Sabotage of 2 pipelines by militants in Nigeria spark concerns: oil rises above US$12

29-Jul-08

An attack by militants on Monday in Nigeria targeted two pipelines believed to be owned by a unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC. A pipeline is believed to be damaged in attacks and some crude production had been shut down to prevent the oil from spilling into the environment. This fresh attack ahs sparked concerns, pushing oil prices up. Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose to US$125.06 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midmorning in Singapore. In London, September Brent crude gained 34 cents to $126.18 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. These fresh attacks in Nigeria are preventing oil prices from slipping further on concerns that high fuel prices have hurt demand in the US, amid increasing uncertainty over the global economy. Crude futures have fallen over the past two weeks from its peak above $147 a barrel. However, prices remain about 65% higher than at this time last year.