* Statoil shuts two N.Sea fields, adds lift to oil prices
* U.S. crude stocks forecast to have fallen last week
* Coming Up: API U.S. oil inventory report; 2130 GMT
(Recasts, updates with settlement prices and additional
detail throughout)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices jumped 2
percent to top $91 a barrel on Tuesday as the shutdown of two
oil fields in the North Sea stoked supply concerns for markets
already on edge from the closure of Alaska's main crude
pipeline.
Further support came from forecasts for stronger heating
demand this week as the U.S. Northeast, the world's biggest
heating oil market, prepared for another snowstorm. []
[]
Oil got an early boost after Norway's Statoil <STL.OL> said
it shut about 157,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil
production due to a gas leak at the offshore Snorre and Vigdis
fields and did not know when they would be restarted.
[]
The disruptions came amid efforts to restart the Trans
Alaska Pipeline System's main oil pipeline, which was closed on
Saturday by a leak and forced the shutdown of over 600,000 bpd
of output, nearly 12 percent of U.S. domestic oil output.
[]
U.S. crude oil for February delivery <CLc1> rose $1.86 to
settle at $91.11 a barrel, having reached $91.33. U.S. heating
oil futures <HOc1> rose 2 percent to their highest level since
October 2008 on expectations of colder weather.
Total U.S. crude futures trading volume was above 884,000
lots traded with two hours left of post-settlement trading,
well above the 250-day average of 618,458 lots, according to
Reuters data, continuing a post-holiday volume rebound.
In London, ICE Brent crude for February <LCOc1> rose $1.91
to settle at $97.61 a barrel, having traded as high as $97.82.
Oil also found support from news that Chevron <CVX.N> shut
a Eugene Island crude oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico on
Monday. The company later said the platform was only offline
for an hour and had restarted production, easing concerns.
[]
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 intraday on Tuesday, pushing the spread
<CL-LCO1=R> to its widest since February 2009.
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."
EYEING U.S. INVENTORIES
U.S. crude oil inventories probably fell 1.1 million
barrels last week, with imports expected to have declined,
according to an expanded Reuters survey of analysts taken on
Tuesday. []
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 seen up 1.0 million barrels, while gasoline stocks
were expected to be up 1.8 million barrels, the survey showed.
U.S. retail gasoline demand was little changed last week
from the previous period but fell compared to year-ago levels,
a MasterCard report said. []
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Christopher
Johnson and Jessica Donati in London and Alejandro Barbajosa in
Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
