Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc said it can’t estimate how long it will take to repair a pipeline taking refined products from its Whiting, Indiana, refinery to Michigan. The line was shut down Dec. 5 after being struck in a fatal vehicle accident.

BP, Europe’s second-largest oil company, is assessing the damage caused by a fire that occurred after the accident and can’t estimate how long the pipeline will be shut, Scott Dean, a company spokesman, said in an interview.

“We’ve arranged alternative means of supplying the terminal while the line is being repaired,” Dean said.

The pipeline carries products including gasoline to BP’s River Rouge, Michigan, fuel terminal from the Whiting refinery, which can process 420,000 barrels a day of crude oil.

Dean said BP shut the line when it noticed a pressure drop after the accident. The accident struck a valve.

Conventional gasoline for immediate delivery in the Chicago market narrowed its discount to futures to 13 cents from 14.75 cents today after BP said the line remains shut for repairs, said Lewis Adam, president of ADMO Energy LLC, a supply consultant in Kansas City, Missouri.

“If the line is shut down, it will probably back barrels up into the Chicago market,” which could make prices fall, Adam said. “But the effect may not be felt quite yet, as Chicago was traded at a discount of 13 cents earlier today.”

Adam said there are other pipelines nearby that BP could use to transport its refined fuel to market, including one owned by Buckeye Partners LP. BP could also buy finished products from other refiners to supply its River Rouge terminal, which could drive up wholesale prices.

The Whiting refinery is BP’s second largest in the U.S. after a plant in Texas City, Texas.

To contact the reporter on this story: Barbara Powell in Dallas at Bpowell4@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 8, 2008 14:59 EST