Oil prices increase as Supply Distortion occurs in Libya and Kazakhstan

Oil supply distortion in Libya and Kazakhstan amid the expeditious rise in Covid-19 cases worldwide has instigated a marginal increase in oil prices on Monday.

Data from rate captain reveals Brent crude climbed to $81.91 a barrel representing a 0.2% percentage gain. Meanwhile, the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (one of the main global oil benchmarks) increased by 0.2% at $79.05 per barrel.

Protest in Kazakhstan, which disrupted oil production in the country’s biggest oilfield (TENGIZ) and pipeline maintenance in Libya led to oil prices gaining 5% and adversely affecting daily production output decreasing to 729,000 per day from an initial figure of 1.3 million barrel per day in the previous year.

However, according to Chevron, Tengizchevroil, Kazakhstan’s largest oil venture has cautiously increased production, aiming to reach optimal rate after the consistent protest.

As oil supply dwindles and rising demand continues to persist, attention turns to OPEC+ (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) to restore market equilibrium, with OPEC’s Production output in December 2021 surging by 70,000 bpd.

Furthermore, The United States biggest energy firms are tenaciously adding more oil and gas rigs to breach the supply demand gap. According to Baker Hughes, oil and gas rig count rose to 588 in the week to Jan. 7

As the Covid-19 Omicron variant continues to ravage the globe, governments of developed economies such as China, Europe and U.S.A has implemented restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, while the latter has experienced stunted economic growth in terms of unemployment rate.