Oil rises two dollars on Venezuela refinery outage

NEW YORK, Nov 19 (AFP) - A barrel of crude rose 2.22 dollars in New York markets to 48.44 on news of a power outage at a large Venezuelan refinery, which revived supply worries ahead of a coming cold front in Europe and the United States.
A barrel of light sweet crude for December delivery closed at more than 48 dollars for the first time since November 10 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January surged 2.17 dollars to 44.89 dollars.
"(Venezuela's) La Isla refinery problem was really the catalyst," said John Kilduff, a Fimat analyst.
The refinery's officials said the facility, which treats some 195,000 barrels of crude per day, will be out of service for three to four days.
The closure "highlights the vulnerable situation we're in," Kilduff said.

11/19/2004 20:36 GMT - AFP