Crude oil rises to $82 a barrel

The price of crude oil rose in London on Friday morning as an uprising in Kazakhstan led to concerns about disruptions in crude supplies from the OPEC+ producers at a time when Libyan output has dropped.

Brent crude futures gained 0.6% to $82.47 a barrel, following a 1.5% gain on Monday.

Crude oil futures for West Texas Intermediate rose above $80 a barrel in the previous session, following a 2.1% climb in the previous session.

As the political situation in Libya continues to deteriorate and impact oil output, oil prices were mostly affected by market jitters due to the unrest escalating in Kazakhstan.

On Thursday, Russia sent in paratroopers to quell an uprising in Kazakhstan that has been raging for several days. After the government removed the state price caps on butane and propane on New Year’s Day, protests erupted in Kazakhstan’s oil-rich western regions.

Oil prices rose by as much as 6% in the first week of the new year, as supply concerns overtook concerns about the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Russia and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, do not have enough oil to meet growing demand.

In December, OPEC’s output rose by just 70,000 barrels per day, far less than the 253,000 barrels per day allowed under the OPEC+ supply deal, which restored output that had been cut in 2020 when COVID-19 lockdowns collapsed.

A pipeline maintenance project led to a drop in production in Libya from 1.3 million barrels per day last year to 729,000 barrels per day. (VON)