CLEARBROOK, Minn.—A deadly fire at a pipeline from Canada that feeds oil to the United States sent oil prices soaring Thursday.
Two workers fixing the underground pipeline were killed when fumes apparently escaped and ignited the blaze, said Kristine Chapin, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery jumped $3.78 to $94.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late afternoon in Singapore. It climbed as much as $4.55 to $95.17 in the electronic session before slipping back.
The contract had plunged $3.80 to $90.62 a barrel Wednesday in New York, adding to the previous session's drop of $3.28. That was a front-month contract's second largest two-day price decline since the Nymex introduced futures trading in 1983.
In London, January Brent crude rose $2.61 Thursday to $92.42 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
No other injuries were reported. The Clearwater County Sheriff's Department said it expected the fire to continue through the night before burning itself out.
The fire along the Enbridge Energy pipeline in northern Minnesota was reported shortly before 4 p.m., the Sheriff's Department said. The oil that spilled was expected to burn and not pose any major problems.
The 34-inch pipeline carries crude oil from Saskatchewan to the Chicago area, Chapin said. The pipe had leaked a few weeks ago and was being repaired, she said.
"It appears as though one of those fittings may have failed and caused fumes to leak, and it caught fire," Chapin said. She said there wasn't an explosion and described it as a "big fire."
Nearby residents were evacuated because of the thick black smoke in the sparsely populated area.
Denise Hamsher, a spokeswoman for Houston-based
The pipeline that leaked and four others were shut down, though it wasn't clear for how long, Hamsher said. Because oil is stored in company stations along the line and at refineries, the pipelines could be shuttered for several days without causing disruptions in oil supplies to the Midwest, she said.
"Right now, we are securing the site and making sure that we are dealing with our employees and doing whatever we can to offer the families (of the victims) whatever assistance they need," Hamsher said. "Tomorrow we'll have a better idea of the duration and timing of the repairs."
The crude oil is used to make several kinds of fuel, such as gasoline and heating oil for homes.
Clearbrook is about 215 miles northwest of Minneapolis.
