Oil prices rise despite supply problems – Finance – Notes

London.- On Tuesday, oil prices rise despite concerns over possible supply shortages, after hundreds of Norwegian oil workers went on strike, coupled with tensions in the Middle East . Hundreds of Norwegian oil and gas drilling workers have been on strike since Tuesday after rejecting a wage deal proposal, a move that will likely affect the production of at least one field, Shell's Knarr .

This potentially adds to the disruptions in other oil-producing regions amidst tensions in the Middle East. The United States is insisting on the zeroing of Iranian oil exports next November, the fifth largest oil producer in the world, a move that would force other big producers like Saudi Arabia to pump more oil. .

Saudi Arabia, member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, decided last month to increase its production to curb the rise prices and compensate for production losses in countries such as Libya. Venezuela The market is increasingly concerned that if the Saudis make up for the losses of Iran, this will reduce the global spare capacity and make the markets more vulnerable to further or unexpected production decline.

Libyan oil production fell to 527,000 barrels a day, after peaking at 1.28 million barrels a day in February after recent oil port closures, the National Oil Corporation said in a statement . In Canada, the shutdown of a Syncrude oil sands facility, with a capacity of 360,000 barrels per day (bpd), has reduced flows to Cushing in Oklahoma , the delivery point for oil futures in the United States, and stocks lasted at least three and a half years last week.

Brent North Sea oil barrel for September shipments is quoted at $ 78.32, 25 cents higher than the previous close, while the US crude West Texas Intermediate for August shipments is $ 78.32. He raises to 17 cents and is quoted at 74.02 dollars per barrel.

For its part, the basket of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was quoted Monday at $ 75.23, an increase of 0.97% over the previous closing.