Crude oil prices fell slightly Tuesday, after the U.S. government said it would consider making up a short-fall in crude oil production from Alaska.
The Bloomberg financial news service says oil prices fell 41 cents to trade at $76.57 a barrel in New York Tuesday morning. London prices also eased, hitting $76.70 a barrel.
Monday, crude oil prices soared in New York and hit a record high in London when BP said it will shut down its Prudhoe Bay, Alaska operations.
Experts say the shutdown cuts U.S. oil production by nearly eight percent, or 400,000 barrels a day.
BP says it must replace 26 kilometers of corroded pipeline.
Officials with London-based BP say they do not know how long it will take to resume production at the largest oil field in the United States.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.