JUNEAU, Alaska — Energy analysts don't expect a temporary shutdown of the trans-Alaska pipeline system due to an oil spill this week to have much effect, if any, on crude prices and gas supplies.

While the pipeline could be back up today or Friday, in the global scheme even if it's idled a week it "just not going to affect things much," said Doug Reynolds, an energy economist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

But Reynolds pointed to other repercussions: the relatively minor spill along with the massive slick in the Gulf of Mexico could add more fuel to calls for stricter regulations on the industry, an outcome that would impact Alaska's energy-reliant economy.

The 800-mile line was shut down Tuesday, after what operator Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. characterized as several thousand barrels of oil spilled into a 2.3 million-gallon storage tank, which overflowed into a containment area. The containment area, a yard lined with an impermeable barrier and surrounded by a berm, apparently captured all the oil.

Alyeska has proceeded cautiously with cleanup. However, spokeswoman Michelle Egan said late Wednesday night that crews were ready to begin recovery of the spilled oil.

The plan was to open a drain in the containment area and start suctioning the oil into tanker trucks overnight, Egan said.