Oil prices have risen on news that a main Alaskan pipeline continues to be almost closed since Saturday for a fourth day, and Norway's Statoil was forced to shut two fields in the North Sea at Snorre and Vigdis after a gas leak. Date of resumption of production at the two oil and gas fields is still not known. Since Saturday only 5% of typical output has flowed through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The pipeline is important because it carries almost 12% of US crude output, typically 630,000 bpd. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said no restart date had been set, but the plan was to build a bypass pipeline for the section in question. US authorities are not expected to rush clearance to allow output to restart at full levels, following last April's major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
12-Jan-11 
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