NEW YORK: Oil prices touched two-and-a-half year highs in light volume on Tuesday, boosted by an explosion on a crude pipeline in Libya and voluntary OPEC-led supply cuts. Libya has lost around 90,000 bpd of crude oil from a blast on a pipeline feeding Es Sider port, a Libyan oil source said, adding that NOC was still assessing the damage. A Libyan military source said earlier that armed men had planted explosives at the pipeline. The country’s output had been recovering in recent months after being held down for years by conflict and unrest.
Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose $1.51, or 2.31 per cent, to $66.76 a barrel by 11:40 am (1640 GMT.) Prices hit a session high of $66.83 a barrel, the highest since late May 2015. US crude climbed $1.29, or 2.21 per cent, to $59.76 a barrel after touching a session high of $59.86, the highest since late June 2015. The impending restart of a key North Sea pipeline, Forties, limited the rally. The pipeline is being tested after repairs and full flows should resume in early January, its operator said on Monday. — Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
