Oil prices rallied Tuesday as traders focused on lingering oil producer shutdowns in Canada and plummeting output in Nigeria.

Oil prices rallied Tuesday as traders focused on lingering oil producer shutdowns in Canada and plummeting output in Nigeria.

Crude had tumbled on Monday on news that Canadian wildfires failed to inflict long-term damage on key oilfield infrastructure.

But market sentiment became more bullish again on Tuesday, as investors concluded that the production outages in the Alberta oil sands region could persist a while longer, even if facilities were not seriously damaged and the worst of the fires was over.

Even as oil producers were planning to fly some workers back to their operations by the end of the week, "We think it may take 2-3 weeks before output fully recovers," said Citi Futures analyst Tim Evans.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for June delivery rose $1.22 to $44.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for July delivery climbed $1.89 to $45.52 a barrel.

Data published Tuesday meanwhile revealed that Nigeria's oil output has slumped to a 22-year low because of pipeline sabotage and increasing unrest that has seen major companies evacuate staff.

Data compiled by Bloomberg indicated that output in Africa's biggest oil producer has fallen below 1.7 million barrels per day for the first time since 1994.

Rebels seeking a fairer share of revenue for locals in the oil-rich southern delta are increasingly targeting facilities, posing a fresh security challenge for President Muhammadu Buhari.

"Fear of increasing violence is on the rise with a new militant group operating in the area," said ClipperData oil analyst Matt Smith.