LONDON, March 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Oil prices in the world markets rose Thursday after a blast killed at least 14 people at a British Petroleum refinery in Texas, the United States.

    In London, Brent crude jumped 31 cents to 53.35 US dollars a barrel abreast with the US light crude, which gained 32 cents to 54.13 dollars.

    Crude futures also surged. Light, sweet crude for May delivery was up 73 cents to 54.54 dollars a barrel by afternoon in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

    "The US has been running refineries at record rates and we've been very lucky we haven't had a major problem like this earlier. It's a reminder of how vulnerable we are," said an oil analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago, citing by reports.

    Oil prices had fallen to a two-week low, only to resurge amid reports of the deadly blast in the United States. The current oil prices, however, are still more than 3 dollars below the record highs witnessed last week.

    The giant BP Texas City refinery produces 3 percent of the US petrol and has a 470,000 barrel-a-day capacity.

    The price of petrol could yet rise further in the United Statesas gasoline stocks fell by 4.1 million barrels last week and dropped 3 percent over the past fortnight.

    Crude oil prices have gone up around 10 dollars a barrel this year, prompting OPEC to announce an immediate increase in production quota of 500,000 barrels a day. The cartel has indicated a possible hike of another 500,000 barrels per day if oil prices continue to hover at record highs. Enditem