Oil giant BP testifying before a Congressional committee said that its Prudhoe Bay Field facility could be up and running to full capacity by the end of October resulting in oil prices falling back near $67 a barrel.
US light crude for October delivery fell 18 cents to settle at $67.32 a barrel. Earlier in the session crude hit $66.76 on the news.
Crude prices had slipped after the Energy Information Administration reported a jump in total motor gasoline inventories by 700,000 barrels putting them above the upper end of the average range.
Crude oil inventories at 330.6 million barrels remain well above the average for this time of the year.
Following the Israel-Hezbollah cease fire, oil prices have eased from their record highs of around $78.
With the end of the US summer driving season, an innocuous hurricane season and slowing global economic growth, crude prices have been driven lower. But not all analysts are convinced that the decline will continue indefinitely.
Right now the Iran nuclear standoff is giving support to oil prices.
Though OPEC is expected to leave production levels untouched, some analysts are speculating that the oil cartel could impose production cuts if crude prices remain ar their current level.
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