A day after, oil executives testified in Washington that the gulf oil spill was an anomaly, crude oil prices topped $77 per barrel on Wednesday.

Oil executives defended the industry's track record and called the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico a rare event.

The New York Times has reported that attempting to ward off tighter regulations after a spill now reported to be leaking as much as 60,000 gallons per day into gulf waters, Exxon Mobil Chairman Rex Tillerson told members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday oil spills "should not occur," under normal circumstances.

"Chevron's deep-water drilling and well-control practices are safe and environmentally sound," Chevron Chief Executive Officer John Watson told panel members.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil prices added 62 cents to $77.48 per barrel.

It has been reported that heating oil prices for July delivery added 0.0415 cents to $2.11 per gallon.

Reformulated gasoline blend-stock prices gained 0.0265 cents to $2.148 per gallon.

It was also reported that natural gas prices shed 0.157 cents to $5.032 per million British thermal units.

According to the reports of AAA, the national average price at the pump for unleaded regular gasoline rose to $2.70 per gallon on Wednesday from Tuesday's $2.696. (With inputs from Agencies)