Oil prices rose above $102 per barrel Wednesday as fighting escalated in Libya and petroleum demand grew in the U.S.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate for April delivery added $2.57, or 2.6 per cent, to US$102.20 a barrel at midday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude added $1.80 cents to US$117.22 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

Libya, a major oil exporter to Europe, has been embroiled in a civil war that has shut down oil production in many parts of the country. Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi used air strikes in a battle against protestors for control of a key oil installation in the eastern half of the country.

Analysts are concerned that the rebellion will endanger Libya’s oil fields, which produce 1.6 million barrels per day. That’s only about 2 percent of global demand, but experts say the disruption is putting pressure on world supplies at a time when demand is picking up.

A Libyan oil minister said the production in the east had declined 50 per cent during the uprising, though international observers estimated that much more has been put on hold. The International Energy Agency said Wednesday that between 850,000 and 1 million barrels per day were shut in. That’s up from its previous estimate of between 500,000 and 750,000 barrels per day.

Whatever the number, not much will be moving out of the country, analysts said. Oil tankers that have made it to Libyan ports may simply be taking whatever excess supplies are available since the uprising began, Houston-based oil analyst Andrew Lipow said. Libya oil fields probably will be in danger for months with nobody in clear control of the country, Barclays Capital analyst Helima Croft said.

“They have a highly fractured army, so you could see security problems persisting for weeks or months,” Croft said. “This could get really messy.”

In the U.S., the government reported Wednesday that petroleum demand continues to rise from last year, and oil and gasoline supplies both dropped unexpectedly last week.

Since demonstrations spread to Libya, WTI has risen about 19 per cent, Brent about 13 per cent. The rise in oil prices continues to push U.S. gas prices to new highs for this time of year. Pump prices rose more than a penny overnight to almost $3.39 per gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of regular unleaded is 28.8 cents higher than a month ago and 68.4 cents higher than the same time last year.

Gasoline prices are expected keep rising, though more gradually, this spring, topping out at between $3.50 and $3.75 per gallon.

Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration reported that oil supplies in the U.S. fell by 400,000 barrels and gasoline inventories dropped by 3.6 million barrels last week as petroleum demand increased.

In other Nymex trading, natural gas for April delivery fell 6.5 cents to $3.81 per 1,000 cubic feet. Natural gas prices typically fall at this time of year as the weather warms, and huge production increases in North America have helped push prices about 21 percent lower year-over-year.

Gasoline for March delivery added 5.76 cents to $3.04 per gallon. Gasoline futures also have been tugged higher by the unrest in the Middle East, rising 12 percent since the beginning of February.

Heating oil for March delivery added 5.03 cents to $3.07 per gallon.