on emergency oil stocks. US West Coast refineries depend on Prudhoe Bay for crude which are transported through pipelines.
