BP says it expects to restart 10,000 barrels per day of Alaskan oil output cut for a week due to a spill.

The UK energy group halted the output from its Prudhoe Bay oil field due to a small leak in one of its pipes.

Although less than a gallon of oil was released, it is politically sensitive due to a much larger spillage at the giant facility last year.

Then at least 200,000 gallons spilled onto the Alaskan tundra, and BP still faces the threat of criminal charges.

A BP spokesman said its latest repairs at Prudhoe should be completed by Monday.

BP America chief Bob Malone recently admitted there had been 'extreme budget pressures at Prudhoe Bay', which had affected maintenance work.

Last year, it vowed to spend $550 million (£225 million) maintaining its pipeline network in Alaska, including the replacement of 16 miles of oil transit pipelines.

The Prudhoe facility usually produces around 400,000 barrels of oil a day.

Separately, BP announced on Friday that it was selling its stake in a large Siberian gas field development to Russian state-controlled firm Gazprom.

Western analysts said BP was just the latest Western energy firm to give into pressure from a Kremlin that wants to regain full control over Russia's energy resources.