New refinery closure in Texas

Crude oil prices were higher on Tuesday. Brent crude for August delivery added 35 cents to $72.98 per barrel in London on the Intercontinental Exchange, while August contracts for West Texas Intermediate was 11 cents higher to $71.20 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The gains came on new refinery closures, this time in Texas after a Kansas refinery was closed over the weekend due to flooding after heavy rains.

By Tuesday, an oil spill developed around the Kansas refinery due to oil leaking from a valve that wasn’t closed properly. 42,000 gallons of oil were reported to have spilled.

Nymex August gasoline added 2 cents to $2.27 per gallon, while August heating oil futures were up 1 cents to $2.07.

Natural gas futures, meanwhile, dropped 4 cents to $6.72 per million British thermal units.