Oil Prices Pass $97

Crude oil was above $97 a barrel Thursday on news that inclement weather has shut in production in the North Sea.

December light sweet crude was up $1.01 at $97.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It reached an intraday high of $97.70 earlier.

Reformulated gasoline is trading 4 cents higher at $2.48 a gallon. Heating oil is up 3 cents at $2.65 a gallon, and natural gas rose 5 cents to $7.67 per million British thermal units.

Both BP (BP Quote) and ConocoPhillips (COP Quote) have ceased production in the North Sea because of a large storm, unnerving energy traders.

Meanwhile, energy stocks are mostly higher. Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote) advanced 2.4% to $89.30 a share. Chevron (CVX Quote) gained 2.7% to $89.87, and Conoco was rising 2% to $84.08.