BP (NYSE:BP), Conoco (NYSE:COP), Exxon (NYSE:XOM) Alaskan Pipeline Shut Down Because of Leak

A pipeline in Alaska owned by BP (NYSE:BP), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM), Unocal Pipeline Co. and Koch Alaska Pipeline Company LLC was shut down today because of a pipeline leak.

Oil price soared to above $89 a barrel on the news the trans-Alaska pipeline, which is 800 miles long, was shuttered.

Oil for February delivery jumped to $89.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a $1.24 gain.

The shut down has oil production on the slope down to about 5 percent of usual production.

Refineries receiving oil from Alaska have about a month of inventories, so it's unlikely expectations oil prices would jump to over $100 a barrel will pan out, although any longer than that and it will definitely be tested. That would be a possibility if the pipeline isn't reopened until March or April.

The spill has been contained but schedule for repairs hasn't bee released yet. Once it is, the pressure on oil prices should relax.

BP was trading at $45.58, down $0.50, or 1.09 percent, as of 12:47 PM EST. ConocoPhillips was at $66.91, down $0.20, or 0.30. Exxon was at $75.10, losing $0.49, or 0.65 percent.