Crisis in Libya pushes oil over $100 mark

Price of a barrel of crude tops century line for first time since Oct. 2008

Crude in New York jumped to $100 a barrel for the first time since October 2008 as Libya’s uprising threatened to disrupt exports from Africa’s third-biggest oil producer.

The contract for April delivery climbed $4.58, or 4.8 percent to $100 a barrel at 1:06 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest level since Oct. 2, 2008, when prices reached $100.37.

“We’re crossing $100 because with the cut in Libyan output, the unrest in the Middle East is actually having an impact on oil supply,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. “There’s concern that unrest will spread further, threatening Saudi Arabia and other producers.”

Oil has climbed 9.4 percent this year as political protests in Tunisia spread to Egypt and Libya, raising concern that supplies from the Middle East will be disrupted. Energy companies have started to wind down operations in Libya. BP Plc suspended exploration because of the worsening violence. Statoil ASA said it closed its office in Tripoli and RWE AG suspended operations.

Countries in North Africa and the Middle East were responsible for 36 percent of global oil output and held 61 percent of proved reserves in 2009, according to BP, which publishes its Statistical Review of World Energy each June.

Mass protests in Tunisia forced the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January, the first Arab country to see an autocrat toppled by street opposition. The uprising has inspired demonstrations throughout the region, leading to the Feb. 11 overthrow of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Crude is still below its record $147.27 a barrel set on July 11, 2008.

Futures climbed for a second year in 2010, gaining 15 percent after surging 78 percent in 2009.

Brent in London rose to $101.73 a barrel on Jan. 31, the first time prices breached the $100-a-barrel mark since Oct. 1, 2008.

–Bloomberg News–