LONDON, July 10: World oil prices climbed on Tuesday, with Brent North Sea crude breaching $76 a barrel to reach the highest point since August 2006 on supply concerns in the United States and Nigeria.

Brent North Sea crude for August delivery reached $76.64 in electronic deals -- the highest level since August 10.

It later stood at $76.44 per barrel, up 70 cents from Monday’s close.

New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, gained 61 cents to $72.80 per barrel in US floor trading, close to its own 11-month high of $73 struck on Monday.

Global Insight analyst Simon Wardell said supply concerns were dominating the market.

“With a very tight market, if the stocks don’t build, we could see prices rise further,” Wardell said.

Traders were set for Wednesday’s update on weekly energy stockpiles from the US Department of Energy.The focus will be on gasoline reserves, which are under pressure as many Americans hit the roads for vacations during what is known as the US driving season.

Last week, the DoE revealed that American gasoline inventories were about 4.2 per cent below their level at the same point in 2006.

Analysts said London’s Brent crude price was also getting support from upcoming maintenance at North Sea energy facilities next month.

In addition, traders looked to the latest developments in Nigeria, which is the world’s eighth biggest crude oil exporter and the largest producer on the African continent.

Nigerian troops on Tuesday foiled an attempt by militants to kidnap workers at a Korean firm in southern Rivers state, killing one insurgent and injuring several others, police and locals said.

The Joint Task Force (JTF), charged with protecting oil firms and personnel in the crude-rich Niger delta, prevented the militants from attacking the Daewoo yard at Mbiama, they said.

Elsewhere, traders leafed through a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that was published on Monday.

Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov noted that the IEA had said “that world oil demand will increase faster than expected to 2012, with production lagging behind.”—AFP