BP field closure raises oil price

Oil prices have touched $77 a barrel after BP was forced to close one of the largest oilfields in the US because of a pipeline leak.
The indefinite shutdown of the Prudhoe Bay oil field, which produces about 8% of US daily oil output, comes at a time when oil markets are already jittery.
The ongoing conflict in Lebanon has raised concerns about oil supplies, keeping price close to record highs.
Brent crude rose $1 to $77.17 a barrel before easing slightly to $77.10.
US light, sweet crude was trading up $1.04 at $75.80 in Asian markets.
Major impact
BP said it was shutting the oilfield - which produces 400,000 barrels a day - because of corrosion to a pipeline.
Oil prices could increase by as much as $10 a barrel given the current environment
Tetsu Emori, Mitsui Bussan Futures
"We don't know how long the field will be down but we will not resume operation of the field until we and government regulators are satisfied that they can be operated safely and pose no threat to the environment," said company spokesman Darren Beaudo.
BP is already facing a criminal investigation relating to a leak from the same oil field earlier this year.
Analysts said the disruption would force prices up at a time when the conflict involving Israel and Lebanon was unnerving the market.
"Oil prices could increase by as much as $10 a barrel given the current environment," said Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo.