Oil prices benefited from the stoppage of Libya’s biggest oilfield last week by hitting $56 per barrel last Monday along with on-going geopolitical concerns regarding the missile strike on Syria led by the United States on the previous week.
U.S. crude was previously higher by 84 cents at $53.08 per barrel. The global benchmark Brent crude oil was higher by 70 cents to $55.95 per barrel.
Sharara oilfield from Syria shuts down last Sunday after a number of individuals obstructed a pipeline connecting it to an oil depot, according to a Libyan oil source. The oilfield had just resumed to production after one-week interruption which will end this month.
The shutdown had driven fuel prices to rally that begun late after the missile attack of United States on a Syrian airbase. Given that the Middle East is has more than a quarter of the world’s oil supply, Syria only produces a small amount according to analysts.
Oil was also reinforced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries deal to reduce supply by 1.8 million barrels per day which started last January and to end on June this year, to part with an output surplus. OPEC member Nigeria and Libya were both exempted from OPEC-led cuts.
Oil minister form Kuwait Essam al-Marzouq said he anticipated the devotion of producers in March to their output reduction promises to be bigger compared to the past months. This is an effect of OPEC’s positivity that the deal is working. The minister predicted that there is a positive signal in the drop of oil stocks worldwide. But, the rally of prices has also brought production on other nations to fill the gap led by OPEC cuts.