Crude Tops $71 on Louisiana Refinery Snags

Crude oil futures extended their gains and topped $71 a barrel Friday, boosted by continued worries about several refinery disruptions caused by a waterway closure in Louisiana.

Gasoline futures have climbed nearly 15 cents a gallon in the last three sessions as an oil spill closed the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Louisiana, forcing

four refineries in the region to scale back operations.

Twenty-nine ships were waiting to exit or enter the waterway Friday morning and refineries owned by ConocoPhillips (COP)(250,000 b/d), Citgo (425,000 b/d), Calcasieu Refining (85,000 b/d) and Pelican Refining (15,000 b/d) had acknowledged curtailed production because of the blocked supply route.

The refinery disruption "is not terribly serious at the moment, but we're in a supply chain situation where even the slightest problems are magnified, said John Kilduff, senior vice president for risk management at Fimat USA. "The market is hypersensitive to even the slightest refinery slowdown" or supply snag.