C-note

CLEARBROOK, Minn. - A fire at a pipeline from Canada that feeds oil to the United States killed two people and sent oil prices soaring before burning out Thursday morning, officials said.

Two workers fixing the underground pipeline were killed when fumes apparently escaped and ignited the blaze in Clearbrook, about 215 miles northwest of Minneapolis, said Kristine Chapin, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

The fire along the Enbridge Energy pipeline in northern Minnesota was reported shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday, the Sheriff's Department said. The fire was out by Thursday morning.

"It looks like it's out now. They're just mopping up and making sure," said Blake Olson, a terminal supervisor at the pipeline. The 34-inch pipeline carries crude oil from Saskatchewan to the Chicago area, Chapin said. The pipe had leaked a few weeks ago and was being repaired, she said.

"It appears as though one of those fittings may have failed and caused fumes to leak, and it caught fire," Chapin said. She said there wasn't an explosion and described it as a "big fire."

Nearby residents were evacuated because of the thick black smoke in the sparsely populated area. Denise Hamsher, a spokeswoman for Houston-based Enbridge Energy, confirmed late Wednesday that the workers who died were employed by the company. Their names were not immediately released.

The crude oil is used to make several kinds of fuel, such as gasoline and heating oil for homes. An average of 1.5 million barrels of oil passes through the pipeline each day, said another Enbridge spokesman, Larry Springer.

Let's all get prepared to see $100/barrel oil prices this week. Not only due to the fire, but cold weather in the Northeast. Even if OPEC opens the spiggets, speculation is a greater price factor than economincs in today's market place.