Oil prices continue their ascent on Friday as some output in the US goes offline after Hurricane Francine hit the US coast and continues to move inland.
International benchmark Brent crude increased by 0.49% to $72.32 per barrel at 10.14 a.m. local time (0714 GMT), up from the previous session's close of $71.97.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.52% to $69.33 per barrel after closing at $68.97 in the prior session.
Hurricane Francine reached land on Wednesday as a Category 2 hurricane. In response, oil prices surged with the threat of an interruption to oil and natural gas production in the US, the world's biggest oil consumer.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) continues to monitor offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico.
Personnel from 169 production platforms, accounting for 45.55% of output form the Gulf of Mexico, have been evacuated since the beginning of the storm.
BSEE estimates that approximately 41.74% of the current oil production and 53.32% of the current natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut down in response to the severity of the storm.
Facilities will be inspected once the storm passes and production from undamaged facilities will be brought back online immediately, BSEE announced.
'Facilities sustaining damage may take longer to bring back online,' it added.
By Zeynep Beyza Kilic
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr