* Statoil shuts two N.Sea fields, adds lift to oil prices
* Chevron briefly shut U.S. Gulf of Mexico platform
* Brent premium over U.S. crude widens to 23-month high
* Coming Up: API U.S. oil inventory report; 2130 GMT
(Recasts, updates prices and market activity)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices shot back
above $91 a barrel on Tuesday after additional production snags
on both sides of the Atlantic added to supply concerns as
Alaska's shut crude pipeline still had more than half a million
barrels per day of output offline.
Norway's oil and gas producer Statoil <STL.OL> said its
Snorre and Vigdis fields in the North Sea were shut on Tuesday
after a gas leak. []
Chevron <CVX.N> also shut its Eugene Island platform in the
U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Monday but crude oil prices came off
their highs after the company said on Tuesday output had been
restored after a one-hour shutdown. []
Those disruptions came as the Trans Alaska Pipeline
System's main oil pipeline remained closed, curbing nearly 12
percent of U.S. domestic oil output.
U.S. crude oil for February delivery <CLc1> rose $1.56, or
1.75 percent, to $90.81 a barrel at 1:51 p.m. EST (1851 GMT),
having reached $91.33.
In London, ICE Brent crude for February <LCOc1> rose $1.79
to $97.49 a barrel, having traded as high as $97.82.
The North Sea fields -- which jointly produce about 157,000
bpd -- were shut after gas leaked into the air on the Snorre A
platform during a well shutdown and Statoil said it was not
known when they would be restarted.
The Trans Alaska Pipeline System's main oil pipeline
remained closed on Tuesday but was still expected to restart
this week after a spill on Saturday forced it shut, according
to a source familiar with its operations. []
Adding to oil's bullish momentum, the U.S. Northeast
prepared for another snowstorm due late on Tuesday, as
forecasts for above normal heating oil demand this week lifted
U.S. heating oil futures <HOc1> to a 28-month high. []
[]
BRENT/U.S. CRUDE SPREAD WIDENS
The premium for London's ICE Brent crude over the U.S.
light sweet crude benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, jumped
above $7 a barrel on Tuesday, pushing the spread <CL-LCO1=R> to
its widest since February 2009 in volatile trading.
The Statoil news added another factor to the mix that has
kept Brent trading above U.S. crude since August last year,
supported by a combination of dwindling North Sea crude
supplies and disruption of oil grades priced off it.
Traders said if the disruption to the Alaskan pipeline
lingers, it could result in shifting crude supplies priced off
Brent to the U.S. West Coast.
"There is the possibility the pipeline will resume
operations pretty soon, in fact 3-5 days from now, but if it
doesn't, it will have a strong impact on the market," said
Christophe Barret, global oil analyst at Credit Agricole.
"If the pipeline doesn't restart, the need to find other
sources will impact crude oil prices in the Middle East."
U.S. OIL INVENTORIES
U.S. crude oil inventories probably rose by 400,000 barrels
last week as imports rebounded, in what would be the first gain
in six weeks, according to a preliminary Reuters poll taken on
Monday. []
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute will
release its inventory report at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) on
Tuesday. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's
government data will follow on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EST
(1530 GMT).
Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel
fuel, were forecast to have increased 1.3 million barrels for
their third straight weekly gain, while gasoline stocks
probably rose 2.8 million barrels, the survey showed.
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Christopher
Johnson and Jessica Donati in London and Alejandro Barbajosa in
Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
