Kazakhstan, Libya supply cuts push oil higher

Crude price rally initiated by riots and maintenance operations continued on Monday

Oil prices were up on Monday following days of supply shortfalls in Kazakhstan and Libya.

Global benchmark Brent crude gained 35 cents, or 0.4%, rising to $82.1 a barrel at 08:00 GMT. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was also up 37 cents, or 0.5%, trading at $79.27 a barrel.

Overall, oil prices jumped 5% last week following protests in Kazakhstan, which disrupted train lines and triggered a production plunge at the country’s major oilfield, Tengiz. According to a note to Reuters from Chevron, Kazakhstan’s Tengizchevroil (TCO) is currently taking steps to push production back to normal levels there. 

Pipeline maintenance in Libya also affected global prices, as production there dropped to 729,000 barrels per day (bpd) from last year’s high of 1.3 million bpd, down over 40%.

Apart from supply issues, oil prices are also affected by rising global demand and what some consider minor output increases from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, or OPEC+. 

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The group, however, expects an oversupply on the oil market this year and has kept its supply additions for January at the level agreed upon last summer. In July, OPEC+ decided to gradually boost output by 400,000 bpd each month to restore production, which had been cut in 2020 following a plunge in demand as Covid-19 lockdowns hit travel and economic activity.

This article was originally published on Oilprice.com