Oil up 2% on Libya Shutdowns, Mideast Escalation Fears

Storage tanks are seen at the Petroineos Ineos petrol refinery in Lavera, France, March 29, 2022. Picture taken March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Storage tanks are seen at the Petroineos Ineos petrol refinery in Lavera, France, March 29, 2022. Picture taken March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
TT

Oil up 2% on Libya Shutdowns, Mideast Escalation Fears

Storage tanks are seen at the Petroineos Ineos petrol refinery in Lavera, France, March 29, 2022. Picture taken March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Storage tanks are seen at the Petroineos Ineos petrol refinery in Lavera, France, March 29, 2022. Picture taken March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Oil prices rose 2% on Monday on news of fresh production outages in Libya, adding to earlier gains on concerns that an escalating Gaza conflict could disrupt regional oil supplies.

Brent crude futures climbed $1.64, or 2.08%, to $80.66 a barrel by 1041 GMT, while US crude futures were at $76.38 a barrel, up $1.55, or 2.07%.

Prices jumped after Libya's eastern-based Benghazi government announced the closure of all oil fields on Monday, halting production and exports.

"The biggest risk for oil market is probably a further drop in Libyan oil production due to political tensions in the country," said analyst Giovanni Staunovo of Swiss bank UBS, Reuters reported.

Oil prices opened the week higher after Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and drones into Israel on Sunday and Israel's military said it struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a larger attack, in one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare.

The clash raised fears of wider conflict in the region.

"Geopolitical risk factors will likely influence the oil market significantly," said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst at OANDA in Singapore.

Monday's gains follow from both oil benchmarks gaining over 2% on Friday after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell endorsed the start of interest rate cuts.

"The prospect of easing monetary policy boosted sentiment across the commodity complex," ANZ analysts said in a note.

Investors remain cautious over the actions of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, or OPEC+, which has plans to raise output later this year, said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.



Qatar Strikes Another 15-Year LNG Supply Deal with Kuwait 

This picture taken from Doha's seaside promenade shows traditional Qatari Dhow boats with the Qatari capital's skyline seen in the background on August 16, 2024. (AFP)
This picture taken from Doha's seaside promenade shows traditional Qatari Dhow boats with the Qatari capital's skyline seen in the background on August 16, 2024. (AFP)
TT

Qatar Strikes Another 15-Year LNG Supply Deal with Kuwait 

This picture taken from Doha's seaside promenade shows traditional Qatari Dhow boats with the Qatari capital's skyline seen in the background on August 16, 2024. (AFP)
This picture taken from Doha's seaside promenade shows traditional Qatari Dhow boats with the Qatari capital's skyline seen in the background on August 16, 2024. (AFP)

Qatar agreed on Monday to supply Kuwait with 3 million tons per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 15 years, the second such deal since 2020 as Kuwait imports the fuel to help meet rising demand for power generation.

The chief executives of state-owned QatarEnergy and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) signed the long-term sales and purchase agreement for LNG in Kuwait. Deliveries will start in January 2025, KPC CEO Sheikh Nawaf al-Sabah said.

Kuwait, an OPEC member and a major oil producer, has been boosting its reliance on imported gas to meet power demand, especially in the summer when consumption by air conditioning systems rises sharply. KPC also aims to ramp up its own gas output as part of a strategy that targets higher oil production capacity too.

Last week, Kuwait faced a second round of scheduled power outages this summer due to a lapse in local gas supply, despite officials indicating there would be no more cuts after the first round in June. Summer temperatures regularly soar above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).

Qatar this year announced a further expansion of its North Field project that will cement it as one of the world's top LNG exporters. The project will boost the North Field's LNG output to 142 mtpa from 77 mtpa by 2030.

The LNG from the new supply deal for Kuwait will partly be from the North Field expansion project and partly from Qatar's existing output.

Kuwait and Qatar agreed in 2020 a 15-year deal for the supply of 3 mtpa of LNG from 2022, which will overlap with the new deal.