Brent oil price rose more than 5% during the week ending Feb. 4 in a tight market due to the strict supply policy of OPEC+ producers, and as investors faced supply woes in Ukraine, Nigeria and Libya.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $92.94 per barrel at 1141 GMT on Friday, posting a 2.35% gain from the Monday session that opened at $90.80 a barrel.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) registered at $92.12 per barrel at the same time on Friday, increasing 5.34% relative to the opening price of $87.45 a barrel on Monday.
Oil prices started the week on a positive note, with Brent climbing over $91 a barrel, driven by supply concerns amid tight market conditions.
Concerns of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine came after NATO and the US said OPEC+ member Russia had amassed more than 100,000 troops on its border with the former Soviet Republic and is staging troops in Belarus.
Although Moscow denied it is preparing for a military offensive, claiming Russian troops are there for regular exercises, simmering regional tensions and potential supply disruptions continue to provoke price rises.
Also supporting higher prices was the latest decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to hold the group’s output increase at 400,000 barrels per day.
Prices saw further upward support after reports of supply disruptions in Libya and Nigeria, the latter of which has already been struggling to meet OPEC+ production quotas.
On Thursday, a fire razed an oil and gas tanker off the Nigerian coast to halt the 22,000 barrels of oil that are processed daily on the vessel. The tanker had 10 workers on board when it burst into flames near the Delta region, an official of the Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd., which owns the tanker confirmed, adding that the company has started an investigation into the cause of the fire.
In Libya, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) halted exports from the ports of Brega, Zueitina, Ras Lanuf, Zawiya, Mellitah and Sidra on Thursday due to bad weather.
On Wednesday, US Energy Information Administration announced a decrease in the country’s commercial crude oil inventories by 1 million barrels last week to 415.1 million barrels.
The drop in oil inventories came against expectations of an increase of 1.525 million barrels, indicating strong demand to boost oil prices.
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr