World crude oil prices soared above 62 dollars Friday following a failed suicide attack on a key Saudi oil complex.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, dropped 2.37 dollars to close at 62.91 dollars per barrel.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery rose 2.06 dollars to close at 62.60 dollars per barrel.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the heating oil added 6.41 cents to close at 1.7267 dollars a gallon as gasoline futures were up 3.72 cents to close at 1.5506 dollars per gallon. Natural gas futures finished evenly at 7.45 dollars per 1,000 cubic feet.

Two cars with suicide bombers exploded at the gates of Saudi Arabia's huge Abqaiq oil facility on Friday. The target of the attack, the Abqaiq oil complex in eastern Saudi Arabia, processes about two-thirds of the country's oil before it is exported. Saudi oil minister Naimi said a small fire was quickly brought under control after the incident.

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil producer, with output of about 9.5 million barrels per day, or 11 percent of global consumption.

In Nigeria, recent attacks have forced Shell to halt the flow of about 455,000 barrels a day - about one-fifth of the country's daily output, or less than 1 percent of total global demand. Nigeria is Africa's leading oil producer and the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports.

Traders are still concerned about the possibilities that Iran's oil exports would halt if the United Nations imposes an international sanction for its nuclear activities.

Source: Xinhua