On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for February delivery jumped to $US32 a barrel in after-hours trade, the highest since January 2001. In London, Brent crude oil futures rose $US1.38 to $US29.72 a barrel.
World oil prices have risen by nearly a third in the past month on fears that a US-led military offensive against Iraq could disrupt supplies from the Middle East, the world's biggest oil exporting region.
The price rally also reflects the continuing turmoil in Venezuela, where the opposition and business groups have led a four-week long round of strikes against incumbent President Hugo Chavez. The oil strike has slowed output from the world's fifth largest oil exporter to a trickle.
Last week, the Venezuelan Supreme Court ordered striking workers at the state-owned oil company PDVSA to return to work. Mr Chavez has already sacked four executives at PDVSA and told strikers they would be arrested and prosecuted if they interfered with efforts to restart the industry.
"We have begun to recover PDVSA and we will start a cleansing in PDVSA," Mr Chavez said on the weekend. "Those who didn't show up for work ... well, they will be fired."
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warned its citizens all travel to Venezuela should be postponed and Australians already there should leave in the face of the worsening political crisis. Canada, Germany and the US have issued similar recommendations.
