Oil surges

Singapore: Brent crude oil prices were near 2015 highs on Tuesday after the unplanned closure of a major North Sea pipeline for repairs, knocking out significant supplies from a market that was already tightening due to OPEC-led production cuts.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $64.73 a barrel at 0105 GMT, up 4 cents from their last close.

Brent hit a peak of $64.93 a barrel in the previous session, its highest level since June, 2015. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $57.98 a barrel, close to their last settlement.

"Oil shot higher last night on the news that an important North Sea pipeline which usually carries up to 400,000 bpd is going to be offline for some time as repairs are made to cracks that have opened up," said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at futures brokerage AxiTrader.